A major attraction may be on its way to Emporia, featuring a pair of installations from renowned artist Thomas Dambo.
During KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 segment, Emporians Lucas Moody and Aaron Larson joined the program to discuss the ongoing effort to bring Dambo to the community, with hopes of him erecting a pair of his famous 20- to 30-foot troll statues, which Moody says have a large global following.
Moody began pursuing this project after seeing one of the Dambo trolls through social media.
According to Moody, the installations could cost around $1 million, with intentions of raising those funds through a combination of private donations and grant dollars. Larson noted during Thursday’s interview that one of the avenues they plan to use is transient guest tax dollars, with the group, known as the Reclaiming Giants fund, seeking $100,000 in TGT dollars over the course of four years. That request was approved by the TGT advisory board and is awaiting approval by Emporia City Commissioners, who will consider the matter next Wednesday as part of their regular meeting slate.
Should the dollars be approved, Larson says they anticipate paying them back at a quick pace.
The main purpose of bringing the installations to the community will be increasing tourism and visits to the community, thus generating more sales tax revenue. Moody, again, noted the significant following Dambo has around the world and pointed to his installations in Breckenridge, Colorado and Clinton, Iowa, as good indicators of the foot traffic Emporia could see, noting the statues generate between 60,000 and 700,000 visits per year.
At this time, Moody says they have roughly $500,000 in funds generated and are seeking additional funding sources. Once the funding is secured and a contract is finalized, the process will entail Dambo traveling to Emporia to get a sense of its history and culture, which will factor into the design process.
Moody says the community won’t have direct input on the designs; however, they will still have an opportunity to be involved with Larson, noting that assembly of the pieces will require many hands.
Current plans are to erect the trolls in Campus Woods north of Emporia State and near the Cottonwood River in Peter Pan Park. Once the installations are complete, the trolls will be available for viewing for free. As for their life expectancy, Moody told KVOE News the trolls are constructed out of “reclaimed materials,” meaning they could last for decades.
Moody says current hopes are to have at least half of the money raised by the end of the year. For more information on Thomas Dambo and his trolls, visit ThomasDambo.com.
