Longmont welcomes the Butterfly Pavilion, a new public art installation inspired by Mexican culture

The Butterfly Pavilion, a new public art installation in Longmont, celebrates over 25 years of partnership between the cities of Longmont and Ciudad Guzmán, Mexico, through the Longmont Sister Cities Association.

The 12-foot pavilion in Flanders Park is colored in vibrant blues, reds and yellows and gives visitors a full view of nearby McIntosh Lake. Guests who sit on its covered benches can look up to see monarch butterflies made of hand-forged steel perched across the roof, as if ready to take flight at any moment.

Visitors sit inside the Butterfly Pavilion. The piece celebrates the 26-year relationship between the sister cities of Longmont and Ciudad Guzmán, Mexico. (Matthew Jonas - Staff Photographer) Visitors sit inside the Butterfly Pavilion. The piece celebrates the 26-year relationship between the sister cities of Longmont and Ciudad Guzmán, Mexico. (Matthew Jonas – Staff Photographer) “To me, butterflies are a wonderful symbol of growth and transformation,” said Jodie Bliss, the artist who created the pavilion. “I think that the idea of crossing borders and the evolution that happens when we travel is really well-represented in the form of the butterfly.”

On Friday, the city held a ceremony at the park, 2115 N. Shore Drive, to welcome “El Pabellón de las Mariposas” into the Longmont community and thank Bliss for her work.

“In this expansive setting, this pavilion exemplifies the importance of bridging cultures and countries,” , Longmont Art in Public Places commission member Susan Horowitz said to dozens of guests Friday afternoon.

Bliss, a Monument resident, was inspired by the buildings and culture of Ciudad Guzmán that she researched for the project. The colors, she said, are reminiscent of Mexican folk art, and the pavilion’s arches invoke those from a cathedral in the city.

Butterflies and their silhouettes cut into metal are seen on the roof inside the Butterfly Pavilion at Flanders Park near McIntosh Lake in Longmont on Friday. (Matthew Jonas - Staff Photographer) Butterflies and their silhouettes cut into metal are seen on the roof inside the Butterfly Pavilion at Flanders Park near McIntosh Lake in Longmont on Friday. (Matthew Jonas – Staff Photographer) The pavilion’s roof holds a metal sphere that can be seen both outside and inside the structure. Outside, Bliss explained, the sphere reflects the sky and nature; inside, it is meant to make visitors, especially exchange students who come to Longmont from Ciudad Guzmán and visit the installation, consider their relationships with other people.

“When the students are visiting — if they’re gathering here and enjoying each other — they get to see themselves with the people around them,” Bliss said.

LSCA president Janice Rebhan explained the idea for the pavilion came from a desire to create a monument that represented the city’s longstanding relationship with Ciudad Guzmán. The Mexican city is the second to become a sister city after Chino, Japan, over 30 years ago.

“The mission of Sister Cities is to promote peace one friendship at a time,” Rebhan said. “…These friendships last for a long time.”

Both Longmont and Ciudad Guzmán exchange students attended the ceremony and were joined by Marisol Mendoza Pinto, a government representative of the Mexican city.

“Longmont for us is an ally in growth, culture and friendship,” Mendoza Pinto said through a translator. “When a person from (Ciudad Guzmán) comes here, we feel at home.”

Longmont mayor Joan Peck officially dedicated the pavilion to the past, present and future residents of both Longmont and Ciudad Guzmán.

“May this space of gathering be full of peace, joy and enlightenment,” Peck said. “May it stand to celebrate many years of successful student exchange, cultural understanding … and the power of people-to-people citizen diplomacy.”