Connie Spain

The Celebrating Community Project applauds the strength, commitment and fortitude of common, ordinary people who represent the best of humanity in Siouxland.  These are people who have taken selfless action to help those that have been marginalized in our community.  They will be honored for demonstrating an unrivaled commitment to helping others.  Some have accomplished small tasks that are great and noble, and others have made a positive difference through acts of courage and sacrifice.  The one thing they have in common is that they have given their energy, and heart to advocate for equal opportunity and justice for the members of their community.

The project is the brain child of Mark and Terri Avery. Mark sculpted a bust of Martin Luther King that he and Terri donated to the NAACP to grace the front of Sioux City’s Martin Luther King Transportation Center. From this project the idea for the sculpture park was ignited and a committee was formed once Flora Lee and the NCAAP signed on to help drive the project.
Visit NCAAP’s local chapter…

While Mark will be the primary sculptor for the busts, other sculptors will be hired to assist with the welding and the casting of the bronzes.

It is our hope that the project will educate and engage the observer in the essential connection of good intent, causing them to pause and pay closer attention to every life.

The Celebrating Community Project will be located along the east side of the Martin Luther King Transportation Center at the corner of 5th and Nebraska.  This location will extend the planned art corridor in downtown Sioux City, and is ideally located cattycorner from the beautiful new Sioux City Public Museum.

The Celebrating Community Sculpture Park Project is being developed through a partnership with the NAACP and the Celebrating Community Foundation: a non-profit 510(c)(3) (tax-exempt organization), made up of a diverse group of Siouxland Citizens who see this project as a way to honor those marginalized in our community and the collective quest for justice and equal opportunity that is a rich and important part of our heritage.