EcoArts Sculpture Walk returns; kickoff tour planned at Middletown Trailside Park
- Lake County News reports
- Posted On
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center is pleased to announce that the EcoArts Sculpture Walk, formerly held annually at the Middletown Trailside Park, will reopen with a reception June 1.
The 107-acre park, a county preserve, was burned in the Valley fire. Nine of 10 directors and half of the members of EcoArts and Middletown Art Center lost their homes. This means the 14th year of the EcoArts Sculpture Walk will be exceptionally challenging but also a unique opportunity to revitalize a local cultural and recreational gem.
On Feb. 9 from noon to 2 p.m, Cathy Koehler, ecologist and resident director at UC Davis McLaughlin Reserve, will lead a group tour of the park with focus on the 2019 Sculpture Walk location. Artists are encouraged to join the tour to gain firsthand exposure to the changed environment.
For those who can’t be there, a video of the tour will be available on the Web site. Everyone is welcome. Please RSVP to the Middletown Art Center if you plan to join.
They will meet at the center at 11:50 a.m. Call 707-809-8118, for further information or to confirm the trip due to weather.
“Recovery is the word we use when we refer to what happens after an ecosystem is disturbed like the park, which is part of a valley oak woodland ecosystem,” said Koehler. “What we hope to see is the native plants and animals returning. Thoughtful intervention on our part can assist the natural recovery.”
Artworks will address the park environment in its current state through thoughtful artistry and/or restoration including animal habitat, vegetation and our place in nature. Healing is helped through creation.
Middletown Trailside Park is located off Dry Creek Cutoff on Highway 175 approximately a mile north of Middletown. The Sculpture Walk exhibit will be located along a small portion of the south side trail of the park, encompassing about five acres once dotted with trees, shrubs and meadows.
“We are so pleased that this piece of Middletown’s cultural heritage will return,” said Middletown Art Center Director Lisa Kaplan. “Fire has informed life in Lake County for far too long. We have an exceptional opportunity to help reinvigorate the park through creative action. Projects will integrate the spirit and materials of the park and the sense of place that is Lake County.”
This year’s Sculpture Walk will exhibit art in response to an ecosystem in distress. A team of experts in ecology, land management and art has been assembled. With the return of the annual exhibit, EcoArts will focus on a more disciplined approach to ecological stewardship and the environmental part of our mission.
A call for proposals for this years’ EcoArts Sculpture Walk is available at www.middletownartcenter.org/artists. Submissions are due March 1. Installation will begin mid-May and a free public reception will be held on June 1.
The 2019 Walk is a collaboration between artists, ecologists, Lake County Public Services and the community.
Community members interested in working with exhibiting artists in fabrication and installation are invited to visit the MAC website for further details, or contact the MAC at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..