For more information on the current art pieces downtown continue reading below.

Downtown Hastings has various sculptures and murals located on 1st Street, Second Street and Eastside Boulevard. These 13 sculptures were created by local artists and artists throughout Nebraska and the Midwest.

The majority of the downtown sculptures are bronze, which involves a complicated and time consuming casting process. This process consists of the following seven steps:

1. Complete the Original Positive
2. Make a Negative Mold
3. Make a Hollow Wax Replica
4. Engineering for the Bronze Pour
5. Lost Wax Process
6. Color the Bronze

For more detailed information, visit the following link: Clay to Bronze

Sculptures

• American Farmer (Sculpture)American Farmer
  • Artist: Sondra Jonson
  • Year: 2003
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: “The American Farmer,” a three-quarters life-size bronze. It is Jonson’s testament to the strength, sacrifice, and intelligence of the American farmers. Living in rural Nebraska, Jonson has developed a deep respect for these men whose livelihood is at the mercy of the elements, and on whose production rests the foundation of our economy. In “The American Farmer,” Jonson portrays the farmer as a thinker and planner, also a man of action and hardiness, and a man who is unpretentious and generous—in other words, a man of great character. The model for this sculpture was a local farmer. (Source: S.L. Jonson Studios)

• Breath of Life (Sculpture)Breath of Life
  • Artist: Jon Leitner
  • Year: 2002
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: Portrait of William Golden of the Oak Ridge Boys (Source: Museum of Nebraska Art)

• Cottonwood (Sculpture)Cottonwood
  
  • Artist: Sally Jurgensmier
  • Year: 2021
  • Medium: Welded Steel
  • Description: Raw steel sculpture of a cottonwood leaf made from salvaged materials from manufacturers' scrap heaps and farmers' discarded piles of metal. (Source: Hastings College Success Stories)

• Dusty Winds & Dainty Lace (Sculpture)Dusty Winds & Dainty Lace
  • Artist: Herb Mignery
  • Year: 2005
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: Herb's subjects are often traditional western figures, but also include the more subtle characters of the old and contemporary West: Shepherds, settlers, and school teachers. (Source: Cowboy Artists of America)

• Early Morning Riser (Sculpture)Early Morning Riser
  • Artist: Mads Anderson
  • Year: 2023
  • Medium: Acrylic on Metal
  • Description: Mads Anderson has always been fascinated by life’s inherent dualities: the secure sameness that guides everyday lives despite the underlying reality that anything – and everything – can change in an instant. Through his paintings and sculptures, he seeks to address this duality. (Source: Modern Arts Midtown)

• Flatwater Dance (Sculpture)Flatwater Dance
  • Artist: Jeremy Daniels
  • Year: 2017
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: “Flatwater Dancer” depicts the crane in the act of jumping, a move that Daniels believes is part of a mating dance. (Source: Hastings Tribune)

• Flyin' (Sculpture)Flyin'
  • Artist: Blair Muhlestein
  • Year: 1993
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: Muhlestein developed a wide body of work primarily known as “realistic children” in addition to abstract and kinetic art. (Source: Benson Sculpture Garden)

• Heroes on the Homefront (Sculpture)Heroes on the Homefront
  • Artist: Everett Deger II
  • Year: 2011
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: Edward Deger II was in the Nebraska National Guard and created sculptures about the war. (Source: Lincoln Journal Star)

• Life's Lessons (Sculpture)Life's Lessons
  • Artist: George Lundeen
  • Year: 2002
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: Lundeen holds a bachelor of arts from Hastings College and has been commissioned to sculpt portraits and interpretive works for universities, municipalities, foundations and corporations. (Source: Lundeen Sculpture)

• Peacekeeper (SculpturePeacekeeper)
  • Artist: George Lundeen
  • Year: 2010
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: A young boy keeps peace between the canine and the feline: a pug on his lap, a golden retriever at his back, and a kitten at the opposite end of the bench. (Source: Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence)

