Friends of Sid Boyum Bike Tour

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Brian Standing

Bike the Boyums: Friends of Sid Boyum are hard at work trying to preserve the treasure trove of paintings and sculptures left behind after the Madison icon passed away in 1991. A bike trip around the neighborhood bursting with Boyums is first (preregister at sidbiketour.eventbrite.com), followed by the final bidding in an auction, including a Dr. Evermor sculpture and a painting by Sid’s son, Steve Boyum.

press release: The Friends of Sid Boyum invite the community to join them in a guided tour of the Boyum sculptures in public spaces and an auction of art and collectibles from local artists and businesses on May 21, 2016.

The bike tour will be led by Teri Marché, past professor of art at UW-Madison, embellished concrete artist, and national presenter on outsider artist environments.  This summer, Marché is cleaning and restoring several of the Boyum sculptures included in the tour, and will talk about both the initial process of creation as well as ongoing maintenance work. Tour participants will ride through the Schenk-Atwood neighborhood, from the Yahara River to Olbrich Park, past a dozen Boyum sculptures, gaining an understanding of the sculptures’ artistic importance as well as their contribution to the unique, creative neighborhood community.

Following the tour, the Friends are holding an after-party and auction at Next Door Brewing Company, 2439 Atwood Avenue. Arts enthusiasts and collectors can view and bid on most of the auction items online at www.biddingOwl.com/FriendsofSidBoyum. Final bids can be placed and the winners will be announced at the post-tour party.

Saving the best for last, the event will conclude with a live auction, presided over by professional auctioneer Larry Larmer, of exciting donations from friends of Sid. These include an original painting by Steve Boyum, Sid’s son; a metal sculpture by Tom Every, aka Dr. Evermor, longtime friend of Sid; and a concrete fish sculpture made by Teri Marché specifically for this event. Megan’s Custom Framing has generously donated framing for the Steve Boyum painting.

The bike tour requires $20 pre-registration per rider, which can be done online at:  http://sidbiketour.eventbrite.com or by mailing a check to:  Friends of Sid Boyum, c/o The Hops Museum, 2617 E. Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53704. The auction and after-party are open to all at no charge. Next Door Brewing is donating $1 of every pint sold of a Sid-designated beer throughout the day, so everyone is encouraged to stop by and raise a glass to his artistic legacy.

The Friends hope to raise $5,000 during this event, toward their capital campaign goal of $25,000 to acquire Sid’s former home/studio and sculptures at 237 Waubesa Street, two blocks from Next  Door Brewing, currently held by Dane County for tax delinquency.

The Friends of Sid Boyum is a new nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, restoring and sharing with the public the artistic legacy of local outsider artist Sid Boyum.  The Friends invite you to join them in their campaign, through donations, volunteering at activities and events, and spreading the word about their goals. Updates on the project are posted regularly on the Friends’ website: www.friendsofsidboyum.org, and Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/groups/friendsofsidboyum/.