BIKE STAND ART

Chess & Art and Environment Festival
A Benefit for Mental Health Organizations

Introduction

A green art form

Stimulated by the growing environmental concern in all sectors of our society, a green art form has emerged all over North America: sculptures that function as bike stands and tree guards.

Sculptures in Los Angles, New York, and Lousiville

Toronto has been in the lead with 47 of these sculptures. The Royal Ontario Museum is just one of the many venues where these creative pieces can be viewed and experienced.

As humans, we have documented much our history through art. These new sculptures are emblems of the environmental movement.

Chess and the environmental movement”

So as to gain respect form the public and decision makers, the environmental movement needs to make links and allies with all sectors of our community, particularly those connected to the community of science and conscious thought.

Chess is a centuries old game of intense mental concentration and strategy. It is one of the few games void of chance. Over time, it has supported the culture of an intelligent lifestyle.

The Tournament

This event will take place at one of Toronto’s chess gathering places, the park in front of the Metropolitan United Church, located at Queen Street East and Church Street. The finals will envelop te entire City center.

The 2009 tournament will involve a number of components; a speed chess tournament, a regular chess tournament with a time limit, an opportunity to challenge our honorary grandmasters, on-line games with chess clubs around the world, and the chance to play one of IBM’s best [one of their best chess master computers?]. Competitions will involve skill levels ranging from beginner to advanced.

Chess clubs throughout the city will be invited, with a focus on schools, colleges, and universities in and around the area.

Invitations will also go out to chess clubs in other cities in Canada and the U.S., particularly in Montreal, New York, and Chicago (Washington Square in NY is famous for chess and NY has initiated a bike stand art project, Chicago is our sister city and montreal is a must politically and artistically).

For each level in the tournament, the finals will be played with giant bike stand chess sculptures. The sculptures will be placed on rolling platforms that can be locked into position.

Location 1: Semi-finals. A chess board will be marked out on Victoria Street beside the Metropolitan United Church . The chess matches between cities will be played with chess sets/pieces that are artful interpretations of buildings from that City, e.g., in the chess set for Toronto players the king may be the CN Tower; the chess set for the New York players may have the king as the UN building., the bishop as the Twin Towers.

Location 2: Finals A chess board made of city blocks will stretch east to west from Bathurst to Parliament streets and north to south from Bloor to Front streets.

The chess pieces will be bike stand sculptures chosen in a city-wide arts competition held in advance of the event. The pawns and king will be pushed by pedestrians, the bishop, knight, caslte and queen will be transported with a bike carrier. Logo and advertising space will be sold on each piece.

The game could be viewed by satellite

Those pieces that have been taken during the game and those remaining at the end of it will be placed in the ground where they made their last move. One plaque in the ground beside each sculpture will show the final checkmate and a second plaque will indicate: the players, the artist, the sponsors, and the year of the game.

The day’s activities will encourage [“promote” works but was used immediately above] friendly competition, creative thinking in chess and the arts, community development, bicycling, and concern for the environment. The Festival will involve people of all ages, social strata, skill levels, and cultures.

Chess Sculptures

Chess clubs and artists from Toronto and other cities will be invited to submit ideas and designs for bike stand sculptures in the shape of chess pieces.

Designs from artists will be posted on web sites dedicated to the event. Artists’ fees and an estimated fabrication price will accompany posted designs, and corporations, institutions, and individuals will have the option to purchase these designs for their buildings, parking lots, or homes.
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Visitors and players at the tournament will have an opportunity to vote by ballet on their favourite design . Just before the finals, some of the most popular pieces will be auctioned off. Money will go to the artist as well as to cover festival and sculpture construction costs

A public art gallery at the Festival will display some of the bike stand chess designs and sculptures made for the tournament.. Most will be available for purchase.

The gallery will also display photos of bike stands located in Toronto and other cities. Visitors will have the chance to meet the artists.

The Chess, Art and Environment Festival will bring innovative and beautiful artwork onto the streets for the festival/tournament, These pieces will become part of our city’s history and contribute to its beautification.

Other Festival Activities

The tournament will open with a school band playing some soft classics..Local musicians and bicycle acrobats will perform during intermissions, interspersed with exhibitions on bike safety . Appetizers,and drinks will be served to players by a catering service. Food vendors and outdoor BBQs will serve for public

Community Service

Since the majority of the concepts involved in this festival came from individuals whose creative intent was as a benefit to the community it is appropriate that the proceeds from the event serve the community with the same intent that the concepts were created.

