One 250 lb. red ball is bouncing around the globe, with the Glass City falling as its next stop. As a part of the Toledo Museum of Art’s major summer exhibition, Play Time, the RedBall Project will hop into downtown Toledo as its eighth United States location and twenty-third international host. Designed by American sculptor, Kurt Perschke, the RedBall Project travels from city to city to create a cohesive experience of imagination and community— using a single, enormous red ball.
From Barcelona to Abu Dhabi to the Glass City, Perschke selects locations to inflate the ball and allow for the town’s citizens to create a one-time only, contextual, creative experience. From Friday, August 14 – Sunday, August 23 get ready to run up against it, poke it, or simply pose next to it.
“On the surface, the experience seems to be about the ball itself as an object, but the true power of the project is what it can create for those who experience it,” Perschke said in his RedBall statement. “It opens a doorway to imagine what if?”
Please, do touch the art
Play Time established popularity and importance quickly, bringing over 60,000 visitors to the museum in June. Popular attractions include Harmonic Motion, by artists Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam and Charles Richard MacAdam, a colossal hand-crocheted net visitors can play on, and Swing Space, by artist Jillian Mayer, a swing set into a projection of the sky. These installations contribute to the exhibition’s goal of “defying traditional ideas of art viewing with pop-ups that aren’t confined to one space,” Dr. Norton-Westbrook, co-curator of Play Time, said in a press release.
Lauren Miller, college student and Play Time employee, observes the exhibition’s playful perspective every day, saying that “kids are able to touch and interact with the art, which is something that is very uncommon in the art world. My favorite part is when adults ask if they can go on Harmonic Motion or Swing Space. I always tell them that we have no age limit, and their eyes light up,” she said. “A great deal of kids think that museums are boring. Play Time has broken a lot of these stigmas. Kids now realize that art can be fun, interactive, and are genuinely interested to find out more on the backstories of Harmonic Motion, Swing Space, and Ground Control.”
Unifying a space
Since May 22, Play Time has united the city in a sense of wonder and fun. Going off campus, the RedBall Project will bring the curiosity of the exhibition into our public center.
“We wanted to challenge ourselves to find ways to even extend the experience into the community,” Dr. Norton-Westbrook said. The RedBall Project enables the Museum to do just that. “It reminds them that art can be found in places that aren’t just museums,” said Miller.
Dr. Norton-Westbrook noted “the RebBall Project also has the more serious element of helping us rethink what a city space is and drawing attention to the spaces we share and the life around them.”
Painting the town red
Perschke rode around town with TMA to uncover pockets of the city fit to inflate the Red Ball. Kicking off at The Glass Pavilion on Friday, August 14, RedBall Project will visit ten Glass City landmarks in ten days. “The larger arc of the project is how each city responds to that invitation and, over time, what the developing story reveals about our individual and cultural imagination,” Perschke stated.
Ten sites in ten days
Friday, August 14
11am-6pm at the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, 2445 Monroe St.
Saturday, August 15
8am-3pm at the Toledo Farmer’s Market, 155 S. Superior St.
Sunday, August 16
8am-3pm, across from Fifth Third Field, at the corner of Huron & Washington
Monday, August 17
11am-6pm at the Toledo Edison Building, 300 Madison Ave.
Tuesday, August 18
11am-6pm at the ProMedica Steam Plant, corner of Madison Ave. and Water St. At noon meet the mind behind the RedBall Project during an illuminating lecture as Perschke discusses the Project’s origins and the role of public art in city spaces. Panel discussion to follow.
Wednesday, August 19
11am-6pm at Roulet Jewelers, 413 Madison Ave.
Thursday, August 20
11am-6pm at N. Erie and Adams Streets, between 338 N. Erie St. & 340 N. Erie St.
Friday, August 21
11am-6pm at Boyd’s Retro Candy Store, 954 Phillips Ave.
Saturday, August 22
11am-6pm at Side Cut Metropark, 1025 W. River Rd., Maumee, Lock 1.
Sunday, August 23
11am-6pm at the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle Terrace, 2445 Monroe St.
redballproject.com/cities/toledo
