Summit Public Art To Host "Illumination Night" on June 24th

SUMMIT, NJ — Walk through downtown Summit these days and you’ll likely encounter some curious sights: a striking red statue modeled entirely from high-heel shoes; a fifteen-foot tall “palm tree” rising from the courtyard at City Hall; a wall-sized mural of a great blue heron keeping watch over the locals sipping coffee at Lyric Pocket Park.

These wonders are the work of Summit Public Art, a volunteer-run, donor-funded, city-based organization dedicated to bringing art to public spaces throughout Summit. Over the past two decades, SPA has installed more than 80 works of temporary art throughout the community, many by artists of national and international renown.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary season, Summit Public Art will be hosting Illumination Night, a free, family-friendly, community-wide event on Friday, June 24th. The evening kicks off at 7:00pm on the Summit Village Green (356 Broad Street) with a free guided Art Walk around town followed at 8:00 with a festive Happening on the Green featuring music, video, bubble machines, and chalk art for the kids (and adults, too).

This season’s new artworks include Time Travelers, six life-sized, otherworldly statues by Emil Alzamora; Cave Painting, a large-scale mural of clouds and sky sculpted by Donna Conklin King; Palm Tree, an impressive, semi-abstract sculpture carved from concrete, wood, and stone by Carlos Mendoza; Your Water, My Sky, a series of nine colorful interconnected banners designed by Nancy Cohen; and Between Flagships, a specially-commissioned, community-focused installation by Ronen Gamil that incorporates colors, shapes, and patterns of various flags corresponding to the ancestry of Summit residents who migrated to the United States.

This year’s tour also features visits to ongoing installations What Lifts You, the popular interactive “angel wings” mural by acclaimed artist (and Taylor Swift favorite) Kelsey Montague, and Woman in Heels by NJ native Willie Cole, whose works can currently be seen at the Newark Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and, of course, right here in Summit.

To reserve your space, please RSVP at summitpublicarts@gmail.com and let them know you will be joining the tour. No RSVP required if you are just joining in the fun on the Green!

Brought to you by Summit Public Art with the generous support of Beyond Main, Sweet Nothings, and SPA’s Community Art Experience Sponsors: Linda & Robert Flanagan, Vickie & Paul Guagliardo, Deige & Tom McLaughlin, Cheryl Barr & Tom O’Flynn, Rosen, Kelly, Conway Architecture + Design, Debi & Fred Schwarzmann; and Community & Educational Experiences Supporters: Rick & Deepa Whipple, Robert Flanagan, Margery and Archie Gottesman, John and Aimee Feeley – Lois Schneider, David Naidu, Shally Saini, Mary Birmingham, Marjorie Fox, Leslie Herman, Amy Weiss, Mukul Bishnoi.

To learn more about Summit Public Art, visit them at www.summitpublicart.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @summitpublicart.