A few months ago a friend and I ventured out our individual Hotel California take advantage of our gorgeous weather and stretch our legs. Our path along the beachwalk (the new name for boardwalk) took us past one portion of Art Outside, a public art exhibition initiated by our local contemporary art museum. The goal of this project is to offer the public the chance to see and experience a network of public artworks throughout the city.

The goal of Art Outside, in response to the socially distant world imposed on us by the COVID-19 pandemic is to expand beyond the museum’s walls and its surrounding park. Apparently, there are multiple sites. Work From Home is the only display I’ve yet been able to find; it was a lucky find which added to our walk that day!

By the way, my friend and I were the only people that day looking at the artwork and reading the explanatory labels.

Before we were sequestered, Constant Companion and I had ventured to a bit north of to see a similar exhibit installed along the beach environment adding to the experience of walkers. This exhibit of photos by Jill Peters of The Burneshas of Albania spoke directly to me.

To make a long story short, an article about one of my grandfather’s sisters who  long ago went to Albania from Northern Greece by an investigative journalist was recently published.*

If your curiosity has been piqued you can read the long story here: https://kosovotwopointzero.com/en/the-mystery-of-the-lost-aunt/

The Burneshas were/are Albanian women who took a vow of celibacy and lived socially as men.

More recently, a new immersive artwork titled Agua Dulce was installed in the grounds of the museum as part of their Art Outside initiative. According to their press release, this installation by Abraham Cruzvillegas encompasses nearly, 14,000 square feet. Cruzvillegas is known for his “autoconstruccion” sculptures and installations, inspired by the self-building architectural traditions of his childhood community in Mexico City. His work also uses flora and soil to highlight the unpredictability of nature. The local installation forms a wild landscape with 1,000 native plants from 27 different species, many of which have been used traditionally for healing purposes. Over the next year and a half, Agua Dulce will continue to grow to form a natural oasis.

Kudos to the museum, Agua Dulce was recently included in an on-line list of 15 outdoor art exhibits for the traveler to include in their globetrotting itinerary. See the following for more about the other 14: https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/outdoor-art-exhibitions-summer-2021/index.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning%20Email%205-3-21&utm_term=us-morning-email

In closing … I offer deepest condolences to the families who lost members in the recent collapse of the Champlain Towers Condominium in Florida.