WSLR+Fogartyville Community Saves Dr. Nik’s Art Bikes

Art bikes created by one of Sarasota’s most recognizable public artists, the late William Pearson aka Dr. Nik, were saved from the scrap pile last week thanks to the efforts of the WSLR+Fogartyville community.

Photographer Jamie Stewart, a friend of the artist (who died in April), spotted the art bikes on a flatbed trailer while she was pumping gas on Aug. 8.

A scrap business had purchased the contents of Dr. Nik’s storage unit, and when approached by Stewart, agreed to sell it for $1,000. Stewart was aware that her late friend was a longtime member of the WSLR+Fogartyville community so she alerted the nonprofit in the hopes it would save the bikes.

The WSLR+Fogartyville team quickly created a crowdfunding campaign and posted it to social media. Within minutes the campaign was fully funded, almost entirely by one person, Donna Pickup, who wrote with her donation, “I love Dr. Nik’s art!”

When reached by phone by WSLR News, Pickup said, “I just enjoy coming across his bikes. It just gives me pure happiness. And I ride my bike all over Sarasota, so whenever I pass one of his bikes, I make sure I stop and … I’ve always been, since his passing, I’ve been concerned about what’s going to happen to his bikes and if they’re going to be maintained. And I didn’t really know  who to reach out to. So when I saw your post, I was like, ‘Oh, this is perfect.’”

The business on Aug. 9 delivered to Fogartyville a dozen bikes, along with metal marionettes, puppets, paintings and drawings.

The WSLR+Fogartyville team is still working on a plan for the art. The bikes and some of the other works will be installed at Fogartyville; additional art may be utilized to benefit the nonprofit’s endowment in Dr. Nik’s memory.

Photo from WSLR & Fogartyville