Culture

Painted Pirates Come to Town for ECU Centennial

A public art initiative known as the Painted Pirate Project is under way this year. The statues will be painted by artists and displayed throughout the city to raise money for the Fleming House and the East Carolina Alumni Association Scholarship fund.

Pirates have long been linked to the Coastal Plains of North Carolina. And if Paul Clifford has anything to say about it‚ pirates will soon be spotted on the streets of Greenville once again. As associate vice chancellor for alumni relations at East Carolina University‚ Clifford is heading up the Painted Pirate Project.

“The idea came out of the university’s centennial steering committee‚ of which I am a part‚” explains Clifford‚ who is co-chairing the project with Susanne Sartelle‚ president of the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber. “We were looking for some sort of public art project‚ and knew that similar programs have been highly successful in college towns across the country. Gainesville [Florida] has its gators‚ Athens [Georgia] has painted bulldogs‚ and now we will have our pirates.”

North Carolina artist and ECU alumnus Glenn Eure provided the original design for the 6-foot-tall pirate statues. Clifford expects the decorated pirates – which cost $2‚500 to sponsor – to be unveiled at the second annual PirateFest in April 2008.

“We have the initial model on display at the chamber‚ and a number of businesses and individuals have already stepped up to participate‚” he says. “Sponsors can choose from designs submitted by local artists or commission their own. The designs have been a lot of fun so far – from traditional pirate gear to tie-dye to mosaics.”

Following the unveiling‚ the pirates will remain on display for one year before being auctioned off. Proceeds will go toward the ECU Alumni Association scholarship fund‚ as well as the renovation of the Fleming House – which currently houses the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber offices.

“Built in 1901‚ the Fleming House was the home of Sen. James Fleming‚ who was one of the founding fathers of East Carolina University‚” Sartelle says. “Sen. Fleming actually wrote the legislation that created the school in 1907. As part of ECU’s Centennial Celebration‚ the Fleming House was renovated in 2007. Funds continue to be raised to help pay for that renovation‚ which was in excess of $300‚000.”

Sartelle says that the project offers the perfect showcase for Greenville’s pirate heritage.

“This project celebrates our heritage and will be a visible‚ tangible display of our community’s extraordinary spirit‚” she says. “We are also very excited about the attention it will bring to Uptown Greenville as we expect a number of the pirates to be displayed there. There is so much spirit and support for ECU that it is only fitting that we would choose the pirate to create a public art display.”

Story by Amy Stumpfl
Photo by Michael W. Bunch

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