New York, NY, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prospect Park Alliance—the non-profit organization that sustains Prospect Park—is collaborating with AREA4 and Suchi Reddy of Reddymade Architecture & Design to debut a large-scale public installation in Prospect Park on the occasion of the Park's 150th Anniversary. On view July 7-17 2017, The Connective Project will transform Prospect Park's Rose Garden—a little-known landscape in the Park's northeast corner—into an immersive, engaging and ever-growing display. The piece will feature work by emerging artists, notable New Yorkers and the public at large, inspired by their love of Prospect Park.
Project website: prospectpark.org/CP150
“Our inspiration behind the Connective Project was to bring together the broader Brooklyn community with the Park in a unique way at the level the 150th anniversary deserves,” said Rory McEvoy, president of AREA4. “This is an elegant and inclusive way for people to add their unique voice to a collective undertaking - a reflection of the Park’s usage and the Alliance’s care of it.”
The Connective Project is composed of more than 7,000 individually designed pinwheels, printed with work submitted by the public. The installation creates an evolving, undulating wave of color and beauty that blankets the two-and-half acre plot, which is the focus of future restoration by the Alliance. Reddy chose pinwheels because they are universally loved objects of childhood memories, much like public parks, and evoke nature in their movement attuned to wind and natural forces.
"The installation was conceived as an architectural form that would immerse and engage the community,” said Reddy, who has long been an advocate of architecture for the people. “Architecture is accessible and tangible and easily translatable. We wanted to create something that would initiate a dialogue about the importance of public spaces, which we feel is so important right now, but also something that generates wonder and play.”
Reddy’s vision was very much influenced by the beauty and vision of Prospect Park’s designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who in 1867 transformed 585 acres of rural terrain into the urban retreat that is Brooklyn's Backyard. Now 150 years later, the Rose Garden will be experienced again in grand fashion, full of color and whimsy, a nod to the creative spirit that pervades Brooklyn and Reddy’s practice.
"Prospect Park Alliance is thrilled to be working with the team at AREA4 and Suchi Reddy on this whimsical and dynamic public installation," said Sue Donoghue, president of Prospect Park Alliance. "When we set out to plan our major events celebrating the Park's 150th, our key goal was the engage the community in the celebration, which The Connective Project achieves in a beautiful and innovative way."
The pinwheels will be constructed of weather-resistant biodegradable paper made from stone dust. The engagement with the community began with an Open Call to artists, curated by the Brooklyn Council of the Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, BRIC Arts & Media, PIONEER WORKS, MoCADA, and Russell Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. The public are encouraged to submit their photos, imagery, prose and verse inspired by the theme "what Prospect Park means to you," to the online gallery, and select pieces will be transformed into pinwheels. The public can view the gallery and submit their work at prospectpark.org/CP150 beginning on June 1.
About Prospect Park Alliance
Prospect Park Alliance is the nonprofit organization that sustains, restores and advances Prospect Park for the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home, working in partnership with the City. The Alliance was founded in 1987 to help restore the Park after a long period of steady deterioration and decline. Today, the Alliance provides a majority of the staff and resources that keep the Park green and vibrant. The Alliance cares for the woodlands and natural areas, restores the Park's buildings and landscapes, creates innovative new destinations, and provides volunteer, education and recreation programs. Today, through the work of the Alliance, Prospect Park is an international model for urban parks, and one of the premier green spaces in the United States. Learn more at prospectpark.org
About AREA4
Experts in Ideation, Regulatory, Sponsorship and Activation, AREA4 is the go to shop in NY when it comes to developing experiences that successfully connect the public and private sectors. Led by Rory McEvoy and comprised of a diverse team that has deep experience with a variety of businesses and disciplines, AREA4 offers a unique holistic understanding of event development, production, and regulatory processes to every project it is part of. Learn more at WeAreAREA4.com
About ReddyMade Design & Architecture
A leader in today’s global design culture, Reddymade Architecture and Design was founded by Suchi Reddy in 2002. The firm has been lauded for its formal experimentation, imaginative use of color and passion for new materials. Based in New York, Reddymade’s sophisticated “sense of the new” is evident in such current projects as a kinetic rain-screen facade in Chennai, India, an avant-garde, modular home in Beverly Hills, and a 264 unit condominium project in Sunny Isles, Florida. The firm’s design for the Women’s Building in New York, a center for the global women’s and girl’s rights movement, was one of thirteen finalists in the 2016 competition. Learn more at reddymadedesign.com
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ec8025bb-35fe-4a2a-bf25-bbf9d414a922
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6e63b81b-f5b5-4142-bd52-4f637557e514