ECU Student Sculptures at the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport!

Visit the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport in New Bern, North Carolina, to check out the wonderful works of art created by East Carolina University (ECU) students!

Four years ago the Craven Arts Council requested that the New Bern Airport partner with the ECU Art Department to design a unique program for Art students to promote their sculptures.

Since then, ECU professors have charged their students with creating models to be displayed in front of the Airport. The requirements for sculptures were that they had to be aviation related and be able to sustain inclement weather for at least one year.

Tom Braaten, the Airport Director and Major General, USMC (Ret) introduced the program and explained how difficult it was to select the artwork, “You want to look at it through the eyes of everybody who comes to the Airport and that’s hard because little kids like things that move and are bright. People with a few more years might like something that has a shape that appeals to them”. “So we try to select things that look really nice for the airport. This year we had 25 models and had to choose 7 pieces.”

With over 160,000 visitors in and out of the Airport, this is an incredible opportunity for the students to showcase their talents!

Special thanks to the Art students for sharing their masterpieces with our community. Especially since their models were selected on January 31st and in between they were able to manage their time to create the sculptures by March 23rd. That takes some serious commitment to their passion and schoolwork!

Thanks, Tom Braaten and his team at the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport, the Airport Authority, and Art Professors at ECU for giving these young professionals a chance to blossom!

Great job, Thea Kincaid of Thea’s Ideas, while interviewing Tom Braaten and Laura Johnson for taking the video and photos for New Bern Now of this special event! I really appreciate your support!

Check out the interview that Phil Knight did with three of the students and Tom Braaten on the Phil Knight Show!
Please feel free to comment below or send me an email. You can also check out New Bern Now’s Facebook Page!

Wendy Card