Dublin art project appeals to treasure hunters

Featured on dispatch.com

Last year, avid geocachers Chris and Laura Fry were looking for a chance to introduce their three girls to the hobby they enjoyed.

The Dublin Arts Council provided the opportunity.

In 2007, the council initiated its Riverbox project, which commissioned artists to create works that were tucked away in various Dublin parks, awaiting discovery by geocachers who search for objects using GPS coordinates.

By 2013, when the Fry family of Gahanna first heard about Riverboxes, the project consisted of 10 pieces of art.

“We did all 10 in a day, and the kids loved it,” said Chris, father of Emerson, 11; Natalie, 9; and Arden, 7.

The children are eager to participate in the next phase of the project, their dad said. 

On Saturday, Dublin arts officials will dedicate the newest three pieces of art during a celebration at the city municipal building.

Many people have already discovered the three Riverboxes, which have been in place since late spring, said Dublin Arts Council executive director David Guion. 

Saturday had already been scheduled as the city’s Scioto River cleanup day, but it is also International Geocaching Day.

“It seemed like a good day to introduce people to the Riverbox concept,” Guion said.

The concept goes well beyond what most geocachers experience. Not only do explorers find intriguing pieces of art, but the boxes that accompany the works include explanations from the artist, and a journal in which people can share their thoughts.

“One of the hopes in creating this program is that we would have more interactive public art,” Guion said. “We have a lot of static public art, but with these (Riverboxes), you can interact with them in a meaningful way.”

The arts council is making Saturday’s event even more meaningful by encouraging participants to clean up the parks by providing visitors with “Cache In, Trash Out” kits.

Also, the three artists who created the newest Riverboxes will be on hand from 9 a.m. to noon to discuss their works.

For the first time with the program, Dublin commissioned artists who are students at Ohio universities.

“This was a wonderful opportunity for me,” said artist Thomas Ansel, who will graduate from Ohio University with a general-arts degree this month. “It’s one of the biggest and most important things in my career.”

Ansel created the “Caementum Charta” Riverbox, in Donegal Cliffs Park.

About 10,000 people check out the Riverboxes each year, Guion said. The works can be “discovered” only once, but some people revisit them.

The Frys have done that. Chris said his girls like to go back and read the journals to see whether they recognize any other visitors.

“If you tell your kids, ‘Hey, let’s go for a hike in the park,’ most of the time they’ll groan because it’s exercise,” he said. “But if you say, ‘Hey, let’s go find this hidden treasure’ – suddenly it’s a game, and they’ll go back again and again.”