E. M. Ford and Company, an independent insurance agency, became a lifetime sponsor of the Cascade art piece located in the lobby of Kentucky’s Owensboro Convention Center, according to venue manager Global Spectrum.
“We are very excited and thankful to have E.M. Ford and Company be our first public art sponsor here at the Convention Center,” said Dean Dennis, general manager, Global Spectrum. “It is wonderful to have the Ford family, long associated with doing great things for this community, to have selected our beautiful facility to carry on that legacy.”
E.M. Ford and Company and their employees are proud to sponsor the Cascade at the new Owensboro Convention Center. The company wanted to celebrate its 90 years in business by making a commitment to the community’s future also.
“We think it’s an exciting and special way to say thank you to our friends, neighbors, customers and fellow citizens while upholding our first principle of doing business: service. We consider service not only to our customers but also to our community as a whole. E. M. Ford and Company appreciates this opportunity to say thank you through this sponsorship and hope that we can all enjoy this beautiful work of art for many generations to come,” said Steve Ford, E. M. Ford and Company.
E. M. Ford and Company committed $30,000 for this lifelong sponsorship, and will have a beautifully designed artwork recognition plaque positioned in the Convention Center’s lobby. A unique element of this sponsorship is that E. M. Ford and Company has agreed to share the Cascade with the local community. Pieces of the artwork will be sold to individuals and families, giving them the opportunity to have a presence in Western Kentucky’s largest convention center. Because of this unique element of the sponsorship, the piece will be renamed the E.M. Ford Community Cascade.
Cascade hangs from the lobby ceiling and is placed prominently to take full advantage of the southern exposure and large windows in the building. The fused blue and green stained glass are comprised of both iridized and translucent colors and are curved to offer a contrasting complement to the more angular lines of the center’s architecture.
The glass pieces range from 6mm to 9mm in thickness and are suspended from stainless steel cables; the 157 pieces vary in size from 18-30 inches in length. Kentucky artist Dan Neil Barnes created the beautiful work and installed it earlier this year. He along with other Convention Center artists was introduced to this project by local gallery Studio Slant.
