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World of Winter - 2025

·441 words·3 mins
all photography photos

On the evening of the 9th, I had the pleasure of attending a photowalk led by local photographer Bryan Esler through part of the World of Winter art installations in Grand Rapids, MI. It was a lot of fun (although very cold) and, even though photographing other artists’ work isn’t my first choice, I did my best to capture each piece in a way that conveys how it felt seeing them that night.

All shots were taken with my Nikon D7000 and DX 35mm f/1.8.

We started off on the north end of Canal Park where we saw Doodle Bench, by Troy and Jonah Bosworth. These adorable little “benches” have faces on them that are backlit in a retro-robot-inspired exterior. We got there just as the last light of the sunset was fading, so I was able to get one or two with the last remnants of the day’s light in the background.

the Doodle Benches with retro, robot-inspired backlit faces

the Doodle Benches with retro, robot-inspired backlit faces

the Doodle Benches with retro, robot-inspired backlit faces

the Doodle Benches with retro, robot-inspired backlit faces

the Doodle Benches with retro, robot-inspired backlit faces

Another piece we saw was Stargaze, by Valerie Wahna, Scott Floria and Brent Wenz. Here’s a crop I took that I though at least conveys the vibe of the piece.

part of a metal 3D star-shaped sculpture with colorful led lights running through it

I also only took one frame of Birdhouse, by LeMonde Studio. If you visit this one, be ready for a workout, as you’ll need to use the crank continuously to get through the whole song!

A woman in a knit hat uses a crank on a large birdhouse that powers speakers to play a song and light up two birds on a tree

A World of Winter classic is the Rainbow Willow Tree, by DeVries Landscape. This installation has been up for a few years, if I am remembering correctly.

glowing and color led strings hang amongst a tree, the moon shines overhead

One of the pieces I was most excited to see was APOGEE, by Chalk River Labs. There have a couple of these projection pieces before, but in past years every night I’d go out to see them they were not running. So, it was really cool to finally see one working!

A sculpture in the shape of an ‘M’ with a variety of colors, patterns, and shapes being project onto it. It’s striking against the night sky.

A sculpture in the shape of an ‘M’ with a variety of colors, patterns, and shapes being project onto it. It’s striking against the night sky.

A sculpture in the shape of an ‘M’ with a variety of colors, patterns, and shapes being project onto it. It’s striking against the night sky.

A sculpture in the shape of an ‘M’ with a variety of colors, patterns, and shapes being project onto it. It’s striking against the night sky.

A sculpture in the shape of an ‘M’ with a variety of colors, patterns, and shapes being project onto it. It’s striking against the night sky.

A sculpture in the shape of an ‘M’ with a variety of colors, patterns, and shapes being project onto it. It’s striking against the night sky.

A sculpture in the shape of an ‘M’ with a variety of colors, patterns, and shapes being project onto it. It’s striking against the night sky.

Next, we saw STORM, by Two Eagles Marcus, which is a really cool structure you can walk under/through. It’s tough to do this one justice in pictures, and I feel like it really shines in-person.

an angular structure that makes its way along and over a sidewalk, each piece and pillar contains LED lights that change color

an angular structure that makes its way along and over a sidewalk, each piece and pillar contains LED lights that change color

an angular structure that makes its way along and over a sidewalk, each piece and pillar contains LED lights that change color

an angular structure that makes its way along and over a sidewalk, each piece and pillar contains LED lights that change color

In the background of some of those shots can be seen Manidoo Bawating Hybycozo, designed by Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, local artist Alan Compo and HYBYCOZO. This piece has become a staple of Canal Park and is really stunning when there’s plenty of snow on the ground.

an angular, diamond-shaped sculpture with symbols of the Native American community throughout. There is a glowing light that changes color lighting the sculpture from within.

The last piece we saw for the evening was Bon{d}fire, by 27JUNE studio, an interactive light installation made to mimic the sights, sounds, and community aspect of a bonfire.

As a bonus, here is a shot I took of downtown from Canal Park, as well.

a tall glass and steel building in the distance, with a wide urban river frozen over with snow on top in the foreground. The vibes are cold, blue, and dark.

This post may be updated if I see and photograph more of World of Winter, 2025.

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