By Simone Weithers, Tulip Time Festival
Tulip Time® Festival (www.tuliptime.com) announces the return of Klompen Garden, a hugely popular public art project which debuted in 2019. Klompen Garden will showcase 20 pairs of artfully designed large ‘wooden’ shoes installed in city parks and tulip beds throughout the downtown Holland area.
Artists living in Ottawa, Allegan, Kent, Muskegon and Kalamazoo counties are invited to submit a design concept and sketch for this one-of-a-kind art project. Concepts will be accepted through an online submission form until Oct. 14, 2019, at 11:59pm EST. Of the submitted concepts, 20 will be selected to create the Klompen Garden.
Tulip Time will supply each selected artist or group of collaborating artists with a large pair (34”L x 12”W x 12”H) of ‘wooden’ shoes, through which artists are encouraged to bring their concept to life.
Upon completion of the 20 projects, a juror vote and public vote will determine the favorite klompen. Tulip Time has invited John Berry to serve as this year’s Klompen Garden juror. Berry will select one grand prize winner who will be awarded $1,000 at the First Bloem Reception in February. The winning pair will be displayed at Holland Area Arts Council for the duration of the festival.
The public will also have a chance to vote for their favorites of the remaining 19 klompen between May 2–19, 2020. The top three public picks will be announced on May 10. Of the public votes, first place will be awarded $500, second place will be awarded $300 and third place will be awarded $200. Visit www.tuliptime.com/klompen-garden for full entry details and competition information!
For additional details, contact Julia Van Fleet at julia@tuliptime.com or 616.396.4221 x104. Follow this project now through the festival by using #klompengarden!
About the juror:
Former Vice President of Corporate Communications at Herman Miller, John Berry was also the founder and first Executive Director of Design West Michigan and founder and first Director of the Design Thinking Academy at Grand Valley State University. John has an MFA in Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BS in Design and Spanish from Indiana University.
