Young artists unveil 20 new benches in Lawrence community celebration
Hundreds packed Van Go’s New Jersey Street center to see 20 new benches made by Lawrence teenagers, capping the nonprofit’s summer JAMS employment program.
Hundreds of people packed Van Go’s center at 715 New Jersey St. on Friday to see 20 new benches made by Lawrence teenagers. The project capped the nonprofit’s summer JAMS employment program and turned a basic piece of street furniture into the focus of a community gathering.
Van Go said Benchmark is its annual summer program for JAMS youth ages 14 to 18. Each participant works with a community client, a business, individual or agency, to design and create a custom bench, so the finished pieces are built for real settings rather than a gallery wall. That format gives young artists practical experience while producing objects Lawrence residents can actually sit on, gather around and encounter in everyday spaces.
The nonprofit said it has created more than 400 benches to date, with installations spread throughout the community and in places as far away as Seattle and North Carolina. The Lawrence project added 20 more benches to that list, reinforcing how the city has become the center of a long-running public art effort that blends youth employment with visible neighborhood improvement.
Van Go has made the unveiling an annual event. A similar Benchmark celebration took place July 28, 2023, when 20 more custom benches were unveiled, including two dedicated to Pinckney Elementary School after the school closed at the end of the previous school year. Friday’s turnout suggested the work has settled into the rhythm of Lawrence arts life, drawing families, organizers and neighbors to see the finished pieces in person.
For Lawrence, the appeal is practical as much as artistic. The benches add color and personality to public spaces, but they also serve a basic civic need: places to rest, meet and stay awhile. By putting young people to work on benches that will live in the community for years, Van Go has turned arts funding into something residents use every day, one bench at a time.
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