Let photographer Tricia Burrough take you on a virtual walking tour of the outdoor exhibit.
By Matt Skoufalos | Photos by Tricia Burrough
“Rondel Depicting Holoferne’s Army Crossing the Euphrates River.” First Presbyterian Church, Haddonfield. Credit: Tricia Burrough
Haddonfield residents will tell you their town is as pretty as a picture, but for the next three months, the borough might find itself upstaged by some classic works of art.
In partnership with the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), Haddonfield was selected as one of ten communities to participate in its “Inside Out” exhibition. Outdoor replicas of famous works of art have been installed at 11 sites throughout the town, complete with reflective remarks from PMA staff.
Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the project is designed to “create spontaneous interactions with art and add vitality to these local communities,” said project coordinator Gina Ciralli.
“The goal is community interactions with art…in a nontraditional setting,” Ciralli said. “People come to the art museum and think they have to know everything about art before they get there.
“I really want people to have interactions in a casual way and formulate their own ideas about the artwork without their own preconceived concept of it,” she said, making the work “not only physically accessible, but intellectually accessible.”
Leighton, “Portrait of a Roman Lady” at Mechanic Street, Haddonfield. Credit: Tricia Burrough.
The idea for the project got its start in Detroit, Ciralli said, but it’s being replicated in 10 Philadelphia suburbs this year: five in the spring, and five more in the fall.
Haddonfield is the only New Jersey community to host an Inside Out installation.
“When we were looking for communities to partner with, we had a couple criteria,” Ciralli said.
“We wanted communities that could use the art but also had the resources like arts associations and historical societies to support it.
“We thought that Haddonfield could really support Inside Out on a local level,” she said. “Somebody getting coffee in the morning might stumble upon a Monet; somebody with their child in a park might stumble upon a quilt.
“I hope somebody can say, ‘Oh I learned something,’” she said.
Jacob Lawrence, “The Libraries Are Appreciated” at Haddonfield Library. Credit: Tricia Burrough.
Locations paired with the works of art were selected with the approval of the community and intended to fit the aesthetic and size of the space. Wherever possible, the pieces were selected in a way that complements their host sites.
Jacob Lawrence’s “The Libraries are Appreciated” is posted outside the Haddonfield Public Library, for example; “Rondel Depicting Holoferne’s Army Crossing the Euphrates River,” a stained-glass image, stands outside the First Presbyterian Church.
The installation was completed in a day’s work earlier this week, Ciralli said, and even though the crews were only in town for eight hours, she said it was enough time for them to become enchanted with the community.
“We fell in love with how proud everyone who comes from Haddonfield is of Haddonfield,” she said.
Monet, “Poplars on the Bank of the Epte River” at HMHS. Credit: Tricia Burrough
That assessment suits Haddonfield Mayor Jeffrey Kasko just fine.
“I think it’s great recognition that we have a nice town, a walkable town, and a lot of foot traffic in our downtown,” Kasko said. “It’s one more thing we can use to market the town and bring people into downtown Haddonfield.”
Inside Out Haddonfield will be on display through mid-August. For a virtual tour of the project, see Tricia Burrough’s mini-gallery to the right of this story.
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