Lydia Snow
Elko Daily Free Press
10/02/2025
(All rights reserved)
(Elko, NV) The Elko Arts and Culture Advisory Board voted on Wednesday in favor of a concept provided by John Rice of Great Basin College's arts department for a public art project at Sixth Street in the city's downtown corridor for the U.S. Semiquincentennial in 2026.
Board members noted the local nature of Rice's concept for the "America 250 Sculpture Project" and its patriotic themes. They chose it over a project which would have been sourced out of Salt Lake City.
The GBC sculpture, a 5-foot by 10-foot steel portal, would be constructed by the Great Basin College welding program. The Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution would be etched into it.
"Every year, the welding students engage in some sort of project and we all agreed that this would be a terrific project for the students to work on," Rice said.
"There are many students in every cohort, so it's going to be a great opportunity for everyone," he said. "We're going to be meeting now that we've got the green light to make the plans for it - and I know we're all looking forward to being part of the celebration."
David Stoddard, Dean of industrial technology and workforce development at Great Basin College, noted how GBC welding students had previously made chandeliers to memorialize the 2023 University of Nevada Las Vegas shooting.
"Our welding students are talented," he said. "They are doing education here, and then going to work here – and so to see something that they can be part of every single day, as they drive by it, as they see it, as they walk through it, they can take their families to it, their families now, their future children and say, "'I was part of this.'"
In Rice's proposal to the city, he said the students would construct the art installation and total cost of materials was estimated at $7,000. He wrote city engineers would be needed to determine the best way to mount the art work.
In response to whether there were recommended sustainability requirements to preserve the piece, Rice wrote: "We envision this being raw steel that will develop a distinguished patina over time. The lighting features will need to be maintained. But other than regularly washing pigeon poop off of it, I foresee no other regular maintenance requirements."
We need our community's help to fund this powerful sculpture that will be created by our GBC students. Celebrate your patriotic pride, support local students, and leave a lasting impact--help fund the America 250 sculpture project by donating today!
