BETHLEHEM, Pa. —Beneath the October sun, the sculpture’s patina black steel curves twist and rise, reaching skyward toward the iconic blast furnaces.
For local sculptor Chelsea Southard, the abstract piece — titled "Down the Line" — is far more than an artwork. It also represents local history.
“This is my hometown and I'm very proud of that," Southard said of the sculpture, which is in front of the Bethlehem Visitor Center, 711 E. First St.
"It's a true honor to have a piece in the shadow of the stacks. I can’t tell you how much this beautiful structure — and all of its history and memory — has affected my life as an artist and as a person.”
Southard's "Down the Line" was chosen as the Sculpture at SteelStacks 2025 exhibition, now in its fourth year and part of Steel Weekend and the steelworkers' reunion.
The two-day event will be held at the National Museum of Industrial History (NMIH) and on ArtsQuest's SteelStacks campus on Saturday and Sunday.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, Southard will host a free community workshop inside the East Second Street museum, where attendees can learn about her process and then create their own prototype.
"For this year's installation, we had many qualified, talented artists submit their work to be considered for this call for art," Lisa Harms, ArtsQuest's senior director of visual arts and education, said at Thursday's unveiling.
"We were very fortunate to have a strong selection committee with representatives from the South Side Arts District, NMIH, the Fine Arts Commission, as well as local artists."
'Change over time'
Southard, who was born in Bethlehem and travels between her studios in the Lehigh Valley and Mexico, is known for her sculptures and sound art pieces made with materials like metal and glass.
Her work has been exhibited locally and in Honduras, Guatemala and Germany, as well as at international art festivals including Burning Man in Las Vegas.
She began designing "Down the Line" by hand, creating a 3D model to bring her vision to life.
Once the concept was approved by the Steel Weekend Arts Sub-Committee, Southard set to work — sourcing raw steel, cutting each piece, and welding them together with precision.
“After cutting and welding all the pieces, I ground down the weld points until they were perfectly smooth," she said.
Then, she said, it was sandblasted, brought back, and assembled so you wouldn’t see any welds.
"I wanted it to look like it was coming right out of the ground and flying up into the air," Southard explained.
After assembly, the piece was finished with a black patina from Sculpt Nouveau, then pre-coated and left to cure for days until it was ready to move.
The illusion of the black steel moving upward was essential, she said.
"Down the Line" can be viewed as a metaphor for the city's transformation, as it relates to the legacy of Bethlehem Steel, which closed in 1998, and the newer vision to create a thriving arts community within the boundaries of the old plant.
“I do a lot of line work,” Southard said. “Those shapes, those forms — they’re part of how I think.
My pieces are often about change over time, how we grow and evolve, and how we forget the structure behind that growth.”
Intentionally, each curve and line in the sculpture represents a decision, or a "turn in life," Southard said.
“Every choice we make changes the trajectory of our lives."
“It changes how we move, how we rise. This piece captures a moment in that process — the act of transformation itself.”
And as in most of her pieces, the sculpture also makes some not-so-obvious sounds.
“Each line, each section, produces its own tone. A lot of my work includes hidden sound elements, and this one’s no different,” she said.
Southard's "Down the Line" is on display through October 2026 and is currently for sale. For information, contact Harms.
For more about Steel Weekend events, visit the NHIM website.
CHECK IT OUT: As part of Steel Weekend, at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Lehigh Valley Public Media will host a free screening of the PBS39-produced "Bethlehem Steel: The People Who Built America," at the Univest Public Media Center on the SteelStacks campus. It will include reflections from Andria Zaia of the National Museum of Industrial History and Bette Kovach, a retired Bethlehem Steel spokesperson. Register for a free ticket here.
