North Embarcadero is Blooming with New Urban Trees

Wednesday, 09 September 2009
Contact: Marguerite Elicone (619) 686-6222

A giant box of popcorn overflows with oversized baby chicks.  A couple of feet away, a giant tuning fork with wavy branches points out toward the sea.  Just a few yards from that, three spotted frogs frolic up a game board that swirls to the sky.  It sounds like a scene from “Alice in Wonderland”, but in reality, it’s part of the Port of San Diego’s Urban Trees 6 exhibit.

(View our interactive Google Map.)

Urban Trees is the popular public art project that the Port started in 2003.  In the project, artists are asked to submit a model of what their idea of an urban tree would be.  The Port’s Public Art Committee picks 30 of these to be made into life-sized sculptures that would be exhibited on the north embarcadero of San Diego Bay for a period of one year.   Artists are given a base and a pole to serve as the tree’s “trunk” and are given a stipend of $2,500 to use for materials.  The artists can choose any type of materials to fasten to the pole and base to create their trees.

The Port recently completed installing the new sculptures and will officially dedicate them in a public ceremony at 10 a.m., on Saturday, September 12, 2009 in front of the Port’s B Street Cruise Ship Terminal, 1140 North Harbor Drive, San Diego.  The event will feature entertainment, refreshments and the “Urban Trees Challenge” contest where participants can win prizes for answering questions related to the Urban Trees 6 artworks.

This year’s exhibit of Urban Trees is diverse and creative.  There isn’t a common theme and each tree is completely unique.  There are abstract sculptures that have nothing arboreal about them.  There are some that resemble old industrial machines, and some that are sleek and shiny.  Some of them relay messages about protecting the environment and protecting the ocean.  Others are simply fun and lighthearted.

“Urban Trees 6 promises to be just as innovative as our past exhibits,” said  Yvonne Wise, who oversees the Port’s public art program.  “The project really contributes to the uniqueness of our bay front and helps to brand it as a destination.”

The Port’s Public Art Program was created in 1996 to promote a healthy, vibrant atmosphere that contributes to the quality and identity of the region.  The Port enacted the first “percent for art” program in San Diego County, dedicating a portion of revenues each year toward a public art fund  that is used for the acquisition and maintenance of public artworks on Port tidelands.

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