Museum of the Moon at Ponce Circle Park

CORAL GABLES, FL (February 12, 2023) – This March, downtown Coral Gables will be transformed into a celestial art experience with “Moon Over The Gables,” an event that brings the internationally renowned “Museum of the Moon” to Ponce Circle Park starting Thursday, March 9.  The rapturous presence of our closest celestial neighbor will loom over artistic, scientific and cultural events. 

The event is presented by the Coral Gables Community Foundation and the City of Coral Gables – the same team that brought you the unforgettable Umbrella Sky experience on Giralda Plaza. The U.K. artist Luke Jerram’s spectacular traveling art installation, “Museum of The Moon” is the centerpiece of attention — a world class exhibit that has been featured all over the globe.

“We are ecstatic to bring this world-class art installation to a world-class city, Coral Gables,” said Foundation President and CEO Mary Snow. “We are so grateful to our donors and to the city for their support in bringing this gift to the community.”

STUNNING ART INSTALLATION  

Measuring 23 feet (7 meters) in diameter, U.K. artist Luke Jerram’s moon features 120 dpi detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. At an approximate scale of 1:500,000, each inch of the sculpture represents 8 miles of the moon’s surface. Eight miles is the distance from Ponce Circle Park in Coral Gables, to the Florida Turnpike Extension or SW 137th Avenue.

Over its lifetime, the Museum of the Moon travels from place to place, and it gathers new musical compositions and an ongoing collection of personal responses, stories and mythologies. It also highlights the latest lunar science. The installation is a fusion of lunar imagery, moonlight and surround sound composition created by BAFTA and Ivor Novello award winning composer Dan Jones.

Known for bringing nearly a century of arts and culture to its residents, the City of Coral Gables was eager to partner with the Foundation in bringing Moon Over the Gables to reality. With strengthening the arts a pillar of his strategic plan for the City Beautiful, Mayor Vince Lago is effusive in welcoming la Luna to Ponce Circle: “While ‘Moon Over The Gables’ is certain to educate and entertain, I hope it also serves to inspire and embolden the community. I am sure that Coral Gables residents and businesses are eager to see the arts flourish and will come out to see this incredible installation.”

COMMUNITY IMPACT & VALUE

Other cities that have exhibited the Museum of the Moon as a part of art events and festivals have reported significant visitation numbers and benefits to the local economy. Another city with similar demographics to Coral Gables exhibited the Museum of the Moon for nine days drawing 40,000 visitors leveraging a $2.4 million economic impact for the local community.

Ponce Circle Park will become the center of activity through unique experiences for the entire community. The Museum of the Moon sponsors and their logos will be highly visible for the projected visitors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Museum of The Moon is an innovative international art project co-commissioned by a number of creative organizations brought together by Luke Jerram and Norfolk & Norwich Festival.  These include: Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, Brighton Festival, Without Walls, Cork Midsummer Festival, We The Curious, Lakes Alive, Provincial Domain Dommelhof, Les Tombées de la Nuit, Rennes  and Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The artwork has also been created in partnership with the UK Space Agency, University of Bristol and The Association for Science and Discovery Centres.

ABOUT CORAL GABLES

Founded in 1925, Coral Gables is a city of more than 50,000 residents centrally located in the Greater Miami area. “The City Beautiful” is home to more than 10 properties and one district on the National Register of Historic Places. Coral Gables was Florida’s first planned community and was designed to be an international city. Today, it is home to more than 20 consulates and foreign government offices and more than 100 multinational corporations. It serves as a major employment center with almost as many people working as residing in the city. The economy is a mixture of local and international businesses and home to the nationally ranked University of Miami, the city’s largest employer. It is renowned for its excellent municipal services, including accredited Police, Fire and Community Recreation departments, as well as a Class 1 Fire Department and Building Division. Additionally, it has received Triple A ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. Exceptional municipal services, strong finances, high quality of life, convenient travel access, responsible growth, and a diversified economy make Coral Gables a highly desirable place to live, work, learn, and play. 

ABOUT CORAL GABLES COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Established in 1991, the Coral Gables Community Foundation inspires impactful philanthropy through charitable funds and programs using local knowledge, expertise and trusted relationships.  More at www.GablesFoundation.org.