Chestertown Public Arts Master Plan

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Broad Reach

Artist David Hess’s Broad Reach, the contemporary children’s playscape selected as the inaugural sculpture in Chestertown’s Public Arts Master Plan, will be installed in Wilmer Park next May in honor of local artist and architect Alejandro “Alex” Castro.  Castro, who will be moving to Sarasota, Fla., at the end of the year, is being lauded for the many contributions he has made to the Chestertown arts scene during his seven years in the community.

Broad Reach will be installed next to the entrance of Wilmer Park and will consist of a curling wave and a billowing sail constructed of brushed stainless steel. Hess designed the sculptural work to be inviting and safe for children to play and slide on.  Seed funding for the project was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Program.

Castro lent his talents to a variety of local causes, including the creation of the Public Arts Master Plan, the launch of the Arts & Entertainment District, and the design of the Sultana Education Center building.  At Washington College, he lectured in art and served several years as interim director of the Kohl Gallery, hosting high-profile exhibitions — often contemporary — aimed at broadening the campus gallery’s reputation and appeal. And with start-up funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, he founded SANDBOX, an environmental-art initiative that supports creative collaborations between the arts and sciences. Through SANDBOX, he encouraged professors and students to work together across departmental boundaries, hosted distinguished artists for creative projects and talks, and opened a Cross Street storefront to forge a stronger connection between the College and the Town.

“In addition to being one of the most creative and unique individuals I have ever met, Alex Castro has been a wonderful ambassador for Washington College,” says the school’s board chair emeritus Jay Griswold, who serves on the SANDBOX advisory board.  “He and his wife, Kelly, have contributed immensely to the vibrancy of life in both College and Town. We will miss them a great deal and hope they return often.”

Before moving to Chestertown in 2009, Alex Castro built a distinguished career in Baltimore as an artist and designer specializing in museum and exhibit design. His legacy there includes the design of the Visionary Art Museum, the renovated Charles and Senator Theaters, a national interior-design magazine (nest), and the Immigration Memorial and Liberty Garden. He used his connections to increase Chestertown’s arts profile and reputation throughout Maryland and beyond.  “As a member of the Maryland State Arts Council and the Maryland Commission on Public Art, he introduced many of his colleagues to the virtues of his new hometown,” says Arts & Entertainment District manager Kay MacIntosh. “And through SANDBOX and the Kohl Gallery, he brought a broad array of exciting, often challenging, visual and performing artists to Chestertown.”

A group calling itself “Friends of Alex Castro,” led by Griswold and gallery owner Carla Massoni, have already raised more than $75,000 of the total $139,000 needed to manufacture, transport, and install the sculpture. A public campaign is being launched to complete the funding.

“The playscape is such a perfect tribute to Alex, who sailed into our wonderful town and immediately saw the potential for how we could leverage our arts resources to boost the economy and enhance the quality of life for everyone,” says Massoni, owner of the Massoni Gallery and a partner in Create. “He championed the Public Arts Master Plan and served on the jury that selected David Hess’s sculpture as the first installation. Jay and I agreed that we could not let Alex leave without thanking him in a very public, lasting way for his contributions.”


Broad Reach Donors

Names marked with an asterisk (*) indicate members of the Chestertown Class of 1967 who made gifts to Broad Reach as part of their 50th reunion.

(If your donation is not noted or is noted incorrectly, please email kay.chestertown@gmail.com.)

$5,000 and Up

Anthony’s Landscaping

Chestertown High School Class of 1967

Mr. and Mrs. Jack S. Griswold

Christian Havemeyer

Helen Clay Frick Foundation

Nina Rodale Houghton

Linda, Guyon and Julia Knight

Maryland State Arts Council

National Endowment for the Arts

Mary Anne and Blyth Reynolds

SFW Foundation

Dr. Henry F. Sears

Kitty and Tom Stoner

Joanne and Matt Tobriner

Town of Chestertown

Jay and Lisa Yerkes

 

$1,500 to $5,000

James & Nancy Cusack

Richard Marks and Amy Haines

Kent County Arts Council

Maryland Public Arts Council

* Ronald & Cynthia Plummer

Steve Ziger/Ziger Snead Architects

 

$1,000 to $1,500

Robert & Louise Braunschweiger

Marshall T. and Karen Hynson

Judy Kohl

JoAnn Kowalski & David Sumi

William & Amanda Madar

Carla & Albert Massoni

Clement & Elizabeth Moore

 

$500 to $1,000

Susan & Brian Berman

Renee and Thad Bench Sr.

Warren & Claire Cox

Barbara T. Cromwell

Kees & Jennifer de Mooy

Georgiana Evans

Paul and Jayne Heckles

Joyce Huber

Ed Hugler & Anna Wolgast

William S. Ingersoll

Bill & Kay MacIntosh

Leslie P. Raimond

Dr. Melvin S. Rapelyea

Ford & Marilee Schumann

James and Nancy Steele

Kirk & Laura Wade

$200 to $500

Jay Alexander & Mark Hampton

Margo Bailey

William F. Creager

Mickey and Margie Elsberg

Rebecca A. Hoffberger

Robert & Gayle Ingersoll

Clare S. Ingersoll

* Alan & Emily Joiner

Rod Johnson

Charles Lerner

Lisa Maxwell

* Richard & Elizabeth Morin

Brooke Logan Packard

Mike Pugh & John Schratwieser

Richard & Sheila Riggs

John & Sally Ruppert

Paddy & Richard Tobey

 

$100 to $200

Eleanor Altman

Anne Keer Charles

* Jon & Kathryn Faulkner

* Everett Fisher

John Gillespie

Meredith Davies Hadaway

Barbara Heck

Philip & Lisa Hoon

In Memoriam, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander H. Hoon

Stephan & Diane Klingelhofer

Edward Ellis Maxcy

Paul McDonald

* Lynn McLain

Drew McMullen

Edward & Michele Minch

* Philip & Estelle Morin

Lani Seikaly

Lawrence & Caroline Schroth

* William & Gretchen Starling

Peter and Sally Sweetser

Anne S. Warhurst

Dave Wheelan

Pamela White

Up to $100

Erin Anderson

Valerie Bardhi

Robbi Behr

* Carol & Keith Bishton

* Annie & Dudley Coleman

* Laura R. Cook

Dan Divilio

Laura Eckleman

Jenifer Endicott Emley

* Janice Fletcher

* David & Connie Gsell

* Betsy Henry

* Thomas & Elizabeth Herr

John Lang

Ann Murray

* Dennis & Barbara Muse

* Deborah Smith Nickerson

* Carl & Nancy Plummer

* Laura Lee Riordan

Cynthia Saunders

Bart Stolp

* Bonnie L. Swift

* Claire H. Wynn

 

 

 

 

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