LIFE IMITATING ART: ENTER TO WIN SCULPTURE LOOK-ALIKE CONTEST!
- Simsbury Chamber Announces Public Art Trail Photo Competition-
The Simsbury Chamber of Commerce is hosting its first ever Public Art Trail this summer. The project, which started on May 15th, features 32 bronze sculptures, and has drawn tens of thousands of visitors from all over the U. S. to Simsbury’s gardens and streets to catch an eye of these life-like figures.
Visitors can always be seen along the Hopmeadow Street sidewalks, as they visit each one, often taking pictures alongside them.
After three months of displaying the sculpture works of artist Seward Johnson, the Simsbury Public Art Trail will be hosting a “Sculpture Look-Alike Photo Contest” from now through the art trail’s closing date of October 27, 2018. Pose alongside your favorite sculpture or snap a selfie, and submit your best pictures toinfo@simsburycoc.org.
“We are thrilled with the success that the Simsbury Public Art Trail has achieved this summer,” said Lisa Gray, Executive Director of the Simsbury Chamber of Commerce. “Now we’re giving everyone one final chance to show us their creativity and submit their best shots!”
The winner of the contest will be announced on the main stage at The Richman Chili Challenge on Saturday, October 27th. The winner will receive a $100 gift card to Fitzgerald’s Foods.
The sculptures have been worked into the town’s landscape to echo everyday activities, and are meant to catch the eye and call attention to small pleasures and encounters. The initiative was originally scheduled to conclude on September 15th, but, after the incredible success and publicity generated around the display, it was extended until Saturday, October 27th.
The six-week extension of the project did not come without drawbacks, including additional expenditures not originally anticipated. For this reason, the Simsbury Chamber is still working to acquire donations and sponsorships to cover the cost of the project. Individuals can make donations right on the project website, HERE. For sponsorship information, contact Lisa Gray at info@simsburycoc.org or call (860) 651-7307.
ABOUT SEWARD JOHNSON
Seward Johnson is an artist, an advocate for the arts, and a philanthropist. His “Celebrating the Familiar” series was first exhibited in 1992 at the New Jersey State Fairgrounds, which he believed would attract people who didn’t like traditional museums. Johnson is the grandson of Johnson & Johnson co-founder Robert Wood Johnson. At age 38, his wife encouraged him to try sculpting, and his first sculpture, “Stainless Girl,” won a national contest sponsored by U.S. Steel. Johnson’s “Celebrating the Familiar” series consists of painted bronze people doing ordinary things in daily life. The sculptures celebrate Americans being Americans, and they can be found in plazas and parks across the country, as well as in Italy and China. Johnson was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2013. His works can be found HERE For further information about the event, visit the event website HERE