The Pedestrian Art Project is a public sculpture program intended to serve as an economic, cultural, and visual stimulus for downtown Wilmington. The non-profit organization, CreativeWilmington, under the sponsorship of City of Wilmington Parks and Recreation Department, has selected sites in the Central Business District (CBD) of downtown Wilmington to make art accessible to the general public.

Five sculptures will be placed at:

Riverwalk, at the entrances to the scenic walkway along the Cape Fear riverfront
Bijou Park located on the 200 block of North Front Street

The outdoor sculptures selected for exhibition will demonstrate a wide range of artistic styles, themes, and mediums, and they will challenge viewers’ concepts of space, form and imagination.

The enhancement of Downtown Wilmington’s Central Business District with public art is viewed as an essential asset to our community. A true “mixed use” center, the CBD is home to 189 retail businesses that contribute $142 million to the economy of the city annually. Over 1.6 million tourists visit the CBD each year, enjoying the many amenities of the area that include the River Walk, a beautiful river front park. The Wilmington Vision 2020 Plan: A Waterfront Downtown suggests the following modes of implementation:


Develop and expand a series of waterfront parks with public art and interpretive exhibits along Riverwalk.

Refinements to the Riverwalk and additional open space areas and entry points can help activate the waterfront.

Restaurants, shops, and housing support and benefit from parks and usable open space. Well-designed parks have been proven to stimulate new neighborhoods and serve as catalysts for new investment.