Ribbon Cutting for Norcross Garden Sculptures is Sunday

Do you remember a time without cell phones? Having a phone attached to a wall down the hall?

If you do, you'll be in a state of nostalgia Sunday, Jan. 13, at the ribbon cutting for "TalkTalkTalk."

The new outdoor exhibit, which is located in Heritage Park in Historic Downtown Norcross, is a collection of 15 whimsical and humorous sculptures made from old AT&T telephones and their parts, salvaged from a Cemetery Street home last year. 

"It's something to celebrate communication, to look back to a time when we used phones that were tethered to a wall," said Lori Sturgess, curator and creator of the exhibition and former Norcross Arts Center director. "That's something a whole generation of kids will never know."

After saving the phones with Sustainable Norcross, Sturgess made a proposal to the city for a grant to fund the project of using them for art. The city agreed, and she made it her mission to reach out to students in the area to help design the sculptures.

Eight students in the 2-D art program at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Lawrenceville stepped up to the project in September. After they pitched designs for the project during their three meetings with Sturgess, she took their concepts, in addition to ideas from students at other schools, and created the individual sculptures.

"I'm proud of what we've done so far, and I think the kids really enjoyed the process," said Sturgess.

Aside from being just something interesting to look at, "TalkTalkTalk" aims to drive more traffic to the Norcross Arts Center, formerly known as The Nest.

Located at 17 College St., the center is somewhat hidden. Heritage Park is located between College Street and Lawrenceville Street, so if people follow the phones through the park, it will lead them to the front door of the arts center. 

Even though the sculptures aim to be finished for the ribbon cutting Sunday, Sturgess wishes to expand the collection in the future. She reached out to AT&T in hopes that the company can sponsor some of the project in order to make more sculptures.

See also:

• Norcross Arts Center Looking for Art Students

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