‘Los Trompos’ Art Installation Celebrates Play and Cultural Diversity at Beacon Park
Another interactive art installation has landed in Beacon Park, and this time, the work celebrates Mexican culture and a popular toy found across the globe.
Los Trompos, a collection of vibrant, large-scale spinning tops, debuted in Beacon Park on Cinco de Mayo. The installation’s title alludes to the Spanish word for “spinning tops,” popular toys used by children and adults around the world.
Mexico-City based artists and designers, Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena, designed the colorful displays, which debuted in 2016
“We wanted to talk about the traditions and skills of the craftsmen in Mexico, as an inheritance of our culture. We like the idea of translating these techniques into new symbols,” Esrawe has said. The artists designed the colorful surfaces of the tops like the traditional fabric woven by Mexican artisans, while also incorporating influences from Mexican architecture.
Before landing in The District Detroit, the installation has dazzled the public on New York City and Scottsdale, Ariz. streets, outside The High Museum of Art’s piazza in Atlanta and the Discovery Green in downtown Houston, and along the Waterfront in West Palm Beach.
While various forms of Los Trompos have featured more than two dozen three-dimensional spinning tops throughout public spaces, the installation at Beacon Park features eight displays that can be spun or used as a seating area for social interaction, reading, drinks and meals. The tops come to life when visitors spin the tops on their base.
The Downtown Detroit Partnership, which provides programming for the DTE Energy-funded park, sought the installation to help it execute its mission to appreciate and celebrate all cultures. Previously, the partnership brought the “Prismatica” interactive art installation to the public common, which encompassed 25 pivoting prisms from Montreal, Canada.
Los Trompos remains open to the public from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The installation will officially close Sunday, June 9.
About The District Detroit
Home to the Detroit Tigers, the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit Pistons and the Detroit Lions, The District Detroit is the epicenter of sports and entertainment in the heart of the city. It is the densest concentration of the four major sports teams in any urban core in the country. It is an evolving place with something for everyone fueling Detroit’s incredible resurgence and attracting new investment in the city. Anchored by Comerica Park, Ford Field and the historic Fox Theatre, The District Detroit is home to the award-winning Little Caesars Arena, the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University and the new Little Caesars world headquarters campus expansion. New businesses coming to The District Detroit include Tin Roof Detroit, The M Den, Frita Batidos, Sahara Restaurant & Grill, Union Joints and Warner Norcross & Judd. The District Detroit has brought more than 20,000 construction and construction-related jobs and 3,900 permanent jobs to this area of the city, resulting in an estimated $2.1 billion in total economic impact.