Riverside students’ big art project will bring floating spheres to Fairmount Park

Hundreds of floating spheres decorated by children will star in a community art project set for this spring in Riverside.

The effort, dubbed Art Float – Riverside, was inspired by a project staged years ago by Portraits of Hope in Los Angeles. It will occur in May, when more than 350 of the large spheres will take their place on Lake Evans at Riverside’s Fairmount Park. The display will be part of a three-week festival.

Each work of art will have a diameter of 6 feet. They’ll be hand painted by students at 48 Riverside schools before their launch in the lake. The public will be able to see them as they float during several events.

Led by the Riverside Art Museum‘s Art Alliance, the effort also involves the city of Riverside and the Riverside Unified School District. The alliance, the museum’s fundraising arm, is organizing the project.

“This will be a signature event in Riverside,” Lucile Arntzen, the museum board’s incoming president, wrote in a statement. “It will allow everyone free access to a unique kind of community art.”

Art Float – Riverside also will raise money for museum programs, including its art education program called Art-to-Go.

Kathy Allavie, chairwoman of the art project and a Riverside school board member, hopes to get 350 spheres sponsored by residents for $350 each. After the event, a sponsor would be able to keep the art or donate it to a school, library or community center.

Information: Allavie, 951-784-7377 or rkallavie@aol.com.

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