Interactive sculpture unveiled in Uptown Saint John

313
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Philip Savage’s sculpture “Portal” was unveiled Uptown on Friday, October 27. 

Wolfgang Düchtel/The Baron

Unveiling event

At 11 a.m. on October 27, the City of Saint John joined Uptown Saint John Inc to unveil a new sculpture installed at City Hall, 15 Market Square. The sculpture “Portal” was created by Philip Savage as part of last summer’s Sculpture Saint John Symposium. 

The public art was sponsored by Uptown Saint John Inc.

Wolfgang Düchtel/The Baron

Philip Savage’s “Portal”

“Portal”, according to Savage, was inspired by both the natural formation of sand and stone along the ocean coast as well as the old stone arches of the past.

Savage also mentioned how his sculpture is meant to be interactive, “… I wanted to evoke a sense of curiosity and interactivity in the observer. This sculpture invites one to explore, to sit inside, crawl through or to observe the surrounding city through an organic shaped window.”  

Artist Philip Savage (Wolfgang Düchtel/The Baron).

Contributors

Aside from the City of Saint John and Uptown Saint John Inc., the event was possible thanks to Sculpture Saint John, who organized the Symposium.

The Symposium inception in 2012 has allowed multiple international artists to create 38 sculptures. Those pieces now are part of the New Brunswick International Sculpture Trail, which runs from St. Stephen to Moncton. 

After 10 years of organizing the New Brunswick International Sculpture Trail, the Executive Director of Sculpture Saint John, Diane Alexander mentioned how grateful she is to every contributor to make it possible.

“We are so grateful for the support of our communities, our sponsors and funders, our amazing team of volunteers and the world class artists that have created these monumental works of art. It is fitting that the eight sculptures created during this last Symposium are particularly spectacular and dramatic. They will take their place in their communities to be a great legacy of public art and an enduring part of the New Brunswick landscape for many generations.”

To learn more about Sculpture Saint John click this here.

Wolfgang Düchtel/The Baron