Mayor Brown participated in an unveiling of a new piece of Knoxville public art to honor educators entitled "Pedagogy." The piece was sculpted by renowned Tennessee artist Julie Warren Conn and was unveiled in a ceremony at the Knoxville City County Building on Thursday.
The sculpture installed in the lobby of the City County Building is a work in stone including books entitled: "Discovery. Enlightenment. Truth."
The piece was commissioned by alumni of Leadership Education, a program developed in 1988 by the Knoxville Chamber to honor educational leaders from Blount, Anderson and Knox counties. After the program ended in 1998, graduates of the program formed an alumni organization to continue honoring superior educators in East Tennessee.
"This wonderful sculpture by Julie Warren Conn will be a permanent reminder to the Knoxville community of the influence our educators have in shaping future generations," Dr. Bergein Overholt, co-founder of the Chamber's Leadership Education program, said. "We can look at this sculpture and remember the educators who helped us to become who we are today."
Representatives of the Leadership Education alumni organization and the superintendent of Knox County Schools, Dr. Jim McIntyre, spoke at the ceremony. McIntyre said he is honored to support the project and introduce the sculpture at the unveiling ceremony.
"We are so fortunate to have excellent educators in the Knox County Schools who work tirelessly every day to provide an outstanding education to the children of this community," McIntyre said. "This permanent display will bring well-deserved honor and recognition to our remarkable teachers."
The artist, Julie Warren Conn, Knoxville Mayor Daniel Brown, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, County Commissioner Ed Shouse, City Councilman Duane Grieve, City Councilman-elect Finbarr Saunders and Knox County Sheriff J.J. Jones also attended the unveiling, along with educators and community leaders.
In addition to the sculpture in the City/County Building, Conn's artwork is also featured locally at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville Convention Center, KUB Headquarters and the University of Tennessee.