The Naperville Park Board is considering a proposal under which local nonprofit ArtForum Naperville would place two temporary art installations along or near the Naperville Riverwalk next year.

Light Anemones are sculptures “designed to reflect natural light during the day and provide an illuminated kinetic display after dark,” Naperville Park District Executive Director Brad Wilson told the board at its meeting last week. If approved, they would be placed at the Paddleboat Quarry in October.

“The goal of the Light Anemones is to enhance the Paddleboat Quarry (with) a safe, accessible and innovative public art installation that engages visitors both day and night,” Wilson said.

Light Anemones was designed by Malte Kebbel, a German artist known for creating large-scale light and sculpture installations, ArtForum treasurer/board member Erin Franczyk said.

A Canadian company called Wireframe is responsible for curating the exhibit, which is partly how ArtForum Naperville is able to bring the international artwork to the city. Other cities that have showcased it include Singapore, Paris and Berlin.

“It is beautiful, both during the day and in the evening,” Franczyk said. “It’s kind of an introspective piece. I think everybody will see it differently and everybody will take something unique away from it.”

Illuminated scultpures called Light Anemones would be placed in the Paddleboat Quarry along the Naperville Riverwalk in October if approved by the Naperville Park Board. The proposal for the display was made by the Naperville ArtForum. (City of Naperville)

Between three and six metal sculptures with mirrored surfaces would be floated on the water, Franczyk said. During the day, sunlight will reflect off them and at night they will be illuminated in streaks of pink, blue and green.

“I think the real goal of it is to be beacon to for Naperville to kind of call people in because even though it won’t be a distraction in terms of people driving by, you’ll certainly see the glow of it and it’ll sort of call people in,” Franczyk said.

The second artwork is a “wind phone,” an interactive art piece that also has had a global reach. It was created by a Japanese garden designer named Itaru Sasaki in 2010 as a way to help him cope with the death of his cousin.

Sasaki purchased an old-fashioned phone booth that he set up in his garden to use as a means of talking with his deceased family member. Because it was not connected to anything, the idea was that he was speaking his words into the wind, hence the piece’s name.

After a deadly tsunami hit Japan in 2011 and killed thousands of people, Sasaki relocated his phone booth to a public location as a way of helping people mourn the death of friends and family members.

The wind phone at hole 11 of Canal Shores Golf Course in Evanston, Illinois in 2023. Naperville ArtForum hopes to bring a similar booth to Naperville. (File photo)

Since then, the wind phone has become a global phenomenon, with booths set up in places such as the Netherlands, Poland and South Africa.

“I think the idea here, very different from Light Anemones, is to create a way for people to find solace with maybe things that are very personal to them in a beautiful surrounding and a private surrounding, like the Riverwalk,” Franczyk said.

ArtForum Naperville embraced the idea of bringing a wind phone to the city after it was suggested by a resident, she said. One aspect the organization found particularly appealing was how it touches on mental health.

“We went through COVID. That was really difficult for a lot of people mentally,” Franczyk said. “I think that this is a way for Naperville to recognize and acknowledge that mental health is super important and give back to the community in that regard.”

If approved, part of the funding for Light Anemones would come from the city of Naperville’s Special Events and Community Arts grant program. The SECA commission voted last week to recommend a $65,000 grant for the installation, which must be approved by the Naperville City Council. Franczyk noted that ArtForum will raise the remaining $25,000.

The wind phone fee of $13,500 will be funded entirely through donations, she said. ArtForum hopes to have it installed somewhere along the Riverwalk in late spring and to keep it in place through early fall. Wilson noted that the location could change.

Park board member will revisit the proposal at a future date.

cstein@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/naperville-artforum-art-riverwalk-sculptures/