A dog and cat sculpture garden that provoked dispute– and the reject of Franklin Sirmans, the director of Pérez Art Museum Miami, which neighbours the garden– when it was revealed previously this year, will open throughout Miami Art Week. Formally called the Pets and Felines Sidewalk Sculpture Garden, the task will be revealed on Saturday 3 December in Maurice A. Ferré Park. The sculpture garden will include 52 statues of pets and felines (26 of each) of various types by 50 regional artists.
The task is a collaboration with regional producer Art and Sculpture Unlimited, which was granted the $896,000 agreement for the task with little dispute or conversation last March by the Bayfront Park Management Trust, causing board member Cristina Palomo’s resignation and a highly worded editorial in the Miami Herald.
After the contributing artists were selected, a series of workshops was arranged for the artists to acquaint themselves with a few of the weatherproof products needed for the task. One unforeseen advantage of the workshops was the sense of neighborhood they cultivated amongst the artists, a few of whom consequently revealed together in an exhibit in Atlanta.
In the sculpture garden, each statue is accompanied by a QR code that directs visitors to a quick clip about the animal type illustrated, and a brief function on the artist who developed the sculpture.
