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On May 11, Pocket Productions and Palmetto Conservation Foundation will launch Arton the Trail, a series of environmental art projects which will be placed along the statewide Palmetto Trail throughout South Carolina during the next year. The launch of Art on the Trail in Riverfront Park will happen from 6-9 PM with Playing After Dark: Art on the Trail. The opening will showcase plans for the projects that have been accepted for the Midlands region by our highly selective jury: Harriett Green, Director of Visual Arts for the Arts Commission, Christopher Robinson, installation artist and professor at USC, Anna Redwine, President of the Design League, Booth Chilcutt, Executive Director of the Sumter Cultural Commission, and Rudy Mancke, director of nature programming for SCETV. The artists chosen so far include: Jen Pepper (NY), Brian Rust (GA ). Two artists were provisionally accepted, and will be announced when and if they are fully accepted to create works for the Midlands installations. Each artist will present their plans to the public during this free event. The audience will be able to see each work in progress and learn about the materials and the process that will be used for each finished piece. Dr. William Moreau Goins, CEO of the Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquoia and United Tribes of South Carolina will perform a traditional Cherokee blessing ceremony to welcome the initiation of the statewide environmental art series along the trail, as the Palmetto Trail is sacred Cherokee land. The opening will involve the audience in the act of creation through the construction of an enormous Rangoli, a community art installation designed by Khaldoune Benchiekh and Mary How, inspired by Indian folk art. When the piece is complete, the Power Company (contemporary dance) will join live musicians from the musical collective Classical Revolution to perform a site specific piece constructed in collaboration with the visual artists. Following this installation, Andy Goldsworthy’s visually-stunning documentary film about the process of creating environmental art, Rivers and Tides, will be shown as musicians, poets and dancers interpret to celebrate the beauty of the natural world and environmental art in progress. The film showing is sponsored by the Columbia Museum of Art. This is a free event that will engage and inspire an audience of all ages. Attendees are encouraged to bring the whole family to participate in this unique celebration. Light refreshments will be served. The Midlands installations for Art on the Trail are sponsored by the City of Columbia, SCEG and Aflac. Pocket Productions is an arts company in the process of becoming non-profit devoted to developing and expanding the arts community in Columbia, SC, by stimulating cooperation between and innovation among local artists and arts organizations. Pocket Productions is supported by the Columbia Music Festival Association, the Knight Foundation, the City of Columbia and Richland County. For more information about Pocket Productions, visithttp://www.pocketproductions.orgThe mission of the Palmetto Conservation Foundation is to conserve South Carolina’s natural and cultural resources, preserve historic landmarks, and promote outdoor recreation through trails and greenways. For more information about Palmetto Conservation Foundation, visit http://www.palmettoconservation.org