• Prairie Odyssey (Sculpture)Prairie Odyssey
  • Artist: Herb Mignery
  • Year: 1992
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: Prairie Odyssey by Herb Mignery is the property of the Dutton-Lainson Company. Dutton Lainson Plaza dedicated to the citizens of Hastings by Dutton Lainson Company on the 106th Year of the Founding of the Company. April 24, 1992 (Source: Sculpture Plaque)

• Sports Buddies (Sculpture)Sports Buddies
  • Artist: Victor Issa
  • Year: 2004
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: Issa’s artistic hallmark “Creating Living Bronze” is the embodiment of his life focused spirituality, respect for the human figure, love of life, passion for perfection and undaunted perseverance. (Source: Victor Issa Studios)

• Watchful Eye (Sculpture)Watchful Eye
  • Artist: Stephen LeBlanc
  • Year: 2003
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Description: LeBlanc’s work incorporates form and essences from the natural world. In observing the interplay of form and function found in the natural world, his gola is to create work that draws people to explore this dynamic interplay. (Source: Stephen LeBlanc Studio)

Murals

Working Together toward a People's Art Mural

• Working Together toward a People's Art (Hastings Community Mural)
  • Lead Artist: Dave Loewenstein
  • Year: 2013
  • Description: "The process of designing and creating the mural are tangible examples of the too often forgotten role citizens play in shaping the place they live. We together through this process are reclaiming how the community including its history, current challenges and future aspirations is portrayed and understood. What was for years the unadorned back side of a strip mall, will soon be a collective vision of Hastings ongoing renaissance."
  • Design: The mural begins with two volunteers preparing the wall. One is priming, the other measuring. A shadow of bike rider on the bike path is cast onto the wall from behind them. To their right, giant figures wade into a pile of possibilities comprising Hastings culture and history, that, when sorted out and edited down, will become elements of the mural. The things that these design team members touch / select go from monochrome to full-color indicating their preference. Under the encouraging watch of a mustachioed local celebrity (actually the main figure of a mural in the Kensington) the mural team delves into the history and culture of Hastings sharing their discoveries with each other at the Hastings Museum. On their research table, a collection of seemingly unrelated items interact, including the statue of a Pawnee man, a polar bear, Kool-Aid stand, rattlesnake, Prairie Loft Barn, and Sandhill cranes. Switching over to a scene in front of the yet to be painted wall, young mural designers begin by making drawings on the sidewalk. Two of them invoke fantasies of flight and hopes guided by dandelion seeds, while another contemplates the cycle of water from rain to farm to aquifer. The design for this mural in a mural begins to take shape symbolized by a Hastings brick layer putting the first pieces together. He is joined by design team members who, holding up the unfurling image, share their creation with us. Their creation includes a stylized version of Fisher Fountain surrounded by symbols of local agriculture and architecture. Fireworks light up the sky as the mural design is projected onto the wall Before the illuminated wall, neighbors join the fun playing with shadow puppets in front of a design proposal by Dave Stewart. The final section of the mural, we see Hastings' folks young and old participating in community painting weekend. Cast across the figures of the painters and onto the wall in front of them, the shadow of an old steam locomotive passes silently into history. (Source: Mid-America Mural Project: 2013)
  • Created with the Guidance and assistance of over 300 Hastings residents.

Hastings Mural

• Hastings Mural
  • Artist: Dani Schwinn
  • Year: 2023
  • Description: "Each letter of Hastings is a scene representing parts of the community that make Hastings unique." (Source: Hastings Community Foundation)

• Kool-aid Mural
  • Artist: Unknown
  • Year: 2012
  • Description: The Official Birthplace of Kool-Aid in downtown Hastings depicts colorful graphics in the windows of the old Perkins Kool-Aid Company Building. These graphics depict the history of Kool-Aid Marketing through the years. (Source: Roadside America)