Newly decorated downtown plaza shines with local art

Think of it as a mini seasonal SculptureWalk.

The newly decorated MarketBeat Holiday Plaza in downtown Sioux Falls at 12th and Phillips next to the federal courthouse now is home to a herd of a half-dozen fiberglass reindeer.

Each is designed with an original painting from a local Sioux Falls artist.

“We’re making an effort to make sure the things we plan really involve the community, and local art is such a big part of that,” said Tenley Schwartz, the marketing and content coordinator for Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. “We went through a request for proposals and just put it out to the Sioux Falls Arts Council, and they helped us out and got some really great artists and a good variety.”

Schwartz, who does commissioned artwork including illustration and comics, designed and painted one of the reindeer herself.

The artists received a white doe or stag and had to take it from there.

“It was a fun challenge,” Schwartz said. “I usually paint really small things on paper, so a giant shiny deer is different.”

With some help from Norberg Paints, she prepped the surface and had 30 minutes to paint.

“It was just a fun challenge and really satisfying to work on it and see it installed in the plaza and just fun to have it in the company of such great artwork from other people,” she said.

One of those is longtime Sioux Falls sculptor Cameron Stalheim, who also thought it sounded like a fun challenge.

“I wanted to do something really colorful and that expressed the joy of the season, so I went with bright colors and was really textural in my expression,” he said. “It has rainbows, and some legs have some drips coming down.”

Working on fiberglass was tricky “because it’s so smooth,” he added. “I had to sand it down really well, prime and do the paint on top, so we’ll see. Hopefully, it will hold up with South Dakota winters.”

For artist Emilie Nettinga, who also owns the art and antique appraisal business Earmark Evaluations, her stag took on significance for the season.

“I normally am a Christian artist, so I usually go in a direction of positive,” she said.

“A white stag in really old history and different legends and mythology, they have a real positive and Christian background, and you can find it in the background of a lot of cultures. So I went with that and the story behind how when people see white deer how it means positivity and purity and good things. I thought that would be a good message for this time of year and the time we’re in right now.”

Other featured artists are Zach DeBoer, Kristin Peterson and J. White.

In addition, the MarketBeat Holiday Plaza includes a snowman selfie stop.

There’s also a big mailbox for letters bound for the North Pole.

And already, there has even been a proposal reported under the glowing arch.

“We’re thrilled to see how the MarketBeat Holiday Plaza has come together. The participating local artists did a great job painting the reindeer, and the community response has been great as well,” said Matt Paulson, founder and CEO of MarketBeat.

“We hope to be able to add more elements next year and make it a grander experience for the Sioux Falls community.”

Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. will officially “unwrap” the plaza from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday with treats and cider for the first 40 guests.

“People are excited,” Schwartz said. “It kind of snuck up on people. They didn’t realize it was there. After the Parade of Lights, there were all these people walking to their cars, and they realized there’s photo stations, we can get the kids putting their faces in the snowman, get photos for Grandma and hang out under the ornaments. So that was just so fun and tied in so well and is really doing its job of activating the plaza.”

Nettinga plans to take her kids, who are still a little bummed they had to give up their resident reindeer.

“They got to live with the deer in our house a few weeks, so they’re excited but used to it,” she said. “It’s been really cool. I really enjoyed doing it.”