Knoxville, TN - From 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 1, Labor Day Sunflower Project again will transform the western edge of the Krutch Park extension into a floral paradise. LDSP cofounders Gerry Moll and Joshua Bremseth will welcome Knoxville residents representing each city district to weave hundreds of harvested sunflowers into a circular design on a freestanding, 15’x15’ chain-link substrate. Once completed, the installation will remain open to the public until Sept. 7 when it will be prominently featured during the First Friday festivities. From 7-10 p.m. on that date, Circle Modern Dance will deliver a performance – inspired by the art – in the section of grass between the display and the 500 block of Gay St.
Labor Day Sunflower Project began in 2007 as a creative means of uniting a single neighborhood, but it has since grown to symbolize the unification of all of Knoxville’s disparate parts. Each sunflower signifies the reward of individual labors while the circle embodies the coordination of those efforts. In keeping with the event’s theme, this year’s installation will feature a video projection displaying publicly submitted photographs – gathered over several months – depicting various kinds of work. At the de-installation on Sept. 7, participants will gather the seeds (which will be used to yield sunflowers for the next year’s display) in order to winnow them so that they can later be distributed to the public for growing, thus concluding this cyclical and unique yearly tradition.
COMMUNITY SPONSORS:
Central Business Improvement District (CBID)
East Tennessee Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia
Three Rivers Market
COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS:
The Birdhouse Neighborhood Center
Circle Modern Dance
East Towne Area Business and Professional Association
The Fourth and Gill Neighborhood Association
Ironwood Studios
Knoxville Arts and Culture Alliance
Knox Composts
Market Square Farmers’ Market
North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS)
Sow True Seeds
Stanley’s Greenhouse
COMMUNITY GROWERS:
Abbey Fields
Beardsley Farm
Birdhouse Community Garden
Century Harvest Farms
East Tennessee Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia
Ijams Nature Center
Knoxville Botanical Gardens
New Harvest Park Community Garden
A Place in the Heart Farm
Parkridge Community Garden
Pond Gap Community Garden
Project V.E.G.G.I.E. (UTK)
Seven Islands State Birding Park
The University of Tennessee Gardens