Have you found NuPenny yet? Unraveling the mystery of Lawrence’s newest art installation
A curious neighbor investigates the NuPenny toy store at a dead end in East Lawrence in this time-lapse image taken Tuesday evening. by Journal-World Photo
Those cruising around the outskirts of East Lawrence (or social media) in the past few days may have noticed an eye-catching new addition to the area's normally unassuming landscape.
Venture out past the Douglas County Fairgrounds and you may come across a Space Age-y kiosk filled with chrome-colored playthings like rocket ships and cars jutting out from the concrete.
Created by Wichita artist Randy Regier, the quasi-toy shop is actually a traveling art installation called "NuPenny's Last Stand," and has made appearances in Florida, Arkansas, Maine, Illinois and right here in Kansas in the last decade or so.
Since Friday, it's been parked "somewhere" in Lawrence, say Spencer Museum of Art staffers, though they're not revealing where exactly until Regier himself comes to Lawrence on Saturday because they want people to seek it out for themselves as kind of an art scavenger hunt. It might be easier to find at night, when the thing lights up like a radioactive UFO.
As part of the Free State Festival and the Spencer Museum's At Large program, Regier will set up shop at "The NuPenny Home Office" from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday outside the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. While there, he'll interact with visitors and draw maps that lead to the art installation.
If you can't make it Saturday, keep an eye out for a larger story on the Spencer Museum At Large program (and the NuPenny) in this Sunday's Journal-World.
