Mark your summer calendars for the Sculpture Garden Shindig taking place Saturday, July 18 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Marilyn Voss Garden for Sculpture in Montague. This is a free family-friendly, interactive event taking place during Artisan Market hours and leading into Walk the Beat. Live music will be performed in the sculpture garden by accomplished Ann Arbor-based guitarist and composer Nicholas Martin. Ceramic artists from Terrestrial Forming, Kim Funk and Peter “the Potter” Johnson will be on site mesmerizing the crowd with their wheel throwing skills. Live interactive sketching will be happening with the West Michigan Urban Sketchers, including a demo from Ann Rusky at 10:30 a.m. There will also be an art supply table for community members to try their hand at ‘plein air’ art sketching. Kids’ art activities will include a rock painting station and chalk art. There will be an info table with seed packet giveaways, Art Walk maps, concert magnets and ACWL-Nuveen swag available to purchase. A special Polaroid photo opportunity for individuals and families will take place in the onsite wooden boat that will have a unique mariner-themed backdrop painted by artist Kanda Parrott.
This event is an offshoot of the ACWL-Nuveen’s Garden Art Adventure. It was initiated by ACWL-Nuveen’s Art Walk Committee this summer because of recent improvements to the landscaping and overall design of the site. The upgrades to the garden include a new meandering sidewalk path, cement sculpture pads, three new sculptures along with new signage, native plants, rocks and trees. The sculptures were placed in the rolling contours of the indigenous dune grass landscape so viewers could discover them while they strolled through the garden. The ACWL-Nuveen’s Art Walk committee has worked closely with the City of Montague the past few years on these new upgrades to the park. Our mutual goal is to make the park visually stimulating and engaging for community members and visitors to Montague’s Artisan Market and downtown.
