Celebration Pointe welcomes Bounce sculpture at Alachua County Sports & Events Center 

Workers attach a basketball to the Bounce sculpture outside the Alachua County Sports & Events Center on Thursday.
Workers attach a basketball to the Bounce sculpture outside the Alachua County Sports & Events Center on Thursday.
Photo by Glory Reitz

Workers installed the new “Bounce” sculpture outside the Alachua County Sports & Events Center on Thursday morning. The sculpture, created by Alachua County-based artist Jenn Garrett, is one of three artworks funded by the county’s Art in Public Places program. 

The one-ton sculpture is intended to celebrate “the vitality of sportsmanship,” according to a press release. It features basketballs, volleyballs, cheer pompoms and pickleballs, caught in the middle of a bouncing motion. Each ball is three times larger than life. 

Garrett said she expects the sculpture to be a photo opportunity for visitors and athletes. 

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Artist Jenn Garrett instructs a worker on placement for the Bounce sculpture outside the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe on Thursday.
Photo by Glory Reitz Artist Jenn Garrett instructs a worker on placement for the Bounce sculpture outside the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe on Thursday.

“As an Alachua County resident, it is an honor to celebrate and commemorate the opening of the Sports Event Center with a monumental scale sculpture,” Jenn Garrett said in the press release. “I hope this project will highlight our local vibrant arts community.”   

Garrett partnered with local businesses, including Boone Welding, JWM Engineering and Viking Construction to fabricate and install the sculpture. 

Garrett’s other works can be found in permanent and private collections throughout the southeast United States. She has filled public art project commissions for Orange County, Stetson University, Mercer University and the US Army Corps of Engineers. 

Closer to home, the Cade Museum of Invention and Creativity also showcases some of Garrett’s work. The series of 22 sculptures on the path around the museum in Depot Park, and the interactive color-changing sculpture “Nautilus,” inside the museum, are both products of Garrett’s hand. 

Workers attach a pompom to the Bounce sculpture outside the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe on Thursday.
Photo by Glory Reitz Workers attach a pompom to the Bounce sculpture outside the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe on Thursday.
The balls represented on the Bounce sculpture are three times larger than their real-life counterparts.
Photo by Glory Reitz The balls represented on the Bounce sculpture are three times larger than their real-life counterparts.
The Bounce sculpture's central location by the Alachua County Sports & Events Center is expected to make it a good photo opportunity for visiting athletes.
Photo by Glory Reitz The Bounce sculpture’s central location by the Alachua County Sports & Events Center is expected to make it a good photo opportunity for visiting athletes.

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