Scottsdale is connecting extensively with Paolo Soleri this year.
Through Jan. 23, 2011, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art continues “Bridges: Spanning the Ideas of Paolo Soleri”—the first exhibition dedicated to the bridge designs of the long-time Valley resident.
On Dec. 11, the 91-year-old architect, urban theorist, artist and philosopher will dedicate his Soleri Bridge and Plaza a few blocks north of SMoCA in downtown Scottsdale.
Supported by four stainless-steel clad pylons, the $3 million cable-stay bridge provides a pedestrian crossing over the historic Arizona Canal from the Waterfront District on the north to Old Town on the south, just west of Scottsdale and Camelback roads.
In addition, the complementary “Bridges: Connecting Earth to Sky” continues, until Jan. 17, at the young@art gallery inside the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts adjacent to SMoCA.
The free program displays 250 works by students from Ahwatukee’s Summit School, whose innovative Vitruvius Program, founded in 1988 by Kathleen and Eugene Kupper, builds design and architecture into basic learning as integrally as arithmetic and reading. The name honors the First Century B.C.E. Roman architect and writer.
The young people’s paintings, prints, sculptures and models respond to the Vitruvius Program as well as to the architectural and ecological vision of projects such as Soleri’s bridges, explains Laura Hales, associate curator of education at SMoCA, who also coordinates the young@art gallery, which celebrates children’s art and creativity.
