Thomas Dambo will take a break from building two giant trolls at Ninigret Park to give a public talk at the United Theatre on April 30th at 7PM. Presented by South County Tourism Council.
World-renowned recycle artist Thomas Dambo will take the stage on April 30th at 7 PM at the United Theatre in downtown Westerly, RI to talk about his life as a multifaceted artist growing up in the street art scene of Denmark to becoming an internationally known recycle artist building larger-than-life trolls.
Come hear about his new installation in South County, Rhode Island’s Ninigret Park and get inspired to think about trash and recycling differently. Presented by the South County Tourism Council. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased here: https://unitedtheatre.org/shows/trolls-a-talk-w-artist-thomas-dambo/
“We are thrilled to welcome Thomas Dambo to The United and our community. Thomas’s work is a beacon of creativity and sustainability. We believe that integrating such unique artistic expressions into the fabric of Rhode Island enriches the cultural dialogue within our state. We are incredibly grateful to South County Tourism for their unwavering support in elevating the quality and density of culture and art in Rhode Island, setting a new standard for artistic innovation and community engagement,” says Carly Callahan, Executive Director of the United Theatre.
“We want to thank the United Theatre for hosting this special opportunity to hear Thomas Dambo speak about his work, his message and the trolls he is creating for South County. We plan on having three more trolls in the future to create a true Rhode Island Troll Trail and we’re excited for what this means for tourism in the entire state,” adds South County Tourism Council President, Louise Bishop.
Thomas Dambo will be available to media for interviews on April 23rd from 10 AM – 12 PM and May 3rd, from 11 AM – 12 PM at Ninigret Park. There will be a ribbon cutting for the first troll on May 3rd following the press conference. Please contact Faye Pantazopoulos if there are any questions or scheduling conflicts at faye@southcountyri.com.
Hi-res photos of other trolls are available here until the South County trolls are up and we will share those photos by the end of May.
Hi-res photos to promote the talk at the United Theatre are here:
About Thomas Dambo
Thomas Dambo (Odense, Denmark; 1979) is the world’s leading recycling artist. Since 2014 he has produced artwork with discarded materials in more than 20 countries on 5 continents, including the USA, China, Brazil, Australia, GB, Germany, France, South Korea, Chile, and Puerto Rico.
Among Thomas Dambo’s most famous works are his giant Trolls, made out of recycled materials. More than 125 of them have been built from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, from forests to deserts. He has also built more than 7,000 birdhouses all over the world. Some of his most acclaimed works include the Happy Wall (Beijing, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Rio De Janeiro, Santiago de Chile, Edmonton, Copenhagen, Roskilde) and the Future Forest (Chapultepec Park, Mexico City).
His passion for recycling and upcycling started when Thomas Dambo’s parents taught him and his brother the value of protecting nature and using recycled materials to make their own toys, costumes, tree houses, and items. In 2010, he graduated in Interactive Design from Kolding Design School. In his life, he has shown multifaceted interest in art and the music world: he has performed as a rapper, human beatbox, graffiti- and street artist. In 2011, he decided to quit his job in Danish television to fully embrace a full-time career in art. Today, Thomas Dambo lives on his farm in the Danish countryside, where he has his studio. He also offers talks about his activistic art practice and workshops to teach people how to reuse and upcycle.
“My mission is Waste No More: our world is drowning in trash, while we are running out of natural resources. I spend my life showing the world that beautiful things can be made out of trash. I give new life to discarded materials by turning them into large-scale artworks. My aim at the moment is to build 1,000 Trolls using recycled materials all over the world,” states Thomas Dambo.
Thomas Dambo´s creative vision is to match together the beauty and the trash, together with the sense of adventure coming from the research needed to find his works on-site – most of which are hidden in natural sites. He works in and with local communities, who are involved in several stages of his projects, such as finding the discard materials, and maintaining the works. “The involvement of people is essential in my mission. I can give an example, but it´s the whole world that has to waste no more”, highlights Thomas Dambo.
About South County Tourism Council The South County Tourism Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the towns of Charlestown, Coventry, East Greenwich, Exeter, Hopkinton, Narragansett, North Kingstown, Richmond, South Kingstown, West Greenwich and Westerly as a single leisure travel destination known as “South County”. For more information, please visit southcountyri.com.
