The State Capitol’s Holiday Tree is getting a facelift this year with all new ornaments.
Liz Shea-McCoy is the Director of Nebraska State Capitol’s Holiday Tree Ornament Competition. Shea-McCoy was contacted by Nebraska First Lady Susanne Shore earlier this year.
Shore told McCoy they needed new ornaments for the holiday tree as the old ones were looking tired. So Shea-McCoy, who has been doing public art projects in Lincoln since 2000, sent out a call to artists in the spring.
Out of that first round, Shea-McCoy says they chose 59 proposals. Though that was a good number, she says she didn’t feel that was representative of the artistic talent we have in the state so she put out a second call.
Shea-McCoy’s ultimate goal was to have at least 150 new ornaments in honor of the state’s recent sesquicentennial. She says when selecting artist proposals, jurors focused on designs related to Nebraska…
"And the artists could use traditional, contemporary or abstract ideas. We were looking for that component of the design and then we were also looking for scenes that could relate to the state’s diverse natural, cultural and agricultural heritage as well as its history. And perhaps an historic or cultural depiction.”
A public open house will be held on December 2nd from 1-5 p.m. at the state capitol’s rotunda to showcase the ornaments and recognize the artists.