Above: The annual outdoor art exhibit will open with viewing of works being installed along trails this Saturday. (top “theme” image created by the exhibit juror, bottom images contributed of “Lollipops” by Bridie Wolejko and “Empathy” by Madeline Lord)
The 7th Annual Art on the Trails will be open to the public this weekend through mid-September. The kickoff this Saturday is a special daylong event with the public invited to view artists installing sixteen works. This year, organizers have added more reasons to join them:
Meet traveling musicians along the way, visit the meditation hut for a bite to eat. The event is free and open to the whole family, including your family dog!
Southborough Open Land Foundation hosts the summerlong exhibit alongside trails at Beals Preserve. The installation event runs from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm this Saturday, June 10th.
The opportunity to speak with artists about their intentions and inspiration may especially be of interest to anyone interested in trying their hand at writing poetry to be included in this year’s chapbook.*
The announcement states:
The Southborough Open Land Foundation is pleased that the Elaine and Philip Beals Preserve serves as the beautiful backdrop for the 7th Annual Art on the Trails. It is fascinating to see the intersection of art and nature as various aspects of the preserve serve as inspiration for the artists’ creations.
This year’s juried exhibit invited applications under the theme “Transformation”. Sixteen sculptural installations were selected by Sculptor Sarah Alexander, Creative Director, Hopkinton Center for the Arts. She’s quoted as stating:
It is always a challenge to select from many excellent submissions. I am confident that the work, while diverse in material and subject, will present a cohesive show along the trails of the Preserve. I look forward to seeing it
installed!
For the 5th time, the exhibit includes a special group project by Neary School 4th & 5th grade students led by Art Teacher Denise Johnson. This year’s work is “Ripple Effect”, featuring 270 decorated CDs woven together. (See details in the image right.)
That installation of that piece by the Reservoir Channel crossing will kickoff the event. Other installations are scheduled to follow every 30 minutes.
Here is the schedule (with numbered references to site locations on the map below right) and the list of artists in the exhibition:
10:00 am – (#1) “Ripple Effect” by Neary School- 10:30 am – (#2) “Empathy” by Madeleine Lord of Dudley
- 11:00 am – (#5) “Dandelion” by Gints Grinbergs of Dedham
- 11:30 am – (#7) “Good Tree with its Voice” by Matthew Haberstron of Medford
- 12:00 pm – (#8) “Until” by Ted Castro of Acton
- 12:30 pm – (#3) “Cultivating the Heart” by Linda Hoffman of Harvard
- 1:00 pm – (#4) “Tilting at Windmills” by Jon Laustsen of Providence, RI
- 1:30 pm – (#15) “Emergence” by Gena Mavuli of Boston
- 2:00 pm – (#9) “Below and Above” by Alexandra Ionescu of Providence, RI in collaboration with in collaboration with August Lehrecke, Matthew P. Muller, Holly Ewald, Hope Leeson, and Maxwell Fertik
- 2:30 pm – (#11) “Lollipops” by Bridie Wolejko of Lunenburg
- 3:00 pm – (#16) “Forest Nymph” by Melanie Zibit of Shirley
- 3:30 pm – (#13) “Below the Forest” Marie Despres of Grafton
- 4:00 pm – (#12) “Pet Rock Pile” Meagan Hepp of Brighton
- 4:30 pm – (#14) “plastic landscape” Lisa Barthelson of Rutland
Two additional pieces in the exhibit (from artists who live further away) will have been installed prior to the event:
- (#10) “Perch” by Margot McMahon of Oak Park, Il
- (#5) “Bison” by Hildreth Potts of Garrison, NY
Some of the artwork will be on sale this summer, with 25% of the price to be donated to SOLF. All of the art must comply with their “Leave No Trace” policy to leave nature intact and for materials to be removed at the end of the exhibit.
This year’s exhibit is made possible through sponsorship of SOLF, the Southborough Community Fund, Ginny Martins & Associates, Middlesex Savings Bank, and Fay School.
The art will remain on display through September 17th. For a full sized pdf of the map, click here.
To learn more about the annual initiative, visit www.artonthetrails.com.
*The annual Call for Poetry has yet to be issued. But the event announcement confirms that they will solicit poems written in response to the work(s), as they have in past years. Stay tuned for more details.