Proceeds from the event will be managed by the Parkdale Activity Recreation Center [PARC] a charitable organization supporting psychiatric survivors.

In addition chess players and entertainers will visit patients at St. Michael’s Hospital, which neighbours the Metropolitan United Church.

- High school and college art students will be involved in the design of the chess sculptures and will participate in the chess tournament.

- Local artists working with disadvantaged sections of the community in a skills training program will fabricate the chess sculptures.

Marketing Opportunities

Art, design, and related manufacturing technologies

Art and design has merged with the world of computer technology. The bike stand sculptures in Toronto and in some other cities is dependent on computer technology.

Toronto has fifty prototype bike stand sculptures in the ground. With the assistance of the Toronto Arts Council, the Toronto Economic Development Corporation, four Toronto BIAs, the Meeting Place, PARC and the Pedestrian and Cycling Infrastructure at the City of Toronto, we are leading in the development of this new art form. The CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum William Thorsell said there should be thousands in the City. City Councillor and chair of the Toronto Cycling Committee Adrian Heads has promised 1000.

This tree guard above was a gift from the Yonge-Lawrence and Parkdade BIAs to the Chinatown BIA. Use of the Olympic Rings was given by the IOC in Switzerland.

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The bike stand sculpture is one of the first art forms to use CNC machinery as a primary manufacturing tool.We have found that new advancements in computer technologies are required in order to be as efficient as possible in the creation of the sculptures i.e., there are steps in the design process that could be eliminated..

We have also developed a system to colour galvanized steel with very fine stone and glass particles This technology could be used to create many other products.such as colourful railings for homes and artistic panels for buildingd.

We are in a developing field making it an exciting and profitable arena.

Communications Technology, Software, and Hardware

Games like chess played via the internet are helping to create the “global village” by bringing people from different countries together on a common playing field. As such, these games are an important source of education on many levels for people of all ages.

Like chess, scientific research has used the internet to unite people around the goal of solving difficult puzzles. Many of these scientific quandaries require computing power equal to Big Blue or better. To understand global warming, cellular biology, and ultimately to work toward our survival and the survival of the planet, it is necessary to amalgamate the work of researchers from around the world. University students and researchers with a vision to the future need to be on the leading edge of this computer and communications technology.

Trade Show

The Chess, Art and Environment Festival will be an intelligent and visible promotional vehicle for a trade show, educational conference and entertainment venue.

The Chess tournament could be played on Saturday with the trade show and chess final on Sunday. The trade show would be set up in a conference center. A large video screen would show the satellite video of the final chess game.

Researchers and their institutions students, along with business are the potential buyers of products marketed through this venue. They will be targeted leading up to the festival.

Corporate Sponsorship

The Art and Chess Festival and its marketing preparations will assist in promoting the sponsor’s business. The sponsor’s name will be on the web sites, posters, the ads promoting the festival and the large chess sculptures/bike stands. Their name will be associated with intelligence, artistic beauty, healthy lifestyles, and environmental consciousness.

With tailor made proposals, specific companies, such as Rogers, Bell and IBM will be approached with the opportunity to make the event a success.

The City of Toronto’s department: Clean and Beautiful City, has already offered to help sponsor the event.

The tournament has the potential to become an annual event in Toronto and other cities around the world. As such, it will be a driving force bringing people from different nationalities and walks of life together to promote a more unified community. Close to the tournament venue are two universities, one college, and a number of high schools, all of which will be canvassed for student participation. Through its involvement, IBM will be able to tap into these markets.

The promotional potential of the project is multi-pronged. The Festival will advance chess, the computer industry, healthy and thoughtful lifestyles, and environmental consciousness.

With proper funding, the Chess & Art Festival has the potential to grow into something larger than life. IBM’s presence and corporate sponsorship will take the project from a local initiative to the world’s stage.

Credits

Concept for bike stand sculptures Phil Sarazen
Concept for bike stand sculptures as chess pieces Phil Sarazen
Concept for chess pieces as buildings Bill Dickson
Concept for IBM as primary sponsor Richard Lewis Watts
Concept for City blocks as the chess board Daniel Ewart