Above: The 2020 Art on the Trails exhibit “Rising Up” brought us this installation. I’m looking forward to seeing what the 2021 theme will inspire. (photo by Beth Melo of a work by Sarah Alexander*)
This summer, Southborough Open Land Foundation will again host Art on the Trails at Beals Preserve. The Call for Art window has opened. Any artist looking to be part of the juried exhibit should submit a proposal by April 15th. (Multiple entries are welcome and encouraged.)
The 2021 theme is “Mending”:
We invite artists to propose art projects that bring people together and heal. Like Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by joining the pieces with gold, and making the pottery stronger and more valuable in the process, artists are asked to consider how we can repair our fractured world through art and make our community and relationships stronger and more resilient.
This year, each selected artist will receive a $100 stipend, courtesy of the Southborough Community Fund. Selections will be announced on May 1st.
The Best-in-Show winner will receive an additional $100 prize.
Proposals can be for site-specific installations and/or pre-existing work. Installations should be sturdy enough to be displayed along the Southborough Open Land Foundation trails from June 12th/13th – September 26th.
As always, the art must leave no permanent trace to the environment and be installed without harm to surrounding trees or vegetation.
The juror for this year’s exhibition is made by Sarah Montross, Senior Curator at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. (You can read more about her here.)
Those interested in potentially applying can join a guided tour of the site and learn more on Sunday, March 14th and Sunday, March 21st at 3:00 pm. (Register on Facebook.) Or you can request a tour.
If you’re feeling inspired, or think you know someone who might be, you can check out the website here and the full submission guidelines here. (You can also look at past coverage and photos on the blog here.)
*The 2020 installation by Sarah Alexander pictured above was titled “When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey”.
