Taking in art doesn’t require a trip to a museum for people in Allen as throughout the city, there are sculptures specific to particular sites. The goal of the displays is to foster a sense of pride in the community and encourage tourism.

“Personally I like that we have all of this random art displayed throughout Allen,” senior Elle Traweek said. “As an artist, I do think that it is nice to incorporate that into our town.”

The art on display is site-specific and is designed to give people an up close look at the works.

“I’m really into the bronze statues at Watter’s Creek but I think they could have done a better job choosing something that isn’t a billion degrees because kids are going to want to climb on it,” art teacher Brice McCasland said. “Thinking that kids burn themselves on it is kind of unfortunate, but they’re my favorite pieces that I know of that has been chosen by the committee. But for me, my son always wants to climb on that bull and it’s like a million degrees and if they were really involved in the community they would have chosen something more appropriate for climbing and playing on.”

Despite seeing the art on a regular basis, many students were unaware of the city’s Public Art Committee..

“I’ve seen a lot of the art around, but I never knew that it was chosen and everything,” senior Sean McCleskey said. “I work in Watter’s Creek and see the statues of the ducks and the bull, but I didn’t know the story behind it.”

Allen’s Public Art Committee oversees the commissioning of artwork and meets in the Parks and Recreation building on the third Thursday of each month. To most people the art is a good idea in theory, but for McCasland, the reality leaves something to be desired.

“I wish there was more, but also personally I think that having the committee is a great thing but seems kind of Illuminati because I don’t know who they are or what voice they are to the public,” McCasland said. “The work that is chosen is work that hasn’t seemed to have enticed people to get more interested in art and it instead makes them less interested in art because they assume that either you get it or you don’t.”