Downtown Silver Spring Announces Artist For 2nd Annual 'Re-Imagining The Holidays'

SILVER SPRING, Md., Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Downtown Silver Spring, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, today announced the selected artist and concept for the 'Re-Imagining the Holidays' public art installation, a tradition unique to the shopping and dining destination, now in its second year. Karl Unnasch, an internationally acclaimed public and architectural artist, will arrange rows of hundreds of toys to create the Playtime Jubilee holiday art installation for the Downtown Silver Spring community to enjoy and visit throughout the holiday season. Unveiled Saturday, November 16, 2013, it will remain on display for approximately ten weeks on the Fountain Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring and will then be disassembled and donated to a local youth organization.

"We are thrilled to bring this Downtown Silver Spring tradition back for its second year and bring Karl's thoughtful and artful statement to life," says Laurie Yankowski, Regional Marketing Director at the Peterson Companies. Adding, "Through this refreshing spin on traditional holiday decor unique to Silver Spring, we hope Playtime Jubilee inspires a sense of giving this holiday season in the community."

The Playtime Jubilee art installation will be a metal tree armature structure standing 30 feet tall that will provide the framework to be adorned with indoor and outdoor toys and youth sporting goods of all shapes, colors and sizes. Many of these items will be attached to the structure so that they may retain their function once removed from the art installation and be donated to less-fortunate youth and local charity organizations in January 2014. Toys will be acquired by the artist and donated by Downtown Silver Spring's City Sports and Strosniders Hardware locations.

Karl Unnasch will be onsite at Downtown Silver Spring on Friday, September 20^th and available for media interviews and photos, along with the toys he has amassed thus far and a preview of the tree frame with toys affixed.

"For Downtown Silver Spring's plaza this year, I will be conjuring up a whimsical toy-themed Holiday Tree which will be thickly adorned with new and gently used outdoor-friendly toys and youth sporting goods. In keeping with the spirit of Holiday magic, these items will then be donated to less-fortunate children in the area," remarks artist Karl Unnasch.

Downtown Silver Spring and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County held a public call to artists this summer, selecting Unnasch based on his charitable concept and clever approach to public art. The art installation is expected to remain on display for ten weeks following the unveiling celebration on November 16^th.

About the Artist:
Karl Unnasch's work has been exhibited as far as Europe and has been acclaimed in publications as esteemed as The New York Times and Art in London Magazine. While continuing to exhibit, Karl today focuses primarily on public and architectural art, most typically incorporating stained glass and sculpture into his work. Over the last half a decade, he has installed notable works at prominent locations including educational facilities, medical wings, theatre lobbies and public gathering spaces. For more information, visit www.karlunnasch.com.

About Downtown Silver Spring:
Downtown Silver Spring is a 440,000 square foot shopping, dining, and entertainment destination located in the heart of downtown Silver Spring spanning from Ellsworth Drive to Fenton Street in Silver Spring, MD. Downtown Silver Spring has an eclectic mix of specialty retailers, exciting restaurants and amenities that include Whole Foods Market, Regal Majestic Theaters, H&M, a mosaic interactive fountain with outdoor cafes provides a neighborhood gathering spot for outdoor events. For more information, visit www.downtownsilverspring.com. Or follow Downtown Silver Spring on Facebook and Twitter for real-time updates.

About Peterson Companies:
Peterson Companies is one of the largest privately-owned real estate development companies in the Washington, DC region and offers fully-integrated development and management services for commercial office, residential and retail real estate. The company is responsible for some of the most prominent and successful mixed-use, residential and office developments in Northern Virginia and Maryland including National Harbor, Virginia Gateway, Downtown Silver Spring, Washingtonian Center, Fairfax Corner, Fair Lakes, Burke Centre and Tysons McLean Office Park. Founded by Milt Peterson over 30 years ago, the company has an extensive two million square foot development pipeline throughout the Washington DC region. For more information about the company please visit www.PetersonCos.com.

About the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County
Since 1976, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County has been Montgomery County's designated local arts agency, committed to providing non-profit organizations, artists and scholars with the resources they need to continually bring quality arts and humanities to this community. Our vision is to provide leadership that sustains arts and humanities organizations, artists and scholars and inspires participation in our County's rich cultural assets. For more information go to www.creativemoco.com and for our cultural calendar, go to www.doandgo.org

SOURCE Downtown Silver Spring