Art at the Patriot Plaza in the Sarasota National Cemetery

Telling stories through art for generations to come by Ann Wykell Editor's Note: Ann Wykell is the art consultant on Patriot Plaza, the ceremonial amphitheater at Sarasota National Cemetery. Ann will be guest blogging about the process to incorporate commissioned art at Patriot Plaza. Four artists are creating original art for Patriot Plaza. Each  project is very different. Each, in its own way, will engage visitors and achieve the goal of Patriot Plaza – to inspire visitors to honor the service and sacrifice of Americans who have served and their families, and inspire pride and patriotism and embrace freedom. Each artist began their individual creative process by studying the Art Plan posted on The Patterson Foundation website that defined the goals of art and explained the themes that were to be addressed. Artists need this kind of information to be able to design something that is specific to a site. There are many places related to the military that have some kind of art. Sometimes the art in these places seems interchangeable. For Patriot Plaza, we wanted familiar themes but original ways of expressing those ideas. So we had to explain to potential artists what our project is about in more detail. The Art Plan states:  Patriot Plaza is being developed as a space where art can tell stories to future generations. Click to read the article on the Patterson Foundation Blog. Art honoring our Military at the Arlington National Cemetery Art honoring our Military