Come November when the evening comes creeping early, colors soften and the air − cross our fingers − cools, a swath of crape myrtles in downtown Pensacola will began to take on a blueish tint, from trunk up to the lower limbs.
Pensacola's Wendi Davis has seen this happen to trees before, specifically when she was in Salem, Maine, a few years back while on a ghost tour. She happened on trees that looked like nothing she had seen before.
"It just stopped me,'' said Davis, visit experience manager for the University of West Florida Historic Trust. "It was beautiful."
Then, she read the artist statement. See, the blue trees are actually "The Blue Trees: Environmental Installation" by well-known conceptual and social artist Konstantin Dimopoulos of New Zealand, which was originally launched in March 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. In his artist statement, Dimopoulos said the installation is used to bring to focus the dangers of deforestation. On his website, it states that "the artist uses a vibrant blue to temporarily transform living trees into a surreal environment."
This fall, the Blue Trees installation will come to downtown Pensacola where it will be a feature of Foo Foo Fest, Pensacola's annual 12-day cultural and arts celebration that this year takes place from Oct. 31 through Nov. 11. The UWF Historic Trust was one of 13 groups and organizations that received Foo Foo Festival grants for the 2024 event.
"I tried for a couple of years to bring it here," said Davis, who noted Demopoulos had been booked in other cities in previous years. "I told him that Foo Foo was always the first week of November and to put us on his schedule."
Davis said about 36 crape myrtles lining both sides of Zaragoza Street from Jefferson to Tarragona streets near Museum Plaza will be colored for the installation and the public is invited to participate in shading the trees in blue. Paint is not being used, Davis stressed. Demopoulos uses a non-toxic, water-based colorant that is harmless to all plants, animals, humans, insects and waterways. The trees will be tinted from trunk to the lower branches, away from leaves. The point is to highlight the importance of trees, even in an urban setting like downtown Pensacola, Davis said.
"When I read the artist's statement, it resonated so much with what we're trying to do in Pensacola, another coastal community, where we're trying to manage and care for our natural resources and our environment."
Davis said she was also inspired by a Pensacola CivicCon online presentation in June 2020 by Lyssa Hall, a planner and certified arborist, who discussed the importance of urban forests and strategies for growing them.
"I rewatched it and it's so inspiring," she said of Hall's presentation. "Trees are powerful and important, even for an urban area. They're important to our health, our environment and our overall quality of life."
CivicCon is a partnership of the News Journal and the Center for Civic Engagement to improve local quality of life through civic education.
CivicCon board member William Dunaway said the project will be a plus for Pensacola.
"Her message highlighted the importance of urban forests,'' he said of Hall's presentation. "It's not just about trees in an actual forest, but the importance of our urban canopy as well. From our perspective, we're there to educate and communicate and empower other people to take action."
Which is what Davis did.
"The whole idea is to put focus on our environment,'' she said. "It's really an environmental call to action."
For more information, go to www.historicpensacola.org.
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