Art In Public Places: Dinosaurs Rule! Stamford, Connecticut (2015)

Art In Public Places: Dinosaurs Rule! Stamford, Connecticut (2015)

In the summer of 2015, Stamford Downtown came alive with “Dinosaurs Rule!”, a free, outdoor sculpture exhibition presented by the city’s Art in Public Places program. Running through August, the show featured 40 life-size fiberglass dinosaur forms—ranging from Tyrannosaurus rex and triceratops to the long-necked brachiosaurus and stegosaurs—each painted and decorated by artists chosen from over 200 submissions across the tri-state region. Strategically placed along Atlantic, Bedford, Broad, Main, Spring and Summer streets as well as Tresser and Washington boulevards, the display invited families and visitors to meander through downtown Stamford’s parks and sidewalks, tapping into the summer surge of dinosaurmania sparked by the release of Jurassic World.

Each dinosaur sculpture was sponsored by a local business or organization, with artists receiving stipends to cover materials and travel; when the exhibit concluded, the pieces were rounded up, refurbished, and auctioned off—proceeds benefiting Stamford Emergency Medical Services and the Stamford Police Foundation. Highlights included playful designs such as Jay Crane’s two imaginative hybrids: Fluorescent Brachiosaurus, drenched in neon-yellow with lime-green speckles, complete with gleaming car windows and hubcap wheels; and Stego-Beetle, a deep-green, beetle-inspired stegosaur whose leaf-veined golden plates shimmer like elytra atop sculpted wheel arches. Building on a tradition that began with CowParade Stamford in 2000 and continued through themed shows spotlighting everything from cars to safari animals, “Dinosaurs Rule!” underscored Stamford’s commitment to community-driven public art and summer tourism.

https://www.artsimplicated.com/journal/2019/2/12/dinosaurs-rule
https://www.heystamford.com/imported_rss/dinosaurs-rule-stamford-downtown/
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Dinosaurs-Rule-Auction-in-Stamford-6558530.php