Spain's mmmm... collective presents the Meeting Bowls project in Courthouse and in the Miami Design District by the hand of Arlington Arts

News Infurma12/09/2017

Meet the minds behind the Meeting Bowls when Arlington Arts presents an Artist Talk by Eva Salmerón and Emilio Alarcón of Madrid based mmmm... collective on Saturday (11:00 am), September 23, 2017, to be held on-site in the public plaza at 1310 N. Courthouse Road (near the intersection of 14th St. North), in Arlington, Virginia 22201. The Free event will occur rain or shine, moving inside the lobby of the building in case of rain.

Designed to help us reimagine how we gather and interact in public places, the Meeting Bowls made their U.S. premiere at New York City's Time's Square in 2011 in a two-month long installation. “We hope the Meeting Bowls will encourage dialogue and interaction [as they did] in the most important main square in the world, Times Square,” said Salmerón. “The small group discussions will promote a sense of community and humanize the modern city.”

Three large sculptures with seating for eight are not an everyday sight, as evidenced by media coverage by the likes of Washingtonian. Arlington Arts is pleased to present the installation in Arlington, Virginia through November 1st, before moving them to the Miami Design District during the prestigious international Art Basel in Miami Beach show in Florida. Art Basel's three shows in Basel (Switzerland), Hong Kong and Miami Beach are among today's premier showcases of cutting-edge contemporary art.

Presented by Arlington Public Art, Meeting Bowls is part of Courthouse 2.0: Reimagining the Civic, a public art initiative aimed at sparking public conversation about the future Courthouse Square by exploring the interaction between civic space and civic life in Arlington in the twenty-first century. Arlington Arts ability to bring Meeting Bowls to both Arlington and Miami is made possible by a grant from Acción Cultural Española (AC/E). Joining Arlington Arts, the Spanish Cultural Center in Miami (CCEMiami) is co-organizing Meeting Bowls at Miami Design District during Art Basel in Miami Beach.

On a typical linear park bench, you could sit beside someone for hours without saying a word. However, the semi-spherical Meeting Bowls, which each stand 5 feet tall and 8 feet in diameter, contain a continuous seating ring inside that encourages dialogue and interaction. The Meeting Bowls gently rock as people enter and exit: a relaxing motion much like a swing.

Arlington Arts encourages people to share their experiences via social media: #ArlingtonArts, #ARLPublicArt, #ReimagineCivic, #MeetingBowls.

Rather than ship completed Meeting Bowls from Spain, mmmm... collective uses computer-aided manufacturing. Digital files of the over 75 parts are emailed to a regional fabricator and constructed on-site. Notably, for this latest iteration, the Meeting Bowls are composed of a new type of colorful and waterproof, medium-density fiberboard (or MDF), rather than standard grey MDF as was the case with earlier versions.

Arlington Arts’ presentation of the Meeting Bowls in Arlington and Miami Design District is made possible through a grant from Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), an agency that orchestrates public support for the promotion of culture, both in Spain and overseas and the support of CCEMiami.