Art@Bartram’s

Connecting the public to the Schuylkill River.

artist Stacy Levy

A portion of Stacy Levy's Tide Field viewed at low tide. Photo by Steve Weinik.

About Art@Bartram’s 

Art@Bartram’s, a multi-year initiative begun in 2015, focuses on the development and production of public art projects in and around Bartram’s Garden, Bartram’s Mile, and the surrounding neighborhood. The project celebrates the Schuylkill River by connecting the public to the river, enhancing the public’s awareness, understanding, and experience of the river and its surrounding landscape, raising awareness of water-related environmental concerns, and promoting environmental stewardship.

In spring 2016, artist Stacy Levy was awarded the inaugural Art@Bartram’s commission, and has installed two temporary site-specific works of public art for summer 2018, continuing through fall 2018. Two installations along the Schuylkill River—Tide Field and River Rooms—celebrate the connection between Bartram’s Garden and the Schuylkill River, and invite visitors to develop a closer relationship with the river.

The tide ebbs and flows in the city on its own schedule, influenced by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. It runs on a timeline all its own—unaffiliated with human schedules. The tidal fluctuation of the Schuylkill gives us a sense of the enduring quality of natural processes, occurring in the midst of our human world of concrete and steel. Having an understanding of the tidal timing and amplitude is a first step in creating a kinship with the river…Artwork can foster a deep engagement with the river—setting people on the journey from knowing to caring—which is the path to stewardship.

- Stacy Levy

 

  • Installation of Tide Field. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Installation of Tide Field. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Installation of Tide Field. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Installation of Tide Field. Photo by Steve Weinik.

Levy’s Tide Field, a series of current-driven buoys, draws attention to the river’s tidal nature through “ever-changing visualization.” As the tide rises and falls twice daily, the buoys are concealed and revealed, animating a familiar waterscape in a new way.

 

  • Local fishermen enjoy River Rooms, by Stacy Levy. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • River Room stone plaque, for Art@Bartram's. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Local fishermen enjoy River Rooms, by Stacy Levy. Photo by Steve Weinik.

River Rooms, six wooden boat-like structures, provides destinations for observation, reflection, and interactive programming. Visitors can fish, observe a variety of Tide Field locations, or simply sit and converse. On each wooden deck, a stone inscription offers facts about the river and the tides, bringing the ecosystem full circle.

Art@Bartrams Report (PDF)

Funder 

William Penn Foundation

Partners 

Bartram’s Garden
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation
Schuylkill River Development Corporation
Philadelphia Housing Authority

related to Art@Bartram’s

More Artworks