Thursday, Aug 14, 2008
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Visitors to the Port of San Diego's Embarcadero Marina Park North will soon be able to have their picnics on top of a work of art. Eight of the standard, concrete picnic tables in the waterfront park will be transformed into colorful, inspiring and imaginative visual creations as part of a public art project designed to enhance the park's image and overall usability.
The metamorphosis from blah to bedazzling will take place on Friday and Saturday, August 8 and 9, 2008 and Thursday and Friday, August 14 and 15, 2008. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on those days, artists will be working their magic on the tables.
A call to artists was sent out in March to submit proposals. Artists sent in examples of past work in addition to their plans for the concrete picnic tables. Selected proposals were chosen through a juried competition that looked for artistic merit, technical proficiency, relationship to the site, maintenance, durability and public safety.
The designs will combine function with art. Some feature mosaic tile and one includes whimsical, giant red ant sculptures. Other designs illustrate scenes characteristic of San Diego, with sea turtles, bay vistas and regional plants and flowers. One of the tables will include a tiled map of San Diego County, with a spot that indicates the exact location of the table in relation to the map.
The art picnic tables project is a temporary art exhibit which gives artists a unique opportunity to showcase their work in an outdoor venue. The artwork will remain in Embarcadero Marina Park North for one year.
The Port's Public Art Program was created in 1996 to promote a healthy, vibrant atmosphere that contributes to the quality and identity of the region. The Port enacted the first "percent for art" program in San Diego County, dedicating one half of one percent of its projected revenues each year toward a public art fund that is used for the acquisition and maintenance of public artworks on Port tidelands.
Embarcadero Marina Park North
