Artcite Inc., Windsor’s artist-run centre for the contemporary Arts held the EIGHTH ANNUAL FAHRENHEIT FESTIVAL OF FIRE SCULPTURE”; in partnership with the Control.Burn Collective, the Town of LaSalle and the Vollmer Culture & Recreation Complex, on SATURDAY, September 24, 2011 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM at the LaSalle Vollmer Culture and Recreation Center,
The festival featured:
Big ART BURN of 10+ original Fire Sculptures, made on site by Canadian artists!
Fiery Feats of Daring by Detroit’s acclaimed Bacchanal Promotions Circus and Fire Juggling troupe!
Live Music by Lonesome Lefty (and special guests)!
Event music by CJAM 99.1 FM‘s DJ “Velvet” Vernon SmithTheScarECrOw Learning Project (see next entry) Food and Beverage concessions on site!
Face painting for the kids, and much, much more!
Fire Sculpture Artists for Fahrenheit 2011 were:
Denis Bolohan, Cookstown ON
Steve Daigle, Windsor ON
Wayne Tousignant, Amherstburg ON
Martin Utrosa, Windsor ON
Rod Strickland’s class U of Windsor, Visual Arts Program
Mike Marcon, Windsor ON
Pat Conrad, Kingsville ON
Bryan Lane, Belleville ON
Ruth Janzen, Kingsville ON
Ed Janzen, Kingsville ON
Mathew Romain, Windsor ON
Click here to see our Flickr set of Fahrenheit 2011.
Photos by Tory James and Mike Ngo
The Fahrenheit Festival is a family-friendly, truly “spectacular” spectacle in the great outdoors
— And still is Canada’s only Fire Sculpting festival.
Fire sculpture harnesses the beauty of fire as a creative, performative act: the beauty of “Fire Sculpture” is not limited to the creation of a beautiful object, but is rather focused on how each unique sculpture burns.
Skilled fire artists are able to use a minimum of means to control and shape the fire, to choke oxygen in order to control tempo and pace, and to manipulate the burning pattern so that the fire sculpture doesn’t resemble, or burn, like a bonfire. The big art “burn” is fleeting, kinetic and encompasses a singular moment that can never be precisely restaged.
The lasting value of the unique art form of “Fire Sculpture” is literally created before the spectator’s eyes: the final “art work” is only completed when the sculptures are set alight and witnessed by the crowd.
In 2002 Artcite hosted the inaugural “Fahrenheit”. Our 2009 festival was attended by over 2,000 guests. Since 2006, Artcite Inc. and the Control.Burn Collective have held the Fahrenheit Festival of Fire Sculpture in partnership with the Town of LaSalle at the the Vollmer Culture & Recreation Complex.
For 2011, Fahrenheit planned to return after a one-year hiatus to a significantly improved outdoor venue at the Vollmer Complex’s Pond Park. Unfortunately a week of rain forced us to move to a smaller, dryer venue on a gravel lot, South of the Vollmer Center. Despite this move, the fire sculptures were all lit and enthusiastically watched by an enthusiastic crowd.
The FAHRENHEIT FESTIVAL OF FIRE SCULPTURE is presented in co-operation with the Control.Burn Collective, a group of artists interested in employing fire in the creation of ephemeral works of art, and is co-sponsored by the Town of LaSalle Culture & Recreation Department and CJAM 99.1 FM.
Artcite also acknowledges the additional support of its members and volunteers and the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Windsor.