Sensorio in Paso Robles, California announces the re-opening of the stunning outdoor art exhibition Bruce Munro: Field of Light at Sensorio from June 12, 2020 through January 3, 2021. In strict accordance with local public health requirements to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Sensorio will implement and enforce new rules throughout the 15-acre outdoor site. Says Executive Director Tracy Strann, “With the Governor’s announcement May 12 allowing activities including outdoor museums and galleries, we were granted permission by the Public Health Director of San Luis Obispo County to re-open. We are implementing every safety precaution in order to offer a safe environment for our visitors, including timed ticket entry, a one-way path through the exhibition, limited group size (6 maximum), monitored and enforced social distancing, mask coverings, and other safety measures to guard everyone’s health. During these deeply unsettling times, we know there are many looking forward to visiting this tranquil outdoor exhibition to experience Bruce Munro’s extraordinary vision.”
Bruce Munro: Field of Light at Sensorio will re-open Friday, June 12, 2020 through January 3, 2021 at Sensorio, 4380 Highway 46 East, Paso Robles, California. (See schedule below for days/hours). Tickets must be purchased in advance, no sales will be offered on-site. For more information, the public may visit SensorioPaso.com or call (805) 226-4287. Tickets will be available beginning at 9:00am (PST), Wednesday, June 3, 2020.
Covering 15 acres of Paso Robles’ rolling hills, Bruce Munro: Field of Light at Sensorio utilizes an array of over 58,800 stemmed spheres lit by fiber-optics, gently illuminating the landscape in subtle blooms of morphing color, through which the public may stroll. Celebrating its one-year anniversary since opening last May, the immersive exhibit has captured an international audience, significantly exceeding all attendance expectations with over 145,000 visitors from 41 countries experiencing the remarkable event in the past year. It has also attracted international media attention, applauded for creating a “movement that infuses culture in valleys of viticulture,” (The New York Times), and described as “the future of public wellness” (Forbes), and a “pilgrimage-worthy art escape” that is “meant to complement, never compete or detract, from the beauty of the landscape” (Travel + Leisure). Bruce Munro: Field of Light at Sensorio was singled out by The New York Times as #6 in its “50 Places to Go in 2020.”
Sensorio will continue to offer guests food and beverage via a mobile kitchen catered by Paso Robles’ own Trumpet Vine Catering (Americana), food trucks (Mexican and BBQ), and beverage kiosks, with updated seating arrangements that conform to all safety and health guidelines. Social distancing throughout the exhibit will be enforced. Sensorio will require masks for all staff members, plus gloves for all food and beverage employees. In accordance with local health requirements, mask/face coverings are strongly recommended for all guests. To further protect its guests and staff, non-contact thermometers will be utilized for each guest upon entry, and non-contact hand sanitation stations will be provided throughout the entire site. All restrooms and surfaces will be cleaned and disinfected every 30 minutes. Prior to admittance, every ticket buyer will be required to read and sign upon entrance a document confirming they currently have no COVID-19 symptoms and have not knowingly come into contact with anyone that has symptoms of COVID-19 or any flu-like virus, in the past 14 days.
For Sensorio, world acclaimed British artist Bruce Munro created an unparalleled immersive experience in a breathtaking otherworld. Bruce Munro: Field of Light at Sensorio is larger in size than any other Munro exhibition internationally and is Munro’s first US exhibit entirely powered by solar. Field of Light at Sensorio has been described as “mesmerizing” (Los Angeles Times), “art that you experience,” (San Francisco Chronicle), a “dreamlike glowing landscape” (SLO Tribune), and a “well-considered mix of technology, art installations, and community elements” (Forbes). On-site amenities include food and alcoholic beverages available for purchase, and a special VIP terrace option offering a breathtaking view of the exhibit. A rotating array of artists present live music on the Event Lawn during exhibit hours.
London-born Bruce Munro is best known for large-scale light-based artworks inspired largely by his continuous study of natural light and his curiosity for shared human experiences. With a fine arts degree, early career training in the lighting design industry, and an inventive urge for reuse, Munro creates art that captures his responses to literature, music, science, and the world around him. His work has been commissioned by and displayed in special exhibitions in galleries, parks, grand estates, cathedrals, botanical gardens, and museums around the globe, including Longwood Gardens, PA; the Guggenheim Museum, NY; the Sharjah Museum of Art, UAE; Montalvo Arts Center, CA; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ; Desert Botanical Garden, AZ; Jeju Light Art Festa, South Korea; the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, CO; Sotheby’s Beyond Limits at Chatsworth; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschild Collection, Buckinghamshire; and Salisbury Cathedral, among others. Artworks by Munro are held in the permanent collections of museums and public art collections worldwide including the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, Oxford; Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Art Museum, TN; and Texas Tech University Public Art.
From its opening in May 2019, until it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the installation has hosted some 145,000 visitors. This new Central California destination has also offered a highly romantic setting for popping the question, with Sensorio staff reporting at least thirty marriage proposals on the grounds to date. Sensorio, the intersection of art, technology, and nature, has been designed as a destination for entertainment, exploration, meditation, adventure, and delight, honoring the natural topography of the landscape. Local and regional musicians perform live nightly.
