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DUMBO Arts Fest Kicks Off With a Mobile Disco Party and Colored Glass House

By Janet Upadhye | September 26, 2014 1:29pm
 This year's 18th annual DUMBO Arts Festival features hydroponic tomato plant sculptures, a traveling dance party and a colorful glass sculpture created by Tom Fruin.
DUMBO Arts Fest 2014
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DUMBO — The DUMBO Arts Festival is set return this weekend with a hydroponic tomato plant sculpture, a street vendor cart that transforms into a disco party and a new sculpture by the artist who created DUMBO's famed Watertower sculpture.

More than 300 artists are participating in the 18th annual festival, which runs from Sept. 26-28 and spans six blocks in the waterfront neighborhood and 100 will open their studios to exhibit their work.

“DUMBO is full of public art by extraordinary artists all year round, and I am thrilled that this year’s festival showcases our local artists as well as talents from around the world," said festival organizer Lisa Kim in a statement.

Highlights of this year's festival include a sculpture created by Lee Mandell, best known for his artsy birdhouses on street signs.

His latest work, to be located at Main Street Park, is made of copper tubing designed to look like a tree.

The "branches" hold real tomato plants that are grown using a combination of nutrients and water stored in the base of the sculpture.

The piece looks like art but is also a comment on the urban gardening trend of growing plants without soil.

"Disco Transformer," created by Thomas Stevenson who also leads rooftop camping excursions in Brooklyn, is a mobile music and light station that looks like a typical street vendor cart. It will move throughout the festival to create pop-up dance parties in different locations.

And artist Tom Fruin will unveil his latest piece "Reflection/Kolonihavehus," a colorful glass house sculpture, similar to the Watertower atop 20 Jay St.

Two performers are "procrastinating" inside the structure at the Fulton Ferry landing to represent what the artist sees as social patterns in today's society.

Other exhibits include a quilt by mothers protesting against gun violence, photographs of city residents with their comments on their work and passion and a stenciling exhibit that highlights the history of DUMBO's old railroad tracks.

The festival is free and open to the public, kicking off at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26. For more information on artists, events and schedules visit the festival's website.