Umbrella Art Installations From All Over the World

Being in the umbrella business we know how many umbrellas are purchased for one time use only and then discarded. Often many of these umbrellas are budget styles which make them perfect for repurposing for quirky umbrella art installations. We’ve come across so many examples of colourful umbrella art we want to inspire you to do something crafty with your brolly rather than chuck it next time it’s looking a bit worse for the wear. Umbrella Spheres Creating spheres of umbrellas has become a bit of a trend in east Asia. There’s a bold umbrella sphere on display in Shanghai that brings life and light to the surrounding buildings. Korea have gone even further and added lights to the inside of the sphere which lights up the colourful canopies brilliantly! Sea of Black Melbourne Mall has taken a less colourful approach- opting for a dramatic sea of black umbrellas. This contrasts with the stark white of the rest of the building and although perhaps less cheery, it certainly makes a statement! From below it almost looks like the ceiling is covered in a flock of birds! Lamp Shade Umbrellas Several years back Milan design week (as important as fashion week?) sported some pretty cool outdoor umbrella ‘lamps’. Warm light bulbs were attached to the under canopy of white brollies creating the most stunning outdoor walkway as day turned to night. Umbrella Trees A Greek artist used clear domed umbrellas to create some pretty impressive ‘umbrella trees’. The umbrellas were fastened onto tall wooden poles to create a see-through canopy that fitted elegantly into the surrounding forest landscape. A little bit of lighting added a magical touch to this unique design concept. Old School Beach Umbrellas Possibly the most expensive umbrella installation to date… almost 30 years ago Christo & Jean-Claude set up over 3,000 yellow and blue beach umbrellas across California and Japan. The installation cost $26m and attracted approximately 3m visitors from around the world. Channel 4 Perhaps a tad more ambitious than the umbrella spheres of East Asia channel 4 went all out outside their headquarters creating a giant number four out of umbrellas. All different shapes, sizes and colours were used making this one of the best recycling projects yet! Musical...Umbrellas? Static umbrellas clearly weren’t enough for artist Peter Holden who animated a series of black folding umbrellas, setting them to open and close to music. Now that’s really thinking outside the box! We only wish we could've seen any of these fascinating installations in real life! Please let us know if you hear about any new ones popping up around the world - let's create an umbrella enthusiast travel guide!