The Mangrove Press Release

Burning Man Sculptures to Display Along Truckee River in Downtown Reno

RENO, NV – The corner of Sierra Street and Island Ave will be transformed into a temporary interactive art garden this September.  This currently empty corner lot will become an urban grove through the temporary exhibition of close to a dozen interactive, sculptural trees called The Mangrove.

First exhibited at Burning Man 2007, The Mangrove is a unique collection of artworks sculpted by five different artist collectives.  It reveals the resourcefulness of artists committed to reinvention and reuse of what would be considered trash.  Five kinds of sculptural trees form the exhibition and deliver a powerful message about the value of recycling.  Construction waste, reclaimed and repurposed materials, including plastic bags, bottle caps, a significant portion of which ends up in American landfills, is the key source material used to fabricate the sculptures. The Mangrove will serve community members of all ages by encouraging them to consider the potential of reusing and reclaiming ordinary household waste materials.

The location for The Mangrove was chosen, in part, because the backdrop of the existing wall mural entitled “Transcendence” overlooks the lot, enhancing the setting by suggesting a grove of trees along the Truckee River.  The use of the lot has been donated by it’s owners, Freight House District LLC.

“Through grants from Black Rock City LLC/Burning Man and The City of Reno Arts and Culture Commission, the installation supports the mission of the Reno Arts program to involve its citizens in the community's cultural life and encourage artistic excellence,” said Maria Partridge, Reno project liaison for BRAF.  “The individual sculptures will be placed in such a way that visitors to the Mangrove will be able to wander though the trees as if it were an urban forest.  Visitors will be invited to hang mementos from some of the trees, write messages in books accompanying others, rest on one of the benches or simply wander through this urban garden and use it as a source of contemplation.  Through this interactive manner, visitors will enhance the trees for our community.  Thus, the garden will further bloom on this corner lot, becoming a temporary gift to the Reno community.”

“We believe the exhibition of The Mangrove in Reno will serve the community in three ways,” said Crimson Rose, Member Board of Directors, BRAF and Director of Art Management for Burning Man.  “By enhancing civic space through the temporary transformation of an empty lot into an interactive art park, by providing a creative outlet for Reno citizens and visitors through the participatory nature of the installation and by increasing awareness of the value of recycling.”

Continued Rose, “The Civic Arts Program is helping to set a new precedent for the temporary exhibition of public art.  Recently, seven artworks have been placed in public parks in San Francisco, CA and we are supporting a project in Detroit, MI. Through our Scrap Eden program, which pairs artists with neighborhood groups to create artworks from reclaimed materials, we have placed an additional three works in public spaces and seek to expand the program to cities where our supporters, primarily members of the Burning Man community reside.  Reno, home of many of our community members, is the ideal location for taking a critical next step in expanding the reach of our programs.”

Reno Exhibition Dates:  September 2008 – December 2008.  Monthly afternoon gatherings will take place at the Mangrove to continue the educational aspect of this installation.

Collaborating Artists:  Click here for more information on the artists
“Bottle Cap Tree” by Kitty Gordon, San Rafael, CA
“Kinetic Wind” Sculpture by David Boyer, Reno, NV
“Pan’s Perch” by Ryan Jackson, Reno, NV
“Refoliation” by Jennifer Forbes, Jessica Reeder, Bay Area, CA
“Tree Spire” Project by Iron Monkeys~ David “Tabasco” Mills, Seattle, WA

Click here to download the pdf of this release.