The Town of Chapel Hill welcomed the world-renowned RedBall Project the week of September 20 to celebrate 60 years of the Ackland Art Museum.
Asheville-based artist Kurt Perschke is the mastermind behind the RedBall Project. Perschke crafted the inflatable 15-foot diameter ball to be adjustable in size so it is capable of fitting into various spaces.
Each day, the 250-pound red ball rolled to a different location on the University of North Carolina of Chapel Hill (UNC) campus or in the town of Chapel Hill.
The piece made its debut at the South Building and then travelled to five other venues around the town, ending its expedition at the Forest Theater located on the edge of the UNC campus.
Many Chapel Hill residents followed the traveling work of art, posing daily in pictures with it in the new locations.
Ceramics teacher Kristen Morgan commented on the importance of the piece’s simplicity.
“The RedBall is so efficiently and simply designed to re-contextualize people’s perceptions of their day-to-day lives,” Morgan said. “Being able to weave something like a giant inflatable ball into the narrative of your own day is refreshing. The ball creates a ripple effect of new connections, altered social interactions and shared experiences. It creates conversation, and that is the art itself.”
Ackland Communications Associate Audrey Shore worked with the staff to bring the installation to Chapel Hill. “It took a lot of work. Our staff worked with the artist, UNC-Chapel Hill and the Town of Chapel Hill to choose, approve and coordinate the seven locations of the RedBall Project,” Shore said.
Perschke also goes out on his own to search for prospective locations for the ball.
“Kurt gets to know the places where the ball will be. He visits to scout locations. I think that intimate understanding of the locations makes the RedBall Project unique and shows a genuine connection between the art, the artist, and the community,” Shore said.
Perschke constructed the ball with the intention of making a statement and catching the eye of the passing public.
“I think the RedBall Project made the community more curious,” Shore said. “Folks wanted to know what was going on and why it was here. I believe it added an air of celebration and playfulness to an already exciting time.”
Chapel Hill parent Stacey Lange took her children to see the installation while it was stationed in the Forest Theatre. “I think the piece is so unique because of its simplicity, and I think its simplicity is what has made it so widely renowned,” Lange said. “Plus, the art is happening within our community and not behind the walls of of a museum. It is accessible.”
The installation has visited over 30 cities around the globe, including Paris, Sydney, Barcelona, Toronto, Taipei, Bethlehem and Antwerp.
Perschke crafted the piece in 2001 to unite societies through awe and interest.
“I think the point of the piece is to make you slow down, stop, and experience the everyday art of your surroundings,” Lange said.
