Art on the Trails: Moving Celebration postponed to June 20th; Map posted for self guided tours

Above: The latest forecast means that the reception planned for Thursday needs to be postponed. (top image from NWS, bottom from artonthetrails.com)

Organizers hoped to hold a celebration to mark the opening of Art on the Trails tomorrow night. Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans.

Rather than asking artists and attendees to hold the “moving celebration” in the pouring rain and thunder, the event is postponed to Thursday, June 20th. The good news is, you don’t have to wait until then to enjoy the exhibit.

(You also don’t have to rush – since the exhibit will remain open through September 22nd.)

Organizers have shared the official map for the art installations along Beals Preserve trails. Click on the image right to open it. Then, explore the juried exhibit by yourself and gather your own impressions.

Then, follow up to join the group on Thursday evening of next week, to hear what the artists have to say. The June 20th reception will begin at the KIOSK near the Route 30 entrance. The free event features includes food, music and a guided tour of the installations along the trail.

It will be a great opportunity for those who want to be part of this year’s poetry chapbook. 

The public is invited to submit poems inspired by the art this Thursday through July 30th. In addition to being published, the selected poems will be part of the reception capping off the summer. During the closing ceremony on September 22nd, poets will read their works at the exhibits that inspired them.

As I previously posted, this year’s theme is Marking Territory. The press release shares:

“It was a pleasure to jury this outdoor exhibition with beautiful wooded trails and serene waterways in mind as the backdrop for the art”, said Art Juror Shana Dumont Garr [Curator at Fruitlands Museum]. “The theme, Marking Territory, will be activated in many ways, bringing forward environmental, personal, and societal concerns. Rather than drawing lines, the artists seemed most concern with artwork that enables visitors to the preserve to connect with the natural world and their community.”

To prepare for the opening, artists were busy at work over the weekend. (The photo right of  artist, Patrick Steele, installing his Rainbow Wall while “Miley” walks through it was taken by another artist in the exhibit, Chelsea Bradway. You can see a larger version of the photo on Facebook.)

Below are more details from the release:

Opening Reception Planned for June 13th for Art on the Trails at Beals Preserve in Southborough

The Southborough Open Land Foundation invites the general public to the opening reception, Moving Celebration for Art on the Trails: Marking Territory, on Thursday, June 13th [Editor’s Note – now the 20th] from 5:30-7:30 pm at Elaine and Philip Beals Preserve in Southborough, Massachusetts. The event, a moving celebration, will feature a leisurely walk along the trails to hear the participating artists speak about their work.

A juried exhibition of sculptural installations will be on view beginning June 9th and closing on September 22nd. The exhibition is juried by Shana Dumont Garr, Curator at Fruitlands Museum.

Artists exhibiting are Anne Alexander (Windham, ME), Pedro Baptista (Hopedale), Chelsea Bradway (Southborough), Alex Calhoun, (Worcester), Marie Craig (Natick), Alicia Dwyer (Winchendon), Michael Greenberg (Hopkinton), Jen Hansen (Southborough), Lanting Huang-Truong (Southborough), Denise Johnson and 257 children in grades 4 and 5 from Margaret Neary Elementary School (Southborough), Cynthia Roberts (Marblehead), Nikki Sao Pedro-Welch (Revere), Lawrence Spezzano (Southborough), Patrick Steele (Southborough), Miles Warner (Peterborough, NH), and Claire Marie Watt (New York City). . .

Deborah Costine, Vice President of Southborough Open Land Foundation (SOLF) said, “SOLF is very pleased to again host Art on the Trails at Elaine and Philip Beals Preserve. Activities such as this often bring people to the preserve who might not otherwise discover the peaceful quiet of these local woods. Our hope is that they return often and develop a fond connection for not just The Beals Preserve, but for the unspoiled beauty of wild places everywhere. People protect what they care about and we at SOLF want to protect open land and wild places.”

In addition to the installations, the program will include poetry written in response to the work and will be juried by Tishman Review founder, poet, and Westborough resident Maura Snell. A prize-winning poem will be selected from submissions by Zachary Bos, poet, and publisher at Pen & Anvil Press. All accepted poetry will be included in a chapbook along with the art installations which inspired them. Submission guidelines can be found at artonthetrails.com

The exhibition is sponsored in part by the Southborough Community Fund.