Keynote artist Janet Echelman will be in

Santa Monica this morning to explore the beach near Bay Street in

preparation for installing one of her signature monumental sculptures

that will be featured at Glow 2013.

Named Architectural

Digest’s 2012 Innovator for “changing the very essence of urban

spaces,” Echelman has gained international recognition for building

living, breathing sculptural environments that respond to the forces of

nature—wind, water and light, and become inviting

focal points for civic life and on September 28, 2013, she will

transform a portion of Santa Monica Beach. 

While on a Fulbright lectureship in India, Echelman began wondering if nets could be a new approach to sculpture: a

way to create volumetric form without heavy, solid materials and is

inspired to explore the potential of unlikely materials,

from fishing net to atomized water particles, combining ancient craft

with cutting-edge technology to create sculpture at the scale of

buildings. 

The overarching intent of the evening is to break

through the public’s preconceived notion of what art can be, encouraging

both thoughtful contemplation and energetic participation.

While

museums and galleries sleep, Glow comes alive to

engage artists in the production of new artworks, specially

commissioned for this unusual set of time and space coordinates: the

beach at night.

Glow offers a rare and remarkable opportunity for the

public to connect with contemporary art in new ways and to

rediscover familiar spaces through the eyes of artists.

This year Glow will offer an extraordinary array of

thought-provoking site-specific installations and performance works by

dozens of artists from Los Angeles and around the world.

The art will be

displayed in unexpected contexts and relationships,

using both built and natural environments, on and near the

quintessential Southern California public space: the beach.

Glow is produced by Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division and

the Santa Monica Arts Foundation and is made possible with the generous

support of donors and partners including the Santa Monica Convention and

Visitors Bureau and the Loews Santa Monica

Beach Hotel .