Hayden Homes gives public art project a $10K boost

HAYDEN — A regional home-building company has given a Hayden public art project a big boost of final funding ahead of its installation.

Hayden Homes presented a $10,000 check to the city of Hayden and the Hayden Arts Commission during Tuesday's Hayden City Council meeting to help a community dream of public art benches five years in the works finally come to fruition.

"Hayden Homes is providing a final critical element of funding we need to bring this project to life," Hayden Mayor Alan Davis said in a Friday news release from Hayden Homes. "We are grateful for these kinds of public-private partnerships that help the city of Hayden do more for our community than we can do alone."

The $10,000 will help fund nine concrete pads that will become the bases of the new benches, which are made from the fiberglass of decommissioned wind turbine blades and are manufactured by Ohio startup company Canvus. The benches are anticipated to be delivered within the month.

"The 'Come Together' bench project is a series of artistic public benches and is a dynamic addition to the city of Hayden,” said Stephanie Saterfiel, chair of the Hayden Arts Commission. “The project provides an exciting opportunity to feature the work of local artists and will also help create a vibrant sense of culture in our community.”

The Hayden Arts Commission, a citizen commission of the city of Hayden, has worked on the artistic public bench project for about five years. The commission will now partner with local artists to paint artwork on the benches, possibly during a community event within the next year.

Saterfiel said none of this would have been possible without the support of Hayden Homes and its generous donation, the support and approval of the Hayden City Council and the Urban Renewal Agency, which helped purchase the benches. She also praised the Hayden Arts Commission and city clerk Abbi Sanchez for the vision and completion of this project.

She said the arts commission will soon be sending out a call to artists for their originality to bring the benches to life.

"However, none of this is possible without the support of our community and the generosity of businesses like Hayden Homes," she said.

Hayden Homes, based in Redmond, Ore., made the donation as part of the company’s mission to "Give as You Go." Since it was founded in 1989, Hayden Homes has provided more than $70 million in charitable donations to the communities it serves.

"After all the years of hard work from dedicated volunteers, we are grateful to provide this gap funding so this art can become a joyful part of the cultural fabric within the city of Hayden,” said Ben McGerty, Inland Northwest regional director with Hayden Homes.

Visit cityofhaydenid.us for details.

    An example of a bench made from wind turbine blades.