A variety of pop-up art installations in downtown Salina are closing out National Arts & Humanities Month in the city.
Salina Arts & Humanities (SAH) commissioned eight local artists to create pop-up installations in downtown Salina to celebrate National Arts & Humanities Month and to inspire others about how the arts can be created at home and in safe ways during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the installations are still available to view and will remain through Saturday. The downtown arts installations by artist, title and location are as follows.
●Cori Sherman North, yarn, “Waiting for the Green New Deal” at 131 N. Santa Fe Ave. Giant vines and leaves are woven across a framework in a colorful, autumnal spectrum of green, yellow, gold, orange, red, and brown, that ends with skeletal leaf remains. North said, “I see this work as showing the seasons passing, as we anxiously await concerted action on our climate crisis.”
●Marideth Highsmith, yarn, “Labyrinth for a Feast” at Spilman Plaza, 228 S. Santa Fe Ave. Since Halloween is a favorite holiday for her, when asked to do a yarn installation, Highsmith found the perfect yarn and location for a huge spider web. Highsmith said, “Spider webs have always been fascinating to me; so much beauty and time put into something used to catch a spider's food.”
●Danielle Houltberg, yarn, “Hope of the Honeybee,” also in Spilman Plaza, 228 S. Santa Fe Ave. Houltberg said, “My inspiration behind this work stems from my interest in the work being done to save the world’s bee populations. It uses the connection between current research on the positive effects mushroom mycelium have on virus reduction in honey bees, and the hope this discovery offers for turning around their population decrease.”
●Darren Morawitz, chalk, “Kraken,” Phillips Plaza at 136 N. Santa Fe Ave. Inspired by his interest in Greek mythology, Morawitz said, “I wanted my piece to interact with the environment and create a more immersive experience with the viewers. This creature of myth had a great avenue for me to use its tentacles to wrap and crawl among the pavement and stones.”
●Kimberly Vega, chalk, “Ofrenda, Opfergabe, Offering,” in the plaza next to Ad Astra Books & Coffee House, 141 N. Santa Fe Ave. Depicting and celebrating the lives of loved ones who have passed, Vega said, “To keep the cultures of my children alive, I have re-searched and participated in many events. One of our beloved events is Day of the Dead celebrations. As I worked on this piece with my daughter, we paid homage to those we have loved and admired.”
●John E. Epic, poetry with chalk and Rainworks, “Concrete Poetry,” Ad Astra Books & Coffee House, 141 N. Santa Fe Ave., at the Flower Nook at 208 E. Iron Ave., and at Spilman Plaza, 228 S. Santa Fe Ave. Epic said “The three poems were written as epiphanies during turbulent times in my life… I am hopeful that my articulation will be a light to those still experiencing darkness.”
●cash hollistah., poetry with Rainworks, “Words of an Unfamous Poet,” Strand Plaza at 118 S. Santa Fe Ave. Pays tribute to the late Kaci King, a Kansas poet and spoken-word artist, whose poem "If My Words," gives a hopeful voice to unrecognized poets and artists.
●Lori Brack, poetry on sticker paper, “Poet-Tree,” downtown greenery. Brack used excerpts by American poets in trees in her week-long installation “Poet-Tree” at five locations downtown. “These poems speak kinds of hope that aren't always easily defined,” Brack said. During the week of October 10, the “Poet-Tree” poems were placed daily, with location clues posted to social media.
National Arts & Humanities Month, established in 1993, is celebrated every October in the U.S. It is designed to encourage communities, families and individuals to explore new facets of the arts and humanities and help them begin or strengthen lifelong habits or arts participation