Inflatable Art: Why Not Here?
For decades, inflatable public art has been popping up around the world. We’d like to float this idea here too.
Inflatable tentacles created by Designs in Air are installed in Manchester, England, every October for the city’s annual Halloween festival. (© Terry Rook/Glance Image, courtesy of Designs in Air. Sculpture By Luke Egan and Pete Hamilton. Installation by Designs in Air.)
The Idea
Public art, in all its forms, boosts and beautifies a city, whether it’s murals or sculptures. But there’s a certain magic to one kind of public art that’s in a class of its own—inflatable art installations. Such creations can move with the wind and they’re usually temporary, enhancing the urban experience for a brief time until they’re gone. In fact, their ephemerality is part of their appeal.
Some of our favorites: The sea creatures created by England’s Designs in Air. See the photograph above for one example of their handiwork—tentacles extending from an apartment building like a mythical, land-bound kraken. We also adore their lovable monsters who peer out from rooftops or balconies.
After all, a city is merely a sum of its parts, and adding whimsical pieces like these is guaranteed to instill a sense of wonder in locals and visitors alike. Want people to see our city as a place to stumble onto unexpected moments of joy? Think monsters and sea creatures, or—like at the recent Coachella festival—massive inflatable flowers.
The Players
What would make sense here? How about giant tentacles extending out from the Delta King (reminiscent of the kraken’s tentacles attacking the Black Pearl in Pirates of the Caribbean), or perhaps Evangeline’s Costume Mansion as a wonderfully appropriate display for a place widely known as Halloween Central? Both Deborah Chaussé of Evangeline’s and Troy Carlson of Stage Nine in Old Sacramento have the creative vision to take part in such a venture.
For years, the Edmonton Downtown Business Association in Canada hosted an annual 10-day festival featuring inflatable art from Designs in Air around the city’s central district. Last spring, the group’s CEO Puneeta McBryan said, “We’re excited to kick off this year’s Downtown Spark, which once again is showcasing some of the world’s best art-chitecture, alongside local artists, to inject our downtown with whimsical fun that everyone and anyone can come and enjoy … [including] the larger-than-life inflatable art that we feature every year.”
The Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP) could lead a similar effort here. In fact, DSP’s office is located in the Park Tower, which has multiple tiers that a fanciful inflatable creature could call home for a spell, enchanting attendees during the organization’s summer Concerts in Park or other events.
The Bottom Line
Designs in Air—which is one of multiple companies that create inflatable art pieces—both rents out and sells their works. To purchase, say, three large “tentacles with suckers,” the total cost would be approximately $13,780, and could be used year after year. To us, it seems a worthy investment to watch sales at downtown restaurants and shops, well, blow up.
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