Two local organizations are partnering to create a new piece of public art at the Orange County Animal Services Center on Eubanks Road. 
The Orange County Arts Commission (OCAC) and the Animal Services Center are raising money to commission an outdoor 3-D sculpture outside the main entrance of the Animal Services Center, said Lynne Albert, chairperson of the public art committee of OCAC.
She said the OCAC has been searching for a new site for a public art project for over a year, and the Animal Services Center seemed like the perfect place.
“We had previously commissioned ‘Sit and Stay’ (sculptures) at the Animal Services Center and someone suggested we contact them to see if they had any space," Albert said. "We contacted Bob (Marotto) to see if they were willing to raise money for the project and he agreed."
Bob Marotto, director of animal services at the Animal Service Center, said he was thrilled when the OCAC approached him regarding the new sculpture. He views the project as a means of increasing community involvement and interaction with the center.
“The mission of the Orange County Animal Shelter is to help animals and people both, and I think that adding art helps us to continue to nourish the very goal to make Orange County Animal Services a destination,” Marotto said. “There’s this whole historical transformation that our shelter locally has been part of to recreate animal shelters and animal services centers as a positive, desirable part of our community, and I think that this is a part of the ongoing process."
$5,000 needs to be raised to complete the project, Marotto said.
The OCAC has pledged to match the amount that the Animal Services Center raises up to $2,240, he said.
Once the funds are raised by the Dec. 31st deadline, the OCAC will reach out to local artists who will submit proposals for the project. One artist will be selected by the OCAC to construct their piece.
