PRESS

2020 PRESS

MARCH 2020

March 11, 2020

Key West’s version of country wide Kinetic Parade craze set for April 4

Key West has long been known for its kinetic energy, but on Saturday, April 4 it will become quite literal when human-powered art sculptures take over the island during the Fifth Annual Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade. The family-friendly cavalcade of art-inspired, mobile sculptures and art bikes will launch at noon from the Custom House Museum, traveling the full length of Duval Street to the Pocket Park where a block party awards ceremony celebration will take place from 1:30pm – 3:00pm. The Parade celebrates creativity and innovation while honoring Stanley Papio, a Florida Keys’ pioneering folk artist whose recycled metal sculptures teem with a clever sense of satire, tenacity, and innovation— key ingredients in kinetic parades across the country.

The country’s first Kinetic Sculpture Race rolled out in Ferndale, California in 1969, igniting a craze that later grew to include national cutting-edge race events in Humbolt, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Port Townshend. Since then, other communities have joined the kinetic craze, offering their own variation of these floats-with-moving-parts-parades.

When kicking off its own Parade in May 2016, Key West Art & Historical Society took the region’s laid-back attitude and rebel ingenuity into account, eliminating the “race” component and adding the element of “art bikes” for the town known for its pedaling revelers. Arising from a long-percolating idea of former Society staff member Gerri Sidoti, which won the support of a prestigious Knight Arts Challenge grant that rewards the best and most innovative ideas in the arts, along with additional support from the Helmerich Trust, the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, the Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade was set into motion.

In past years, Key West spectators have been treated to the sight of astonishingly imaginative, totally human-powered works of art, including a supersized narwhal that winked at spectators, a pelican whose widespread wings flapped as it towed “parasailing” minnows, a 15-foot-long silver “time machine” made of moving gears and cogs with a futuristically-costumed human pilot, an eagle ray powered by three bicycling men dressed as remoras, a “ship” with waves, straight out of “Where The Wild Things Are, ” a race car with an engine made of discarded plumbing parts, and a 30-foot-long iguana with scrap cardboard spines. With the 2020 creations underway by several “Papio Ambassador” artist teams and several school registrants supported by scholarships and led by “Kinetic Coaches” Suzanne Brown, Crystal Smith, and Kevin Lisinski, this year’s Parade promises to offer another astounding visual feast for the eyes.

Show up early for the parade line-up spectacle next to the Custom House Museum or watch the floats and art bikes roll down Duval Street. Or add to the kinetic fun by registering your own kinetic sculpture float or art bike and joining the parade yourself. Parade participants will also enjoy free museum entry to Fort East Martello Museum from 11:30pm to 4:30pm on Sunday, April 5, to explore the museum’s extensive “Stanley Papio: Junkyard Rebel” exhibition.

For registration information, event schedule, entry guidelines, festival tickets, and sponsorship information, visit www.papiokineticparade.com. Presented by Key West Art & Historical Society and co-produced by Wonderdog Studios, the kinetic extravaganza is supported in part by the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, The Helmerich Trust, Destination Florida, Historic Tours of America, Law Offices of Samuel J. Kaufman, P.A., Kimpton Key West, and Margaritaville Key West Resort & Marina. Your Museums. Your Community. It takes an Island.

Image: Spectators watch as juvenile green turtle Chase Cantrell pursues jelly-fish Elle Fernandez, aka “Snack” in the 2019 Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade. This years rolling spectacle launches at noon on Saturday, April 4 from the Custom House Museum.

Image: May Sands Montessori School’s “Let Negativity Roll Off You Like Water on a Duck’s Back” kinetic float follows Sugarloaf School’s “The Plastic Food Chain” during the 2019 Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade. This years rolling spectacle launches at noon on Saturday, April 4 from the Custom House Museum.

