Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. The streetscape-enhancing project was a collaboration between Baltimore-based public artists Becky Borlan and Graham Coreil-Allen.


Choose your own Adventure took inspiration from the natural paths taken by street-crossing pedestrians, the Jones Falls and train tracks below, and the joyful experiences of summer-inspired toys. Hundreds of thousands of festival goers interacted with the kinetic environment of over four hundred colorful, translucent beach balls and a line striping street mural covering over three thousand square feet. Numerous beach balls featured hand-painted instructions offering choices for adventures beyond. Adventures included “Write a Poem in the Dirt”, “Change your name for the summer,” and “Take the first train to the end of the line.” Through tactical urbanism and creative design, the installation previewed possibilities for completely transforming the Charles Street Bridge into a playful, poetic, and pedestrian environment.

Beach ball text hand-painted by Greg Gannon of Signs of Intelligent Life. 

Choose Your Own Adventure
https://grahamprojects.com/projects/adventure-artscape/
July 20-22, 2018

Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD
Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry
12’x40’x100’
Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
  • Choose Your Own Adventure
    Made in collaboration with Becky Borlan, Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. Choose Your Own Adventure July 20-22, 2018 Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry 12’x40’x100’ Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
  • Choose Your Own Adventure Artscape
    Choose Your Own Adventure Artscape
    Made in collaboration with Becky Borlan, Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. Choose Your Own Adventure July 20-22, 2018 Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry 12’x40’x100’ Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts Photo by Baltimore Aerials https://www.baltimoreaerialproductions.com/
  • Choose Your Own Adventure
    Choose Your Own Adventure
    Made in collaboration with Becky Borlan, Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. Choose Your Own Adventure July 20-22, 2018 Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry 12’x40’x100’ Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts Photo by Baltimore Aerials https://www.baltimoreaerialproductions.com/
  • Choose Your Own Adventure
    Choose Your Own Adventure
    Made in collaboration with Becky Borlan, Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. Choose Your Own Adventure July 20-22, 2018 Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry 12’x40’x100’ Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
  • Choose Your Own Adventure
    Choose Your Own Adventure
    Made in collaboration with Becky Borlan, Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. Choose Your Own Adventure July 20-22, 2018 Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry 12’x40’x100’ Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
  • Choose Your Own Adventure
    Choose Your Own Adventure
    Made in collaboration with Becky Borlan, Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. Choose Your Own Adventure July 20-22, 2018 Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry 12’x40’x100’ Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
  • Choose Your Own Adventure
    Choose Your Own Adventure
    Made in collaboration with Becky Borlan, Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. Choose Your Own Adventure July 20-22, 2018 Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry 12’x40’x100’ Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts Hand lettering by Greg Gannon https://www.signsofintelligentlife.net/
  • Choose Your Own Adventure
    Choose Your Own Adventure
    Made in collaboration with Becky Borlan, Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. Choose Your Own Adventure July 20-22, 2018 Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry 12’x40’x100’ Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
  • Choose Your Own Adventure
    Choose Your Own Adventure
    Made in collaboration with Becky Borlan, Choose your own Adventure transformed Baltimore’s Charles Street Bridge into a colorful playscape of pedestrian pathways and hanging beach balls. The project was commissioned by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for the free 2018 Artscape festival. Spray chalk lines marked a site-based map converging under a forest of beach balls hanging from an open air structure. Choose Your Own Adventure July 20-22, 2018 Charles Street Bridge at Penn Station, Artscape, Baltimore, MD Beach balls, line striping paint, tent structure, LED lights, poetry 12’x40’x100’ Project partner: Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
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