Artist Nancy Sanderson poses with the sturgeon she sculpted. (Courtesy Cultureworks)
Something fishy is going on in the Tri-Cities. Specifically ... sturgeon.
A project called Art on the ART is bringing ecologically friendly, three-dimensional likenesses of the so-called “dinosaur fish” to points along the Appomattox River in Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell. It’s an effort to bring public art to a region that has comparatively little, while also raising awareness of the fact that — after a period of decline due to pollution and other factors — sturgeons are again navigating the river.
“I wanted to start a public art project that gets a lot of different organizations connected and working together,” says Daniel Jones, Tri-Cities program manager for CultureWorks, which has led the effort. “We thought it could be a public art piece for community pride but also contain an environmental message.” The arts advocacy organization has partnered on the project with groups including the Friends of the Lower Appomattox River, the Hopewell/Prince George Chamber of Commerce, and the parks and recreation departments of Hopewell, Petersburg and Colonial Heights.
The idea was sparked by Jones’ previous work for the chamber of commerce. “We had been talking about the resurgence of Atlantic sturgeon in the river and once considered using the fish as a tourism mascot for the region.”
That never happened, but the conversation planted a seed. For the new art project, three works were chosen and have been installed along the Appomattox River Trail, developed by FOLAR. “For that, we chose three artists who could do ... found metal sculpture,” Jones says.
The installation began in 2023 with the first fish, a 3-foot sturgeon made from recycled materials by Hopewell welder Kirk Thore, located in Hopewell’s City Park. Richmond artist Keith Ramsey installed a 14-foot monster called “Augusta” at Roslyn Landing Park in Colonial Heights. Petersburg native and VCUarts graduate Nancy Sanderson contributed a flat copper plate sturgeon, “Zora,” spotted at the University Boulevard Trailhead near Virginia State University in Petersburg.
According to Sanderson, the name is a nod to African American author and historian Zora Neale Hurston. She says, “I have the piece facing upstream in reference to that uphill battle that Black women face in our society.”
Jones says that CultureWorks, FOLAR and the city partners have begun looking for funding sponsors for three more sturgeon sculptures. “There are more localities where we can put these,” he says. “We don’t have a lot of public art here compared to Richmond, which is known for its murals. But it’s not just about making a cool-looking piece of art. It’s supposed to draw attention to the trail and to the fish itself and to remind people about protecting the waterways.”
Sanderson is proud to be involved in the project. “It’s a testament to the work that FOLAR has done to help improve the water of the Appomattox so that now it can support a sturgeon,” she says. “It’s also a very cool fish. Their skin is very hard, and they jump out of the water with wild abandon. I feel like they very much own the rivers they inhabit.”
