WHEN: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. (schedule of events listed below) In case of inclement weather, performances will be moved indoors
WHERE: Horticulture Center
West Fairmount Park, 100 N. Horticultural Drive, Philadelphia, PA
FREE; pre-registration required at mwwlaunch.eventbrite.com
For more information, call 215-546-7550 or visit associationforpublicart.org
WHAT: To celebrate the expansion of its award-winning audio program Museum Without Walls™: AUDIO, the Association for Public Art (aPA) is hosting a launch party at the Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park on Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Visitors can explore the grounds of one of Fairmount Park’s hidden gems; meet some of the voices behind Museum Without Walls™: AUDIO; and enjoy live music and dancers performing in and around the artworks. The launch party is FREE and open to the public; pre-registration is required at mwwlaunch.eventbrite.com.
Phase Two of Museum Without Walls™: AUDIO features 30 new audio programs for artworks located throughout Fairmount Park and Center City. This innovative multi-platform audio program, started in 2010, now includes a total of 65 audio programs featuring more than 150 people from all walks of life who have connections to the artworks. Museum Without Walls™: AUDIO is available to the public for free on multiple platforms, including: cell phone, by calling (215) 399-9000; mobile application on iPhone or Android; or audio download/streaming audio on the official program website, museumwithoutwallsaudio.org.
Philadelphia has one of the largest outdoor sculpture collections in any American city, yet this exceptional collection too often goes unnoticed by residents and visitors. “Museum Without Walls™: AUDIO is ultimately about discovery,” says Penny Balkin Bach, Executive Director of the Association for Public Art. “The program can be a gateway to a larger cultural experience — someone might walk by a sculpture hundreds of times, without ever stopping to think much about it. But there is a distinctive story, civic effort and creative expression behind every public sculpture in Philadelphia. We’ve worked with an outstanding team of professionals to Press Contacts: Canary Promotion | 215-690-4065 Carolyn Huckabay, carolyn@canarypromo.com High-resolution images: canarypromo.com/mww2 develop a unique program to tell these stories — one that has become a model for public art in other cities across the country.”
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
4:30 p.m. Guided public art bike tour to the Horticulture Center meets at the front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This tour is for experienced, adult urban cyclists only; make your free reservation at mwwlaunch.eventbrite.com.
4:45 p.m. Trolley to launch party leaves from 12th and Market streets (outside the Marriott Hotel). Round-trip trolley tickets are $1; make your reservation at mwwlaunch.eventbrite.com.
5:00 p.m. Launch party begins. Complimentary food and drinks will be served inside the greenhouse. Attendees are invited to visit the information table to pick up a map, get a free water bottle, become a member of the Association for Public Art, and learn more about downloading the Museum Without Walls™: AUDIO mobile app. Public Art Ambassadors will be on hand to guide attendees to specific artworks in and around the Horticulture Center.
5:00 p.m. Musicians perform selections by Haydn, Schubert and Verdi, near the portrait sculptures of these composers.
5:15 p.m. Guides will lead visitors to Martin Puryear’s Pavilion in the Trees (approx. 10-minute walk; recurs at 6:15 p.m.).
5:30 p.m. Stone Depot Dance Lab performs site-specific improvisations in, around and inspired by Pavilion in the Trees (recurs at 6:30 p.m.).
6:00 p.m. Vocalist Jazimina MacNeil performs selections by Schubert (recurs at 6:50 p.m.).
6:05 p.m. Brief remarks and introduction of Museum Without Walls™: AUDIO’s voices.
6:10 p.m. Michael Stauch performs Grandfather’s Statue, Nocturne, an original composition for piano inspired by his great-great-grandfather’s sculpture Night.
7:00 p.m. Trolley leaves to return passengers to Center City.
ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC ART
The Association for Public Art (aPA, formerly Fairmount Park Art Association) commissions, preserves, promotes and interprets public art in Philadelphia. Since its founding in 1872, aPA has worked with artists, communities and civic leaders to make encounters with art a part of everyday life, creating a Museum Without Walls that is free and accessible to residents and visitors. As the nation’s first private nonprofit organization dedicated to integrating public art and urban planning, aPA has an unparalleled and pioneering history, characterized by artistic excellence, creative initiative, collaboration and civic engagement. Working closely with city agencies, aPA remains today a central resource and contributor to Philadelphia’s enduring reputation as an important place to view and experience the evolution of public art. Through aPA’s free, interactive public programs, website and publications, Philadelphians and visitors are invited to experience civic spaces enlivened by artists and art; to discover the city’s vast collection of public art; and to connect to a shared cultural legacy. For more information, visit associationforpublicart.org.