ArtAround Roswell is a constant work in progress, and up now are some come-as-you-are, enjoy-at-your-leisure outdoor exhibits. The second annual ArtAround Roswell Sculpture Tour features 13 works from local and international artists.
Ten sculptures are new to the tour, two are from last year, purchased as permanent gifts to the city, and then there’s “Sky Maintenance,” on the Don White Bridge at Ga. 400, a temporary gift to the city by the artist.
Last year’s nine-month exhibit was the first, with 10 on-loan outdoor sculptures installed and displayed throughout the park system. I attended one of the free public bus tours on a rainy July weekend last summer. We would have been able to depart at each stop for a closer look, but our tour was timed to coincide with a cloudburst of near biblical proportions, making it impossible to see more than a glimmer through the sheets of rain pouring outside the bus windows.
This year’s kickoff featured favorable weather at the Heart of Roswell Park on Canton Street in the historic district. The Atlanta Taiko Project, an all-percussion ensemble, entertained with original compositions and art pieces, prior to the introduction of local Atlanta sculptor, David Landis, and other performance artists.
Landis is the creator of “Sentience,” the stainless steel sculpture in the middle of the round park, the base elevated above the storm drain. As his young, tow-haired son ate cotton-candy and cast wand bubbles beyond us, Landis told me that although his work is abstract, he is inspired by and takes from nature, and that this sculpture is a bloodroot flower.
More bus tours are planned for this summer, but the first ever guided ArtAround Roswell Bike Tour will be making the rounds to celebrate National Bike Month with a tour scheduled for 2 - 5 p.m. May 21. For more information, go to www.RoswellArtsFund.org/events/ or contact www.BikeRoswell.com.
A special evening tour is in the works to accompany the First Friday Art Gallery Walks that begin in May. And as Roswell is now home to a handful of home-grown craft breweries, “Brewery and Art Walks” will also be on tap. The Roswell Adult Recreation Center on Grimes Bridge Road is planning a tour for seniors, and children can join the Recreation and Parks Summer Camp program tour. The guided tours will continue beyond the spring and summer and into October, for National Arts and Humanities Month.
You can also be your own guide by downloading the Otocast mobile guide app to phone or mobile devices, or visit www.ArtAroundRoswell.org to learn the locations and plan an inexpensive, great date or outing.
The Roswell Arts Fund raised the money to purchase “Oak Leaf Triptych,” located near the playground at Roswell Area Park, and the Roswell Wine Festival donated proceeds to buy “Smoke,” situated in Roswell Town Square Park. They’re free to view, but you’re free to purchase one, too, if your budget allows.
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