18 Artists Chosen To Create This Year's Freehold Art Walk

FREEHOLD, NJ — Out of 40 entrants, 18 local artists have been chosen to create this year's Half Mile of Horses Art Walk on Main Street in Freehold.

The artists have been notified and this week they can pick up their blank canvas - in this case a horse sculpture, said Dominica R. Napolitano of the borough Planning Board.

The Art Walk brings the decorated sculptures to Main Street as a way to honor the equine heritage of Freehold Borough.

The borough is home to Freehold Raceway, one of the oldest half-mile tracks in the country. And western Monmouth County is known for its horse farms, she has said.

Thousands of people are once again expected to view and engage with the installation - and bring business to Freehold's downtown restaurants and shops.

A selection committee chose the artists after concepts were presented to the borough by May 12.

Each artist will receive a hard-coated horse sculpture. The undecorated sculptures are produced by a local company, StoneDog Studios, 17 Bannard St. #12 in Freehold.

Artists then have about four weeks to complete their design. Completed sculptures must be returned to StoneDog Studios during the week of June 26 to June 30, according to the rules put out by the borough.

Napolitano said once all artists have picked up the sculpture and provided necessary paperwork, the borough will share their names.

And their progress will be updated on the Freehold Borough and Freehold Borough Historic Preservation Commission Facebook pages, she said.

In this second annual event, the horse sculptures will be on display on Main Street from July to October.

An accompanying QR code will be attached to each sculpture base. The public will be encouraged to vote for their favorite horses.

Then, a ribbon ceremony identifying the winning horses (Win, Place and Show) will take place in front of the Hall of Records in October.

This year, there will be 18 horses on display, compared with 12 last year.

But as with last year's contest, there is no specific theme for the artists to use in decorating the now 18 horses.

"The theme was and is to get creative designs from various artists bringing their work to fruition and on display along Main Street in our downtown," Napolitano has said.