March 11, 2020

Basilica School Gets Ready for Papio Parade

Left to right, Adangelie silva-Nazario, 14, Elsie Warwick, 13, Evelyn Merritt, 13, Maggie Vazquez, 14, and Ammar Bello, 14, all Basilica School of Saint Mary Star of the Sea students, work Tuesday afternoon on assembling sections of PVC pipe that will serve as articulating appendages and legs for their school’s Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade entry, “King Crab,” which is being crafted with materials including recycled children’s pools, two grocery crates, five pieces of recycled wood, recycled vinyl banners, cardboard, duct tape and spray foam. School Principal Robert Wright said that the school places emphasis on project based learning and noted that the participating students are all High School Physical Science Honors Students, some of whom attended a two-day kinetic workshop in Orlando two years ago. King Crab and his makers will march in the 5th annual Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade, kicking off at noon on Saturday, April 4 from the Custom House Museum, 281 Front Street. Presented by Key West Art & Historical Society and co-produced by Wonderdog Studios, for registration information, event schedule, and entry guidelines visit www.papiokineticparade.com.

Kinetic Coach Crystal Smith, Paulie Walterson, Basilica School Maintenance Specialist, and student Julian Santiago, 15, work on creating articulating appendages on Tuesday for the Basilica School of Saint Mary Star of the Sea entry for the upcoming Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade, an annual family-friendly, art-inspired, human-powered, mobile sculpture and art-bike parade (think art with parts that move) created in honor of the late Florida Keys rebel folk artist Stanley Papio. Presented by Key West Art & Historical Society and co-produced by Wonderdog Studios, the parade kicks off at noon on Saturday, April 4 from the Custom House Museum, 281 Front Street. For registration information, event schedule, and entry guidelines visit www.papiokineticparade.com.

March 4, 2020

Key West Art & Historical Society Kinetic Parade Honors Pioneering Florida Keys Folk Artist Stanley Papio

The Fifth Annual Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade— a family-friendly, art-inspired, human-powered mobile sculpture and art-bike parade that celebrates creativity and innovation—is set to roll on Saturday, April 4, followed by complimentary entry into the “Stanley Papio: Junkyard Rebel” exhibit featuring more than 100 of the late artist’s large-scale sculptures on Sunday, April 5 at Fort East Martello Museum, 3501 S. Roosevelt Blvd. While many are gearing up their kinetic creations, others might be wondering, just who exactly is Papio? And why a parade named after him?

“Barefoot” Stanley Papio was a Florida Keys’ folk artist whose ingenuity and spirit sparked our islands more than thirty years ago with his clever sense of satire, tenacity, and innovation. He arrived in Key Largo in 1949, when the upper Keys were little more than an isolated stretch of Highway U.S. 1. Over time, his yard, piled high with old cars, washing machines, and other metal appliances surrounded by a welded bed spring fence, became a treasure trove of recyclable materials that he would transform into art.

Unfortunately, as the area developed and the space between him and his neighbors diminished, what he saw as potential art, others simply called junk. Despite the mounting pressure, which included being jailed six times for zoning violations, his innovative and rebellious spirit continued to evolve.

True to his irreverent nature, Papio renamed his welding shop “Stanley’s Art Museum” and charged a quarter for admission, ultimately creating a roadside exhibition of folk art for travelers as well as a repository for his often comical and caustic creations. While he never had the chance to have his own traveling exhibition, the spirit of his vision travels on annually in the Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade, which features community-made kinetic sculpture float teams and art bikes created with his rebellious ingenuity, recyclability, and humor in mind.

Channel your inner Papio and sign up to make your own kinetic sculpture float or art bike today and add to the zany fun sure to be had on parade day, April 4th. For registration information, guidelines, and a full event schedule, visit papiokineticparade.com.

Image: The Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade, presented annually by Key West Art & Historical Society and co-produced by Wonderdog Studios, honors rebel sculptor Stanley Papio, pictured here in Key Largo, Florida, 1977. (Photo provided by Florida Department of State, Division of Library & Information Services.)