In 2004 Herky on Parade was the largest public art project ever produced in the Iowa City/Coralville area. It was a collaboration between the University of Iowa, the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, City of Coralville and City of Iowa City. 10 years later they are back to celebrate the 10th anniversary with around 80 Herky statues! They will remain on display starting this month through the fall.
I remember the original Herky on Parade event. As a 7th Grader my middle school helped design one of these statues (Ours was the best). For those of you who have visited our office have seen one of the original statues. (it looks like this)
The statues start off blank and then are matched with artists that will begin to paint them. After the fall these Herky statues will be auctioned off to support the United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties.
For students who just joined the Hawkeye Family, you will be able to see a lot of these statues during your Orientation date or at OnIowa! Any visitor to the Iowa City/Coralville area is also welcome to join in on the fun and judge the statues for themselves!
I will be going on a mission to find as many of these as I can. I will continually update this blog post with my pictures!
If you find one of these Herky’s feel free to comment below this post with where you found it and a picture!
“I’m a # Sauvlieber”
Qin Terracotta Warrior Herky
Artist: Yan Zheng, Iowa City, IA
Sponsor: Heart Workshop
Big Foot Herky
Artist: Jeff Roetman, Iowa City, IA
Sponsor: Two Rivers Bank & Trust
Graduation Herky
Artist: Anne Johnson, Iowa City, IA
Sponsor: University of Iowa Office of the President
Journey of a Warrior Herky
Artist: Jonathan Northrup & Tate High School Art Studio Students, Iowa City, IA
Sponsor: Tate High School
Rough Hewn Herky
Artist: Tom Newport, Cedar Rapids, IA
Sponsor: Holiday Inn & Express
#Herky
Artist: de Novo Alternative Marketing Team
Sponsor: de Novo Alternative Marketing Team
