Canal Convergence Returns to Scottsdale Waterfront

Scottsdale Public Art’s signature event Canal Convergence Water + Art + Light returns for its sixth year to Scottsdale in February and March. With the renewed support of presenting sponsors Salt River Project and the City of Scottsdale, Scottsdale Public Art brings international, national and local artists to Scottsdale to create a free, interactive and educational art event. Canal Convergence 2018 will take place at the Scottsdale Waterfront over two weekends: Feb. 23 – 24 and March 2 – 3, 4 – 10 p.m. The large-scale art installations featured at the event also will remain on display throughout the week.

“Canal Convergence is Scottsdale Public Art’s premiere annual event for February and March, with installations, activities and educational components that celebrate local and international artists,” says Kim Curry-Evans, Scottsdale Public Art director. “We anticipate record-breaking crowds attending, since what will be on view are amazing artworks reflective of Canal Convergence’s continuing growth as a destination for visitors near and far.”

Visitors will experience nine days of cutting-edge public art installations suspended above and placed throughout the Arizona Canal at the Scottsdale Waterfront. Scottsdale Public Art will present a range of educational activities and engaging events including screen-printing workshops, outdoor dance performances, community bike rides, a series of artist talks, poetry readings and a VIP preview event on Thurs., Feb. 22. Live music by local bands will be featured on Friday and Saturday nights, and guests also may enjoy the beer, wine and food garden at Soleri Plaza.

Renderings of Desert Sun by Jotta Studio

FEATURED PUBLIC ART INSTALLATIONS, WORKSHOPS AND PERFORMANCES
FOR CANAL CONVERGENCE 2018:

Reflection Rising by Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics
Reflection Rising is a kinetic, multi-color installation suspended above the Arizona Canal from Marshall Way Bridge to Soleri Bridge and Plaza. Made from 50,000 colorful ripstop nylon streamers, Reflection Rising was created to highlight the natural world by harnessing wind currents to rise and fall dramatically and evoke a sunset with its reflection in canal waters. Artist Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics is a Los Angeles-based artist specializing in immersive public art installations.

Desert Sun by Jotta Studio
Desert Sun is a large steel semi-circle placed in the Arizona Canal between Marshall Way Bridge and Goldwater Boulevard. Floating just above the water’s surface, the installation uses the reflection of the canal to complete its form into a full sphere. The sculpture will employ cycles of light and mirrors to convey the colors of sunrise and sunset. Jotta Studio was founded by Ben James in 2009 in partnership with the London-based art school, Central Saint Martins. The studio creates large-scale-installation works using elements such as light, film and kinetics to respond to space.

Globoscope by Collectif Coin
Collectif Coin has combined light, sound, mathematics and technology to create Globoscope, an installation of more than 200 luminous spheres that flicker and glow in mesmerizing patterns set to ethereal sound arrangements. Specifically arranged and programmed with each installation, this collection of one-foot-diameter spheres will use sound and light to transform and expand the Scottsdale Waterfront, offering viewers a dreamlike stroll along the canal. Collectif Coin is a multi-disciplinary art lab that uses light, sound and digital art to create site-specific artworks.

Flawless by Studio Alex — Architectural Light Experience
Flawless is a site-specific installation of more than 4,000 photoluminescent Elm leaf forms cast from transparent resin and phosphorescent pigments. During the day, the pigments absorb energy from the sunlight, giving them a bright green glow at night. Suspended by steel cables from the Marshall Way Bridge, these “falling” leaves evoke a connection to the natural world. Studio Alex — Architectural Light Experience is a collaborative based in Amsterdam and Milan. The company comprises two artists and designers: Gonzalo Bascunan and Perrine Vichet.

Barter Boat by Radar Art: Robin Schwartzman, Anna Abhau, Elliott and Desiree Moore
Barter Boat is an interactive art installation powered by creativity and the motto “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” The artists of Radar Art have traveled across the country in their “boat” to trade objects with anyone who visits their installation. Throughout Canal Convergence, Barter Boat will ask visitors to trade small possessions for an eco-friendly bag filled with curated objects collected from a previous city on their tour. Through this exchange, Barter Boat creates memorable experiences by getting people to share small pieces of their lives while shaping a new relationship to waste and exploring value without money. Radar Art is an artists’ collective interested in making connections through objects, personal narratives, conversations and social exchanges.

Poster Printing & Print Your Own Merch Workshops by Eli Richard
Phoenix-based artist and printmaker Eli Richard joins Canal Convergence 2018 to teach the public about the art of screen printing with two workshops focusing on different styles of screen printing. The Poster Printing Workshop will focus on a multi-color printing process, and participants will leave with a custom-printed poster. The Print Your Own Merch Workshop will provide visitors with the opportunity to learn how to screen print on T-shirts, bags and other fabric items they bring from home. This workshop will offer several one-color designs from which to choose, and those who don’t bring a fabric item may purchase T-shirts and tote bags from Scottsdale Public Art at the workshops. Both workshops will be free and open to the public during the weekend days of Canal Convergence.

Live Dance Performances by Nicole L. Olson: Descending Fables, (Sat., Feb. 2) and Nomad (Sat., March 3)
Phoenix-based dancer and choreographer Nicole Olson will present two dance performances during the twilight hours of each Saturday of Canal Convergence 2018. Using the large-scale art installations for both inspiration and as a stage, Olson and her team of dancers will create fun, exuberant and expression-filled moments throughout each performance. Olson began her career as a dancer and choreographer studying classical jazz at Milwaukee Ballet School. Currently, she is associate director/principal dancer of Scorpius Dance Theatre in Phoenix and performs nationally and internationally with the company.

Los Trompos by Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena
Los Trompos by Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena will return for a second year to Canal Convergence with five interactive “spinning-top” sculptures made from fabric woven in a traditional style by Mexican artisans. The fabric is stretched over the sculptures to seat several people at once. Functioning as both artwork and rotating seating spaces, each sculpture acts as a gathering place for relaxation, social interaction and entertainment.

Canal Convergence has continued to expand in both size and scope since its launch in 2012. After the February/March 2018 event, Canal Convergence will expand again and move to a new time of year. It will officially become a fall event and increase to a full 10 days starting in November 2018. The first art installation for November 2018 titled Arizona! by award-winning architects and artists Choi+Shine is already in production. To help celebrate and promote this transition, Choi+Shine will have a launch party and workshop during the February/March 2018 Canal Convergence.

Canal Convergence Water + Art + Light

Feb. 23 – 24 and March 2 – 3, 4 – 10 p.m.

Scottsdale Waterfront, between Scottsdale Road and Goldwater Boulevard

For more information, visit canalconvergence.com