Umbrella Sky
Coral Gables, Florida
Yes, this particular installation is long gone; and all I have to offer you are a few photographs. I should have shared this when it was still up, but the good news is that it is an ongoing / traveling exhibit, which continues to pop up around the world; and if you have the opportunity to stroll under these colorful umbrellas, you shall not be disappointed.
I am not sure why, but as your eyes are drawn upward, to this bright, canopy of umbrellas, your spirits do soar!
From: https://www.pps.org/places/umbrella-sky-project
“The Umbrella Sky Project began in 2011 as a part of the city of Águeda’s famous annual Ágitagueda Art Festival in Portugal. Each year, during the hot summer months of July, August, and September, a handful of the city’s narrow streets gain colorful umbrella canopies that provide shade for the pedestrians passing through. Rooftop cables are strung with numerous parasols that help cool the roadways in a creative and cost-effective way, and the sea of umbrellas forms a unique geometric pattern overhead as well as changing shadows on the roadway below. Programming like outdoor workout classes give this shaded area an added layer of functionality, enabling high-energy and fitness activities despite high summer temperatures.
Since the project began, these pop-up shade structures have become an annual summertime installation and they have developed a cult following around the world. Creators of the Umbrella Sky Project, Sextafeira, have also launched offshoots of this work in other cities such as Lisbon, where they have added to the streetscape by stringing multicolored balloons over urban alleyways. As with all of their projects, the polka-dot shadows that shine down onto the street below add more color to people’s lives in everyday settings.”
From: https://sextafeira.pt/en/umbrella-sky-project/
Their website, says that the project was inspired by Mary Poppins; I would believe it!
“The motto is Coloring life, bringing color to gray spaces and making people smile!
The “Umbrella Sky Project” was born in Águeda in the year of 2012, and is composed by several colorful art installations spread all around the city, with the sky of umbrellas that seem to float in the air being the strong element of this project.
A simple idea that brings color and protection to public spaces while transporting us into a fantasy world!
This project has been on display through several countries and stands out for the involvement it can create with the public, causing a dynamic interaction with social networks.
An open-air museum that produces beautiful and viral images, attracting the attention of bloggers, photographers, and the press. Contributing to the increase of tourism and consequently the increase of local economy. One of the most recent distinctions was given by Architectural Digest magazine that placed the umbrella streets among the most beautiful in the world.
In Águeda, where the project was born, the art installations can be visited every year from the 1st of July until 30 of September.
In other cities, the dates and places of the projects are regularly announced on social networks.”