Beaufort art project expands with five new installations around the city

Beaufort residents have five more art pieces to to feast their eyes and rest their rears on as the city expands an art project featuring benches designed by local creators.

With the five new additions, 17 benches total have been added to Beaufort since the project began in 2019. The benches are built by Habitat for Humanity, sponsored by local organizations and painted by Beaufort artists before installation, each representing an idea important to the city.

This year’s benches were sponsored by the Carteret Street Methodist Church, City of Beaufort, Pigeon Point Neighborhood Watch, Washington Street Park and cancer-fighting nonprofit DragonBoat Beaufort, according to the city.

Art in this year’s group pays tribute to Beaufort’s history, as seen in “Waterfront Park — Then and Now,” designed by Mary Ann Browning Ford. The bench was inspired by Henry C. Chambers’ work to expand Beaufort’s waterfront park after becoming mayor in 1969.

Other pieces, like “Ancestral Connection” by Hank Herring, remind residents of their responsibility to Beaufort’s next generation as teachers, parents and role models. The art features Adinkra symbols from West Africa representing concepts like learning from the past, according to the news release.

The City of Beaufort website has images of all the new benches, their artists and where to find them.