FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Art Ramble 2017 Opens in Hapgood-Wright Town Forest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Natalie VanLandingham
Contact Email: natalie@theumbrellarts.org
Website: theumbrellaarts.org

Art Ramble 2017 Opens in Hapgood-Wright Town Forest

June 2017 (Concord, MA) - The Umbrella's Arts & Environment program is excited to present Art Ramble 2017: Slow Eyes, Solace & Site, on view this summer in Concord's Hapgood-Wright Town Forest. An Opening Reception will be held at Hapgood-Wright Town Forest on July 16 from 5-7pm. For more information about other events throughout the summer, visit theumbrellaarts.org

In honor of Henry David Thoreau’s 200th birthday this exhibit encourages artists to create work that slows the viewer’s experience of the natural world. What can we learn from looking and how long does it take us to see? As a species we can now exist without stepping foot in the woods. But what happens when we do? How can makers reflect their own vision of nature to the audience in a way that reveals deeper connections, looking, and questions?

Art Ramble Curator Jenn Houle says, "Curating the 2017 Art Ramble has been a wonderful opportunity to not only work with a great group of artists but to also have the privilege to be allowed into their individual practices. I felt very lucky to have found people willing to create entirely new pieces that were site-specific and responded to this landscape. I appreciated the support of the town, the Umbrella Center, the Trails Committee and local naturalists who shared their rich resources and knowledge. It’s been a lot of work to coordinate and assemble the exhibition but it feels well worth it! The artwork fits the forest, each piece is truly unique, and all call for slower looking and closer observation of our complex natural world.

The Umbrella hopes to present a truly site-specific exhibit that reveals the natural and human history and unique character of the Concord Hapgood-Wright Town Forest through works that encourage contemplation, play, discovery, and participation. Installation, performance, and community art projects will be considered. Artists will have the opportunity to collaborate with each other, local naturalists, and historians to learn more about the area as well as Thoreau’s life and work as they consider final sites and details for their installations.