Meet the man behind the RedBall bouncing around Chapel Hill

The RedBall Project made its Chapel Hill debut by rolling onto UNC’s campus at South Building, the Undergraduate Library, the Ackland Art Museum and Varsity Alley this past week, but its momentum isn’t stopping there.

RedBall will continue to change locations around campus and the community, making an appearances at Koury Residence Hall on Sept. 24 and the Chapel Hill Public Library on Sept. 25. The last installation of the RedBall will be at the Forest Theatre on Sept. 26.

The Ackland brought RedBall to the UNC community as part of its 60th birthday celebration. Artist Kurt Perschke agreed to bring the 15-foot-diameter inflatable to the area in partnership with the Town of Chapel Hill and the Ackland.

Perschke said the RedBall Chapel Hill project started with his visit in May, when he scouted possible locations for the daily installations on campus and throughout the community.

"It's like location scouting for a movie,” Perschke said. “I was just wandering around looking for opportunities. So the project needs a combination of a few things for a sight: it needs people, it needs audience, it needs physical opportunity. So the sight visit is really just a way to collect a bunch of different possibilities and then work through them for what might be the best set because of how they work together."

The RedBall Project is the world's longest-running street artwork and has been on display in over 25 cities across the world, including London, Chicago, Sydney and Toronto.

Perschke said he enjoys the temporary aspect of RedBall because it allows him to interact with more public spaces than if the project was permanent. 

“For me, the intention behind the project is really to be able to play with the architecture of the built environment as it is,” Perschke said. “Sometimes, permanent public art involves coming in and changing the dynamic, but for me, it's more about observing it, playing off of it and riffing it.” 

Lauren Turner, assistant curator for the collection at the Ackland, said RedBall aligns with the Ackland’s mission to challenge audience perceptions of art.

"The Ackland is committed to the art of understanding, and in that regard we aren't necessarily saying that art has to teach you something — although we do believe passionately in that — or that you ever have to feel a prescribed way," Turner said. "So I think we like to share the full complexities that art can embody, be it something that's challenging to something that's just fun and joyous.”

Turner said the Ackland brought RedBall to campus to allow viewers of the project to rediscover their community in the midst of the museum’s anniversary. 

“I think RedBall is very much on the scale of fun and joyous, so we thought it made perfect sense for celebrating 60 years of working with the community," Turner said.

Susan Brown, director of the Chapel Hill Public Library and executive director for community arts and culture in Chapel Hill, aided in planning the processes and locations of RedBall. She said she worked with the Ackland staff and Perschke to find placement areas with prominent vehicle and foot traffic.

Brown said the RedBall project is a big deal for Chapel Hill because of the extensive history the installation has.

“It sort of puts us in the ranks with some pretty major cities in the world that have hosted the project,” Brown said. “I also think it speaks to a lot of community interests. We're always looking for great town-gown partnerships, and this is one of those, but the town also really values the arts as a way to engage people and spark conversations, so this is a really different and interesting way to do that.”

Perschke said the RedBall Project’s social media pages will be reposting some student and community member posts with the hashtag #RedBallProject. He said he is excited to continue seeing audience reactions to the Chapel Hill placements both in person and on social media.

“The favorite will be revealed once we've done them because the sites themselves are just a place, but the piece is really about what the audience is going to do,” Perschke said.

@jesshardison31

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