Sun Stories

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

SUN STORIES by Jessy Nite

Summer Exhibition on Giralda Plaza

Sun Stories (image reversed)

It's a colorful summer on Giralda Plaza! The City's latest public art installation is up and ready for you to experience. Inspired by Coral Gables' history and tropical life in South Florida, local artist Jessy Nite created bright words, phrases, and a poem suspended over Giralda Plaza. Its colorful shadows stretch and move across the plaza throughout the day. Come experience Sun Stories until September 22nd.

Make sure to take your picture with the exhibit, use #sunstories, and tag the City on social media.

How to take the perfect photo under Sun Stories:

       Android Users:

• Step 1: Open your camera
• Step 2: Press the menu button to access settings
• Step 3: In settings, look for an option to disable mirror image. Select it.
• Step 4: Snap & Selfie away!
• Step 5: Post and tag @cityofcoralgables #sunstories #coralgablesarts

      iPhone Users:

• Step 1: Open Instagram app
• Step 2: Put camera to selfie mode
• Step 3: Face into the center of the plaza, with either street behind you
• Step 4: Snap & Selfie away!
• Step 5: Post and tag @cityofcoralgables #sunstories #coralgablesarts

Fun Facts About Sun Stories:

• Best viewing times: 10am-6pm
• Between 8-10am the letters reflect on the street in front of Giralda Plaza
• The text sweeps across the plaza from west to east, reacting to the rising and setting of the sun
• The text is most legible mid day (noon/1pm)
• You read the installation by color... each phrase is a different color
• All of the text in red is a poem by Jessy Nite, inspired by Coral Gables and her connection to George Merrick and his mother
• Pro tip: face the center of the plaza and take a selfie to see the overhead text in reverse!
• There are words in Spanish and French to represent the diversity of Miami
• The Sun Stories installation is narrated by the Sun because it is such a main character in all of the lives of people who live in South Florida

Parking:

There is plenty of parking throughout the Downtown. The closest municipal parking garages to Sun Stories are Garage #6, 51 Aragon Avenue, and Garage #2, 220 Aragon Avenue. No matter where you park in the Downtown, Freebee in the Gables, the City's free on-demand, environmentally friendly vehicles can pick you up. Download the Ride Freebee app on your smart phone and enjoy the ride!

PROJECT BRIEF:

The Coral Gables City Commission approved a concept by local artist Jessy Nite, one of 36 responsive proposals competing for the public installation to create an inaugural artist designed temporary overhead installation for the City's Giralda Plaza. “Sun Stories” is a collection of thousands of colored letters that dance from above creating playful sayings about Coral Gables.  As the sun passes through the day, the cast colors of the plexiglass letters become more saturated, focused, moving and dancing across the ground and above the people visiting. Nite has exhibited nationally and internationally, most notably in London, Zurich, Vienna and Bangkok.