| THE SCULPTURE MILE at Essex & Madison |
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| Welcome to the web site of The Hollycroft Foundation, sponsor of THE SCULPTURE MILE exhibitions. Visitors may now download our complete exhibition catalogue, however a free hard copy is also available at a dozen public libraries and at various businesses in the towns nearest the two exhibitions.
GEOGRAPHICALLY : The towns from west to east along the shore are: Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, Lyme, Old Lyme. Then traveling north from Essex (Centerbrook & Ivoryton), to Deep River, Chester, Killingworth, and Haddam. |
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Niki Ketchman's "Corinthian" sited in the front of the Foundation's first headquarters |
Jonathan Water's steel "Deuces Wild" in front of the famed Deacon Grave House |
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What Hollycroft has managed to do in Madison is amazing. Despite some early efforts to censor or undermine the exhibition (not uncommon with innovative art projects), thousands of townspeople and tourists have experienced a unique museum-quality exhibition by some of America's most important sculptors. People who would not take the time to travel to a museum to look at art have experienced a major permanent (annually refreshed) exhibition where "touching" is encouraged and there are no intimidating guards to chase away curious children.
 The sculptures in the Madison (as well as at Essex) range from the traditionally realistic to non-objective abstract pieces, from some monumental in scale to others that are small and intimate. They are made in a wide variety of materials including: bronze, marble, ceramic, fabricated steel, carved and fabricated wood, granite and resin. The pieces have been created by distinguished artists from Maine to North Carolina. There are thirty sculptures in the Madison exhibition which will continue until next spring, and then plans call for refreshing it by having a number of its pieces rotated out and replaced with new works. TOURS--Free, docent-led tours of THE SCULPTURE MILE at Madison are available every Saturday at 11 a.m. from May through October, leaving from the pavilion near the Stop & Shop parking area. Group tours can be arranged by telephoning (203) 421-1961.
fifteenth anniversary of the founding of THE SCULPTURE MILE in Ivoryton Apart from those living there, Essex residents as well as tourists, rarely visit the village of Ivoryton. An occasional gastronomic adventure to the upscale Copper Beech Inn (only half-way into the village) and an infrequent visit to a production at the famed Playhouse is par for the course. The quaint Main Street happily is devoid of day-trippers and overly eager tourist shoppers, but there has been little draw for visitors to stroll the street of manicured lawns and attractive homes. Few folk recall that the Town's Historic Commission discovered decades ago that there are more homes in Ivoryton eligible for the National Historic Register than in all the rest of Essex. The Hollycroft Foundation has changed the appearance of that somewhat overlooked thoroughfare, not with hectic activity, but by installing THE SCULPTURE MILE. It is an outdoor exhibition of world-class sculpture, created by nationally renowned artists and valued at more than a half million dollars ($553,300) along a mile of the Main Street. The idea of a prestigious rotating outdoor sculpture exhibition was born in Ivoryton fifteen years ago. Having been the host in 1994 to the first such exhibition in the United States, Essex can take great pride in this revival, which celebrates the 15th anniversary of the event's founding and birthplace. This exhibition has converted Main Street into a “living museum” designed to encourage a leisurely stroll and contemplation - contemplation of the beauty, complexity, and meaning of contemporary American art. Children and adults are encouraged to view, enjoy and even carefully touch, there are no intimidating guards, and this” museum” never closes. |
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explains to students: Alec Adamson, Siena Schaller, and Sadie Blue Konstan, the inspiration for Ana Flores' sculpture of the earth Goddess "Demeter" who wandered the earth in search of her lost child. The sculpture's steel frame is purposely covered by a rare climbing plant provided by the Ivoryton Village Gardeners. |
| THE SCULPTURE MILE runs on both sides of the street from the Tuscan Restaurant and the Playhouse to the NewAlliance Bank in Centerbrook, and to provide for safety there are sidewalks along the street for the entire length of the exhibit. Free full color catalogues that detail the works are available at a dozen area libraries and from many merchants throughout the Shoreline and the River Valley.
TOURS of THE MILE at Essex can be arranged by calling (860) 767-2624
Madison, Essex, Middletown, Manchester and West Haven. Below are some kudos from visitors:
"Thank you for the show we most enjoyed on the East Coast"
"I wanted to live in a town gutsy enough to have sculpture like this."
"An asset to your town, Please continue the good work."
"We deliberately drove to Connecticut after arriving in New York just to visit
"Thank you for the joy you have given me with the public exhibit of sculptures. I think
"I set up a tour for my daughter's Brownie troop. They LOVED it and it was fun and educational. Kathleen was a wonderful docent! Thank you!"
"I have lived in Ivoryton for nine years and enjoy the dialogue and inspiration that
Since it's beginning in Ivoryton, Connecticut in 1994, there have been numerous replications of THE SCULPTURE MILE across the nation, in addition to those mounted by The Hollycroft Foundation in other Connecticut towns and cities including: Clinton, Manchester, Middletown, Westbrook, and West Haven. For the past nine years Madison has hosted THE MILE and the 2009-2010 edition of the exhibition is currently on display along the Boston Post Road and in Scranton Park in the large Stop & Shop shopping plaza. THE MILE returned to Ivoryton last spring as well.
FEAR NOT ART, become a friend! Join the adventure, come walk THE MILE in both towns. The Hollycroft Foundation welcomes your comments and seeks your participation and membership.
The Hollycroft Foundation at: hollycroft@hollycroft.org THE SCULPTURE MILE and Its Exhibition Program The benefits are priceless....Suddenly in the limelight." The Hartford Courant
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Associated Press
by getting behind the artists and sponsors in full force." The Shore Line Times
The Boston Globe
The New Haven Register
The Source
The New Haven Advocate
Dan Kain, CBS-TV (Hartford)
NBC-TV (New Haven) |
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founded in 1991, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, a member of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven
and an Institutional Member of the
along with the following |
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