Nature is an art in itself. However, the Andres Institute of Art, located on Big Bear Mountain in Brookline, NH, takes this idea a step further. At the Andres Institute of Art, anyone can take a nature stroll and enjoy countless artistic surprises along the trails.

The Institute is a privately owned, but publicly open, land that is nearly 140 acres. The founder, engineer and innovator Paul Andrew purchased the area in 1996 with the idea of placing sculptures throughout the landscape, based on a previously founded love of nature and art. Fortunately, there was a sculptor already living there, John M. Weidman. In 1998, they co-founded the Andres Institute of Art.  It quickly grew to encompass large permanent sculptures, but also has smaller sculptures that come and go.

Each year, the Andres Institute of Art invites artists from around the world to come and design their own art during their annual symposium. The artists are paid a small amount, but their true reward is being allowed the freedom to place their art on the park wherever they please. They are provided with the tools and materials, thus all they need to bring is their own creativity. You can imagine that this symposium brings great results.

The Andres Institute of Art is open to the public every day of the year from dusk to dawn. There are trails that take just 15 minutes, such as the Picnic Trail, the Halfway Trail, the Headwall Spur Trail, and the South Way Trail, while others can take up to an hour, such as the Summit Loop Trail and the Parkway Road Trail. Many decades before, the Big Bear Mountain was used for skiing, and just like its former slopes, the trails range from easy to difficult. If you are in the area, it is definitely worth a visit, and if you ever come back, it is worth another one. The views around the park change drastically with the changing of the seasons, and the sculptures themselves change, coming from different artists, new and familiar.

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