EternalTiber
EternalTiber is an artistic project envisioned and initiated in 2000 by Kristin Jones. The multidisciplinary cultural project is dedicated to establishing the city’s first open-air public space for site-specific contemporary art as a cornerstone of a new managed and maintained Tiber River Park.
Working from the conviction that art can be a catalyst for urban renewal and recognizing the enormous potential of the riverfront, Jones devoted more than 16 years as EternalTiber’s Artistic Director, partnering with a treasury of artists, colleagues and the City of Rome to create programs drawing the public to the Tiber’s banks. The project has non-profit status in the United States under the fiscal sponsorship of NYFA and is recognized within UNESCO’s Management Plan for the City of Rome.
EternalTiber culminated in an epic collaboration with William Kentridge, who worked with Jones, a diligent research team, and an army of volunteers and believers to create ‘Triumphs and Laments’, an extraordinary 1800 foot-long frieze along the river. The unveiling was a spectacular opening event including two processional marching bands, and live music by Phillip Miller, attended by over 30,000 people across three evenings.
Jones actively continues to work on projects with Roman colleagues to produce public art for Rome under the auspices of ‘Ephemeral Projects for the Eternal City’.