Photos by Rubin Garcia/Gabi Svensson yarn bombs O'Donnell Park trees.
ATLANTIC CITY 48 Blocks, a community-based arts program, is calling all knitters or crocheters to participate in a large-scale yarn bombing project to be held this summer in O'Donnell Memorial Park.
Some call yarn bombing a sweeter and kinder type of graffiti because it is an uplifting sight and not harmful to private or public property.
Stitchers are being asked to create knitted or crocheted panels to cover the 15 pillars surrounding the War Memorial on Albany Avenue, and possibly other columns and pillars in the city.
According to 48 Blocks spokeswoman Loryn Simonson, the event is part of the annual 48 Blocks arts festival being held June 19-21 at locations throughout the 48-block-long city.
48 Blocks is a city-wide celebration of arts and culture that offers community-created projects at event hubs throughout the city.
It's a way to get the community to work together to promote the arts in a diverse way, she said.
Other public art projects located throughout the city over the weekend will include hands-on experiences, live music, poetry readings, dance performances, yoga and tours of permanent murals.
The yarn bombing replicates the work of Gabi Svensson, who has wrapped the trees in O'Donnell Park for the event over the last several years.
It adds a lot of color and life to the park, Simonson said. The work we do at 48 Blocks revolves around getting people to work together creatively and to show there's more to Atlantic City than most people think.
It's an activism of sorts to promote arts-based tourism, foster economic development and create community pride and civic self-esteem in Atlantic City, she said.
The 48 Blocks event is one of three main events conducted by the Atlantic City Arts Foundation. Other art events include Chalk About AC, during which the sidewalks in the park are marked up, and ARTeriors, a pop-up art installation in areas slated for revitalization.
Needleworkers and knitting groups are being asked to knit or crochet a 24- by 40-inch panel that's colorful and unique. Inexpensive acrylic yarns are recommended. Participants can also donate yarn for others to use to create their panels.
Completed panels and yarn donations can be dropped off at the Noyes Arts Garage, 2200 Fairmount Ave.; the Leadership Studio, 161 S. Tennessee Ave.; or Atlantic Cape Community College Worthington Campus, 1535 Bacharach Blvd. by the deadline in early May. Panels can also be mailed to Atlantic City Arts Foundation, PO Box 3, Atlantic City, NJ 08404.
The panels will be displayed through the summer months, weather permitting. Afterward, they will be donated to local organizations, Simonson said.
For more information, see atlanticcityartsfoundation.org.
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