Scottsdale’s Canal Convergence turns 10.
“We were a one-day, grassroots production that first year,” says Jennifer Gill, assistant director of Scottsdale Public Art’s Canal Convergence. “We had a few local artists and about 700 people came. But over the years, the city has really gotten behind us, and now we’re doing a 10-day event with art from all over the world. Thousands of people come.”
The annual Scottsdale Waterfront celebration of public art, which this month celebrates its 10th anniversary with “10 Years of Water + Art + Light,” now offers 11 large-scale artworks from three foreign countries and three U.S. states. Work from five local artists will be featured this time out, as will a drought-friendly beer festival and locally run arts workshops and seminars.
Scottsdale-based artist Jeff Zischke, whose work was featured in the inaugural Canal Convergence, has created a new installation for its 10th anniversary. “That first year, I did a piece that floated on the canal,” Zischke remembers. “This year they were like, ‘Can you do something that’s suspended over the canal?’ I love a big challenge.”
The resulting installation, “SunDrops,” is a series of five 13-foot aluminum frames that float in midair over the water.
“They’re lit with LED lights that reference the desert sun as it rises and sets,” Zischke says.
Alongside Zischke’s work, Scottsdale’s Walter Productions will present “ORB,” an interactive installation that will shoot flames 30 feet into the air over the canal. Between its fiery performances, visitors can control a series of LED panels on the floating installation.
Zischke believes that Canal Convergence’s growth reflects the community’s interest in public art.
“More people are moving here from other places that had really great art everywhere,” he says. “And they expect the same from Scottsdale. And people who’ve been here all along are more engaged with the idea of driving and walking by interesting works of art.”
