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Arts & Culture

Lincoln Park Art Project Uses Old Bike Parts To Make Kaleidoscopes

An art installation at the Gathering Place on 50th Street and Imperial Avenue in Lincoln Park, March 8, 2019.
Claire Trageser
An art installation at the Gathering Place on 50th Street and Imperial Avenue in Lincoln Park, March 8, 2019.

A new piece of art has gone up in the Gathering Place, a community park at 50th Street and Imperial Avenue in Lincoln Park.

It's made of old wheels and gears from repurposed bicycles. It has several kaleidoscopes built into it, so when you look down a bike tube you see spinning shapes and colors.

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The project was designed by local high school students and organized by the community nonprofit Urban Collaborative Project. The point of the project was not just about beautifying the space, said Barry Pollard, who runs the Urban Collaborative Project.

"The effort's going to be to get the kids involved in the more technical side of art because we know how to do murals, now we want to up our game," he said. "Let's do 3D printing, let's get into the 21st century. The idea is to support the artists and give them tools that they can eventually use to make a living."

The students worked with local artist Maxx Moses on the design. He said he's mostly made murals in the past, so doing this project was something different for him.

"The whole process was pure synchronicity," he said. "Everything just linked up magically."

They received help on the project from the National City arts organization A Reason to Survive. The art was created with a grant from the San Diego Foundation.

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It will stay up as long as the Gathering Place park exists, Pollard said.

VIDEO: Lincoln Park Art Project Uses Old Bike Parts To Make Kaleidoscopes
Lincoln Park Art Project Uses Old Bike Parts To Make Kaleidoscopes
A new piece of art has gone up in the Gathering Place, a community park at 50th Street and Imperial Avenue in Lincoln Park. You can hear this story and other local news every morning by subscribing to San Diego Stories, KPBS’ daily news podcast. Subscribe via iTunes, Google Play or your favorite podcatcher.