George Rickey, Annular Eclipse V, 2000; stainless steel

August 31, 2009

Innovation Comes to South Bend: A Series Of Major
George Rickey Exhibitions/Events in 2009-10

Get ready for Innovation: This year, South Bend will celebrate the life and work of internationally renowned artist George Rickey in a collaboration unlike anything the city has ever seen. A native of South Bend, Rickey was the son of a mechanical engineer who worked for Singer Sewing Machine.  His unique kinetic sculptures—work that combines art and engineering into what one critic describes as “a playground for the eyes”—are known throughout the world for their graceful, natural movement and sleek, shimmering, stainless steel beauty.

In Innovation: George Rickey Kinetic Sculpture, six partners—the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s ArtsEverywhere Initiative, South Bend Museum of Art, Notre Dame’s Snite Museum of Art, the George Rickey Foundation, the Estate of George Rickey, and 1st Source Bank—have joined forces to bring a rich range of Rickey-related resources to our community during 2009 and 2010:

• Public Art: Through its ArtsEverywhere Initiative, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County  will place five large-scale Rickey sculptures in downtown South Bend for a year, beginning September 26, 2009.  These works will be within easy walking distance of each other, creating a “Rickey Trail” through the heart of South Bend’s business district. Installation of these multi-ton works is planned from Friday, September 18, through Tuesday, September 22.
  
  
• Garden-Scale Sculptures and Major Indoor Exhibition: South Bend Museum of Art will mount Arc of Development, a major Rickey exhibition featuring 77 paintings, drawings, and sculptures that explore the artist’s life work. The exhibition runs from September 26, 2009 through January 10, 2010.
  
  
• Symposium, Permanent Exhibition, Archives, and Catalog: On September 25 and 26, 2009, Notre Dame’s Snite Museum of Art will convene a range of scholars in a symposium about George Rickey and public sculpture. The Snite also has a permanent exhibition of 13 Rickey sculptures that are representative works from the George Rickey Sculpture Archive, a promised gift of the George Rickey Foundation. The Snite plans to publish a catalog of its Rickey collection in September 2009.
  
  
• Educational Outreach: Rickey’s work highlights the importance of cross-disciplinary education. Local college and university faculty with expertise in physics, mathematics, industrial design, and other sciences will be working with local middle school and high school teachers to develop a variety of age-appropriate teaching tools related to Innovation, and the museums will incorporate the sculptures into their existing outreach programs.

Innovation: George Rickey Kinetic Sculpture will draw visitors to our community from throughout the region and beyond, enhancing South Bend’s reputation and creating opportunities for new tourism business. Rickey’s magnificent sculptures will lift our collective spirits, and—as other local collaborations develop that involve MIND, Innovation Park, and Ignition Park—create a model for South Bend’s future: A group of committed partners, bringing together unique assets to change our community for the better.

For information on this collaboration—including sculpture locations—visit www.ArtsEverywhere.com