Created by Erika Strecker, "Connect" was in the second installment of the Art in Roanoke (AIR) temporary exhibition from September 2010 to March 2012. Strecker took visual cues from “objects for connection” that she found interesting such as the Clevis (used to connect tractor to farm trailer) and horse bridal parts. “This is, of course, embellished in my imagination, and the result is this oversized part-waiting to connect…”

About the artist:
Erika Strecker, from a family of professional artists, has worked as a full-time sculptor & metalsmith since 1994. From furniture to large-scale sculpture, she relishes the diversity of moving from one design expression to another. Erika Strecker and her husband, artist Tony Higdon, collaborate at Higdon-Strecker Studio on large-scale public artworks nationally.

About AIR:
Since 2002, the City of Roanoke has designated 1 % of funds for certain capital projects to purchase or display art in the city. The program is overseen by the 19-member Council-appointed Roanoke Arts Commission. Art for Everyone, the city’s first public art plan, was adopted by the City Council in 2006.

AIR is a project of the City of Roanoke’s Percent for Art Program, established to provide public art in city neighborhoods and public places to reflect the community’s vibrancy and heritage.

Sourced from:
Information was obtained from documents by the Arts Council of the Roanoke Valley.