Above: The public is invited to explore the “Transformation” themed art exhibit at Beals Preserve this summer. If inspired, maybe you’ll also answer their call for poetry to include in this year’s collection. (scroll down for photo credits)
Last weekend, the 2023 Art on the Trails officially opened. The public is invited to explore Beals Preserve trails to enjoy the 16 exhibits.
As is their traditions, organizers are now putting out a call to poets to be inspired by the works. Submissions are being accepted now through the end of July.
The theme for this year’s exhibit is Transformation:
Merriam Webster dictionary defines transformation as an act, process, or instance of transforming or being transformed, as to change in composition or structure, in the outward form or appearance of or to change in character or condition.
Artists were asked to consider what the word means to them and propose an installation project that reflected their interpretation. 16 works were accepted, created, and installed along the Beals Preserve Trail. (Scroll down for that list and map.) Now, poets are asked to reflect on those works.
Each year, Art on the Trails asks the public to submit ekphrastic poetry, written specifically about or inspired by the installations in the exhibition. Submissions are then reviewed and the top selections are included in the annual chapbook. (You can still find ordering information for the 2022 chapbook here.) This year, they plan to select 32 poems.
Poets whose work is selected will also be invited to read the poems at the closing ceremony at Beals Preserve on September 27th.
This year’s collection will be judged by Joanne DeSimone Reynolds. Joanne is the author of two chapbooks: Brought to Our Knees and Comes a Blossom. For more details and to submit poems, click here.
While organizers would love poets to experience the art in person, and are offering guided tours, they do offer an alternative – viewing videos of Catherine Weber’s interview of artists at their exhibits on Installation Day last week. You find those here.
For those of you who are planning to hit the trails, you may want to bring a smart phone. Sometimes exhibitors include QR codes on their exhibit signs for a more interactive experience. (Besides, bringing your phone allows you to use the map listing exhibit locations below right.)
The exhibits on the trail are:
“Ripple Effect”by Neary School- “Empathy”by Madeleine Lord of Dudley
- “Cultivating the Heart”by Linda Hoffman of Harvard
- “Tilting at Windmills”by Jon Laustsen of Providence, RI
- “Dandelion”by Gints Grinbergs of Dedham
- “Bison”by Hildreth Potts of Garrison, NY
- “Good Tree with its Voice” by Matthew Haberstron of Medford
- “Until”by Ted Castro of Acton
- “Below and Above” by Alexandra Ionescu of Providence, RI in collaboration with August Lehrecke, Matthew P. Muller, Holly Ewald, Hope Leeson, and Maxwell Fertik
- “Perch”by Margot McMahon of Oak Park, Il
- “Lollipops”by Bridie Wolejko of Lunenburg
- “Pet Rock Pile” Meagan Hepp of Brighton
- “Below the Forest” Marie Despres of Grafton
- “plastic landscape” Lisa Barthelson of Rutland
- “Emergence”by Gena Mavuli of Boston
- “Forest Nymph”by Melanie Zibit of Shirley
Art on the Trails is open dawn to dusk this summer, until the closing ceremony on September 27th from 3:00 – 5:00 pm.
(images L&R cropped from contributed photos by Chelsea Bradway of installed works by Ted Castro and Gints Grinbirg, center from Art on the Trails website)