The Indiana State Bar Association Leadership Development Academy is calling upon artisans to design a work of public art that will both honor a leader in the Indiana judiciary and invite children to play.

For its service project, the inaugural class of the LDA has decided to solicit an original piece of art that can be permanently displayed in the new Bicentennial Park in downtown Evansville. The project will honor retired Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard for his extensive service to the state and the legal community.

“I am enormously grateful to the graduates of the LDA for committing themselves to a project that will bring so much joy to the lives of children growing up in the city where I grew up,” Shepard stated in a press release.

The idea for the service project began with the desire to expand the new wellness initiative at the state bar association, said Casey Kannenberg, LDA graduate and member of the project’s steering committee. Originally, the class thought of building a softball diamond or soccer field in a selected community to get children outside and active.

Then came the idea to do something to recognize the retired chief justice. From there, the proposals were merged into creating an interactive work of art that commemorates Shepard.

What shape the work will take is completely up to the discretion of the artist, Kannenberg said. The LDA class is imposing few rules because it does not want to stifle the creative process.

The graduates have created a competition and are soliciting proposals from students at Indiana colleges and universities which have design, art, engineering or similar programs. In addition to giving the winning student the opportunity to create a piece of art for permanent public display, the LDA will award that student a $2,000 scholarship.

Submissions are due Nov. 1, and the winning design is scheduled to be announced Dec. 3. The unveiling of the completed work is planned to take place at Bicentennial Park on July 4, 2013.

“The Indiana State Bar Association belongs to the whole state of Indiana, and we see this project as just one example of the organization reaching out and doing good works in the State’s geographic extremities,” Kannenberg stated in a press release. “We are proud to serve the Evansville community and to honor one of its most revered and respected sons.”•