A site design for for the Wheeling Gaunt sculpture installation at Hilda M. Rahn Park was presented to Council in June 2021. (Illustration by Nadia Malarkey; drawing not to scale)
Documentary highlights Wheeling Gaunt sculpture
- Published: June 20, 2025
A new documentary chronicling one of Yellow Springs’ most historically significant public art efforts will make its premiere this weekend.
“The Wheeling Gaunt Sculpture Project,” a 21-minute film documenting the creation of the village’s tribute to local 19th-century philanthropist and formerly enslaved man Wheeling Gaunt, will be screened Saturday, June 21, at 2 p.m. at the Little Art Theatre, followed by a Q&A moderated by Kevin McGruder. Admission is free.
The documentary was created by former Antioch College student Khalil Nasar in close collaboration with Jerome Borchers, vice president of the YS Arts Council, the body that oversaw the creation of both the sculpture and the documentary.
“Our whole intention with the sculpture was to get more folks to learn about and acknowledge this incredible person,” Borchers told the News this week. “We think the documentary can help do the same thing.”
The documentary begins by presenting a brief history of the life of Gaunt, and goes on to tell the story of how the community rallied to create the six-foot-tall bronze statue in his honor. The sculpture’s creation was aided by The 365 Project, YS Historical Society, YS Heritage, YS Arts and Culture Commission, the Chamber of Commerce, YS Schools and the YS Community Foundation, as well as scores of individual residents who provided support.
“Something I feel is important about the film is that it really shows the community effort that went into this,” Borchers said.
After four years of planning, the Wheeling Gaunt sculpture was unveiled on Oct. 2, 2021. The statue of the 19th-century village resident and formerly enslaved man stands at Hilda M. Rahn Park. Pictured here uncovering the statue are, from left, YSHS students Malcolm Blunt, Gini Meekin (obscured), Aamil Wagner and Malaya Booth. (Photo by Kathleen Galarza)
The statue was unveiled Oct. 2, 2021, in Hilda M. Rahn Park, at the corner of Dayton Street and Xenia Avenue. Facing north, the statue honors Gaunt’s life and legacy, which includes his gift to the village of the land locals now call Gaunt Park.
The path to the statue’s completion was a four-year undertaking. In 2017, local historian Steven Deal and artist Nancy Mellon — whose village home on Walnut Street was once owned by Gaunt — approached Borchers with the idea of creating a sculpture.
Mellon, who was then gallery director for the Arts Council, suggested that the group enlist local sculptor Brian Maughan to help bring the vision to life.
Maughan, a nationally recognized sculpture artist, created a bust of Wheeling Gaunt that was unveiled in 2017. He began work on the full sculpture in the following years, but the project faced delays during the pandemic. In August 2020, Maughan died at the age of 78, with the sculpture unfinished. Within a few months of Maughan’s death, his son, Anthony Maughan, took on the responsibility of completing the statue.
Early on, Borchers said, the Arts Council had no clear plan or budget to create a documentary, but had been informally gathering photos and video clips. Once Khalil Nasar joined the effort, past footage and photography — captured by Cameron James, Elias Kelley, Christine Klinger, and Nadia Malarkey — was woven into a narrative.
The filming and editing process took over a year to complete, Borchers said, with several edits being completed in that time. Feedback was given by filmmakers Steven Bognar and Joanne Caputo, the latter of whom served as project manager for the sculpture early in its conception.
The documentary includes interviews collected by Nasar with Borchers; Cheryl Durgans, who served as project manager for the final two years; historian Kevin McGruder; and John Gudgel of The 365 Project. It also features footage of both Anthony and Brian Maughan, with reflections from Marie Hertzler, Brian’s wife.
In its way, Borchers said, the documentary aims to serve as a kind of memorial to Brian Maughan as an artist, as well as a lasting historical record of Wheeling Gaunt’s life and his continued impact on the Village of Yellow Springs, both materially and as part of its identity.
“With the way they’re wanting to rewrite the history of African Americans, this will be a document nobody can change,” Borchers said. “It’s important for local people, but we feel it might be important beyond here.”
YS Arts Council President Valerie Blackwell-Truit said the nonprofit organization also hopes the documentary will help revitalize the group’s membership and programming.
“Like a lot of other nonprofits and businesses, it’s been difficult to bounce back since COVID,” she said. “We’re really hoping this project and our collaborations will keep the Arts Council at the forefront of people’s minds.”
Looking ahead, she added, the YS Arts Council aims to revive and sustain the Arts Alive series, which regularly invited artists to perform for the community, and First Friday Art Strolls, which were popular pre-pandemic. YSAC also aims to strengthen its volunteer base, particularly to act as gallery hosts for the Robert F. Baldwin Jr. Gallery, and to expand its permanent collection. As the News reported earlier this year, the YS Arts Council is now the operating organization for PorchFest, which returns to the village Saturday, Sept. 20.
Ultimately, Blackwell-Truitt said, community support through membership will help ensure that the YS Arts Council can continue to serve as a creative hub.
“With the release of the Wheeling Gaunt Sculpture Project video, we hope this will encourage people to support, and continue to support, the work we’re doing,” she said.
For more information on membership, volunteer opportunities or how to make donations to the YS Arts Council, go to http://www.ysartscouncil.org.
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