COLORADO SPRINGS — Over the course of 25 years, Art on the Streets has installed 300 temporary art displays at the heart of Colorado Springs with 2023 seeing 12 new pieces, eight of which are from Colorado artists.
The works in the 25th annual Art on the Streets exhibition were drawn from nearly 100 proposals from artists worldwide. A total of four murals and eight sculptures were selected and will be on display until May 2024.
The goal of Art on the Streets, supported by sponsors, grants, and donations and no tax dollars; is to create a yearly rotating, outdoor gallery that gets folks to engage with downtown Colorado Springs in new and different ways year after year.
This year, the artist hailing from the farthest afield came all the way from New Zealand, installing an enormous tapestry hanging from the pedestrian bridge at The Plaza of the Rockies.
Bringing things a little closer to home, this year's gallery also saw two sculptures installed by a couple from Pagosa Springs, Kasia Polkowska and Kyle Cunniff.
"Not intentionally, jurors selected both artworks for their excellence and we ended up with a couple from Pagosa Springs who installed their sculptures on the same day and brought their kids; what a cool, memorable, family experience," commented Michelle Winchell, executive director for Downtown Ventures, the nonprofit affiliate of the Downtown Partnership that's dedicated to the arts.
Kasia's sculpture is titled Bloom II (located at Pikes Peak Ave. & S Weber St.) and is a giant, steel representation of a vibrant flower modeled after the Polish art of paper cutting; Kyle's installation is titled Casey the Terrific Tire Caterpillar (located on the south side of the Pioneers Museum) and is giant, brightly colored caterpillar constructed from up-cycled tires.
Between building out two sculptures and wrangling two small children, installation day was a bit chaotic for Kyle and Kasia. Still, apparently, it's always like that, "They've been on every single install we've ever done."
Beyond that, the kids also play the role of 'assistant' around the home workshop," So I think that's kind of fun, having our little partners always shoving their heads in wherever they can," continued Kyle.
"It's a family effort for sure," said Kasia.
Both artists hope that their family's efforts are able to bring a bit of extra joy and positivity to downtown Colorado Springs.
These two pieces (and the other ten as well) will be displayed through May of 2024 unless they are purchased and made a permanent part of downtown Colorado Springs (sort of like this sculpture).
- To find all of the new sculptures for the 2023 - 2024 season, click here!
- To check out guided walking tours, click here!
- To learn more about self-guided, audio tours, click here!
