Gawk at the art.

And, should you choose to do so, sit on it.

BenchMarks, a brand new City of Auburn Arts Division program, will be busy between early July and October placing artistically-altered-yet-sittable benches throughout Auburn.

Majia McKnight, arts coordinator for the City of Auburn, said the program is about building community pride and getting people to make art.

Green River College’s Carpentry Division recently built 15 benches to be blank canvasses for selected community groups to paint, carve, whatever.

“We’re really leaving it up to the artists out there to take the bench and change it to how they see fit,” McKnight said. “What I envision is some people who might have more experience with woodcarving maybe taking one of the slats and carving it a bit, maybe adhering some other carved bits to it. I have heard of a person who wants to drill holes in one and fill it with different colors of resin. There’ll probably be a fair amount of painting of the surfaces. Part of the excitement is not knowing what people will create.”

All the benches will be sealed with an outdoor-acceptable surface.

Residents get their first look at the finished works during the Fourth of July celebration in Les Gove Park.

As yet nobody, not even the City, knows where the benches will go, McKnight said, but they are to be scattered throughout the community, in accessible outdoor places, and not just in the downtown core.

The City has issued a call to community groups and artists who would like to participate. Interested parties should visit the City of Auburn Arts website (www.auburnwa.gov/arts).

Applicants will go through a selection process before they get a bench, which includes identifying a team leader and determining a theme and method of transformation. The City wants the artists to share where they think the benches should go.

The application deadline is April 13.

For information on this or other cultural arts programs, go to www.auburnwa.gov/arts.