When Cirque du Soliel visited Columbia, SC, for the first time, they were met with a highly ArtRageous welcome. Through this project sponsored by Cirque du Soliel and the Colonial Life Arena, four artists transformed four locations in Columbia into works of art to herald the approaching performance.
At the Village at Sandhill, footprints led to a wall, through which the viewer entered an alternate reality where the struggle between the old and the new depicted in Alegria was personified (Artwork by Mark Poole).
In Five Points, the eyes of Alegria gazed from the stairs on Saluda Street leading up to Starbucks (Artwork by Kirill Simin). Acrobats flew in the wind outside of Takosushi at the intersection of Gervais and Assembly Streets (Artwork by Marianna Simina). At the Free Times on Main Street, two brightly painted, life-sized acrobats were suspended in mid leap, caught as they flew effortlessly through the window (Artwork by Kimberly Bookman).

Special thanks to Katie Mikos, marketing coordinator at the Colonial Life Arena, for initiating this project and creating this exciting opportunity for visual artists in Columbia.