Menu
ONLINE FIRST: Parks named as one of Eight Wonders of Kansas
The announcement was made during Thursday morning's Chamber Coffee that Gordon Parks was selected as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Art.
Included in the Gordon Parks legacy is the Gordon Parks Center at Fort Scott Community College as well as the Sarah and Andrew Exhibit at Mercy Health Center.
"It has been a really exciting day," said Jill Warford, executive director of the Gordon Parks Center.
Parks was one of 24 finalist which were voted upon by the public. There were 9,149 total votes with votes came from towns all across Kansas as well as 46 states and nine foreign countries.
The Fort Scott Post Office was also a finalist as Post Office Section Art, including art from Post Offices across the state. The 1937 painting by Oscar E. Berninghaus titled Border Gateways is housed in the Fort Scott Post Office but is not on public display. The Post Office Section Art did not make the top eight.
The eight winners are (in alphabetical order) Birger Sandzen, Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery, Lindsborg; Blue Sky Sculpture, Newton; Buffalo Bill Bronze Sculpture, Oakley; Garden of Eden/Lucas, Grassroots Art Mecca, Lucas; Gordon Parks, Fort Scott; John Steuart Curry Murals, state capitol, Topeka; Keeper of the Plains, Wichita; St. Mary's Catholic church, St. Benedict.
The 8 Wonders of Kansas Art contest was set up by the Kansas Sampler Foundation in efforts to educate the public about what is in Kansas as well as to encourage traveling around the state.
"As shown by the top 8 list, our state has incredible diversity in the Art department -- from the historic Curry murals to some of the quirkiest are in the world. The art of Kansas is well worth exploring," said Marci Penner director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation.
Read the entire story in Friday's edition of The Fort Scott Tribune.