New Cambridge Exhibition Explores The Art Of Playground Design

CAMBRIDGE, MA — A new exhibition will showcase decades of playground design by a Cambridge artist.

"Joyful Anarchy: Mitch Ryerson – Playgrounds" will be on display at Cambridge Arts' Gallery 344 from Monday, Sept. 21 through Thursday, Dec. 31. The exhibition will explore how artist Mitch Ryerson's play spaces take shape from initial sketches to finished structures. Models, drawings and full-scale pieces will be featured, including a centerpiece structure that visitors are invited to climb on and play with. A free reception is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Gallery 344, located at 344 Broadway.

Ryerson has designed a number of playground structures and other public pieces throughout Cambridge and the surrounding area. His work includes the logs, ladders and hull-like climbing structure at Alberico Park, the ship at Kemp Playground on Cambridge Common and the "Sensory Hilltop" at the Louis A. DePasquale Universal Design Playground at Danehy Park. The latter is part of the Cambridge public art collection. Ryerson has also created a timber climbing structure for the Charles River Esplanade Playspace in Boston and a bench that can be played like a marimba for the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown. His other work includes benches at Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston.

Ryerson also transformed the stump of a fallen silver maple tree on Hurlbut Street into a Winnie-the-Pooh house that remained in place for roughly two decades before being removed in 2017. He began his career building wooden boats in Maine before studying furniture design through Boston University's Program in Artisanry. His playground work has focused on handcrafted structures using natural materials as alternatives to mass-produced playground equipment.

The centerpiece of "Joyful Anarchy" is also connected to an effort to create play spaces for children affected by war. Ryerson designed and built the cube play structure as part of "Portable Play," a collaborative project involving local designers and fabricators. The project is developing structures that can be packed flat and shipped to areas where children have lost access to safe places to play. Prototypes are currently being built for camps in Jordan along the Syrian and West Bank borders, while another project is being developed for Ukraine.

Several free events are scheduled in connection with the exhibition. "Playmore" will be held at Fulmore Park at 223 Sydney St. on Thursday, Sept. 24 from 4 to 6 p.m., giving attendees an opportunity to build with an assortment of movable parts. An outdoor hands-on workshop is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the City Hall Annex Plaza at 344 Broadway. Refreshments will be available at both events and the Oct. 5 reception.

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