A new sculpture called The Singing River has been installed at Manatee Mineral Springs Park along Bradenton’s Riverwalk.
The art installation uses laser-cut tubes that produce soft whistling sounds when the breeze blows through them.
FULL STORY: Bradenton Riverwalk adds new sculpture along Manatee River. It sings in the wind
Here are key takeaways:
The sculpture and surrounding park landscaping cost $525,000. Artist Reinaldo Correa’s design was selected from nearly 120 submissions.
The installation’s colors mimic Florida sunsets, and it lights up at night. Overhead laser-cut tubes create what Correa described as “this beautiful mixture of these whistling sounds” when wind passes through.
The concept draws from a 1986 book called “The Singing River” by Joe and Libby Warner, which recounts a Native American legend about sounds the Manatee River once made. The noise is said to have come from a chemical reaction between tannic acid from palmetto roots and river water during rainfall.
The project took more than three years to complete, a process Correa called “perhaps much more elaborate than some of our other public art processes.”
City Councilman Kemp Schuessler called it “a significant piece that will attract people to the Riverwalk” at a March 25 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is expected in the coming months, though no date has been set.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
The Singing River, a public art installation by artist Reinald Correa, has been added to Mineral Springs Park, 1312 Second Ave. E., as part of the Bradenton Riverwalk.
The Singing River, a public art installation by artist Reinald Correa, has been added to Mineral Springs Park, 1312 Second Ave. E., as part of the Bradenton Riverwalk.
