The art center and the Frida Kahlo Advisory Committee of the South Haven Center for the Arts presents a walking tour and outdoor exhibition called “Frida Kahlo's Garden Walk” for all to enjoy on foot, bike, or from your car. The event runs from June 16 to August 11, 2020, and honors Frida Kahlo and Mexican horticulture.
Click here to access the interactive digital map and enjoy some outdoor fun!
The tour consists of a collection of numbered panels that are displayed in the windows of downtown businesses so visitors can learn about Kahlo’s life and art. Each panel is accompanied by one of ten unique poster designs created by local artist Jen Sistrunk. The walk begins and ends at the art center, 600 Phoenix St., South Haven. Interactive tour maps will be available at southhavenarts.org, and directions to the next stop are included on each panel. Visitors can also view the exhibition from their car using an interactive, virtual map that can be found at southhavenarts.org.
Twenty-four businesses and non-profits, including the Scott Club and the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum, have planted gardens in blue pots and other containers, similar to Frida's own container garden at Casa Azul, her home in Mexico City. Local gardens include zinnias, sunflowers, calla lilies, elephant ears, and succulents—native Mexican plants that Frida loved. For a virtual tour of Casa Azul, visit southhavenarts.org/post/frida-is-coming-to-our-house-so-i-paid-a-visit-to-hers-by-carol-trittschuh.
A number of South Haven homeowners have planted extravagant Frida gardens that will also be listed on the tour map. The art center invites anyone who would like to plant their own garden and/or create an installation to honor Frida, to send a photo to info@southhavenarts.org, which will be posted in a virtual gallery on the website.
The South Haven Community Garden, 408 Huron St., is honoring Frida’s garden with an arch of flowers painted by committee member Michele Blackmon. The South Haven Center for the Arts will also display two banners on the building—one advertising the exhibition, the second, a banner created by Baseline Middle School students, led by their art teacher Sarah Rydecki.
The SHCA will present an outdoor installation at the art center, which includes a painting of Frida’s garden featuring a pyramid she had installed to expand her garden, and visible through the windows on the west side of the building will be Ojo de Dios (god’s eyes), painted flowers, and a display of costumes similar to those Frida wore contributed by former SHCA Executive Director Thea Grigsby that will also be for sale. If you would like to learn how to create an Ojo de Dios of your own for display, visit the blog post at southhavenarts.org/post/make-ojo-de-dios-to-adorn-the-south-haven-center-for-the-arts, for printable instructions, video tutorials, lesson plans for kids, and other resources for patterns and ideas.
The art center’s installation will grow and evolve throughout the summer.
These events are funded by the South Haven Community Foundation, the Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs, The National Endowment for the Arts, the Edward Jones Office of Paul Hix, the South Haven Visitor’s Bureau, North Shore Garden Center, Wolverine Ace Hardware, Cultivate Container Gardens & Design, and private donors and over twenty local businesses.
Executive Director Kerry Hagy, the Frida Kahlo Advisory Committee, and SHCA board members and staff would like to thank our volunteers, sponsors, and the community for all the hard work that went into these events to honor Frida Kahlo.
Please visit southhavenarts.org, South Haven Center for the Arts on Facebook, and Instagram: @southhavenarts, to learn more about this summer’s Frida fun.
