The Blue Sky Gallery is a special balloon portion for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which invites contemporary artists to transform their original creations into mid-sized balloons.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
The idea of the Blue Sky Gallery series first came together in 2004, when Robin Hall, former executive producer of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, came across a display of sculptures on the Upper West Side of Manhattan created by then-Brooklyn-based artist Tom Otterness. Like Hall, Otterness had rich childhood memories of growing up with the Parade and came on board to do the first-ever artist-based balloon in 2005; an upside-down Humpty Dumpty balloon accompanied by a charming horse and rider companion unit. The balloon would appear for a second time in 2006, and was retired after the procession.
The following year, in 2007, it was decided that a new rule would be put in place for subsequent entries in the gallery; limiting appearances for each balloon to only last one year. The next two entries, Rabbit by Jeff Koons, debuting in said year; and Figure with Heart, a posthumous entry inspired by the late Keith Haring in 2008, applied to this rule, having only appeared in the years of their respective creations.
After a brief pause in 2009, the Blue Sky Gallery returned for the next three years, working with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, filmmaker Tim Burton, and art designer KAWS to bring their creations to life as balloons. The series came to an initial conclusion after the 2012 procession.
Five years later, in 2018, the Blue Sky Gallery was revived by then-executive producer Susan Tercero, with the 7th entry in the series; Little Cloud by art collaborative FriendsWithYou, which featured a fluffy and friendly cloud balloon accompanied by a bright inflatable rainbow and two raindrop friends.
In 2019, the Blue Sky Gallery introduced its most recent entry, Love Flies Up to the Sky, a balloon creation by Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama. Although the one-year limit for entries was still in place, an exception was made for this balloon as it failed to withstand the overnight gusty winds of 2019’s procession, which allowed it to have a make-up appearance in the reimagined 2020 Parade, making it the second-ever balloon in the series to make more than one appearance.
As of 2021, the Blue Sky Gallery is currently on an indefinite pause, and it is unknown whether or not it will continue in the future or not.
Entries[]
Below, you will find all of the balloons made for the Blue Sky Gallery series. To learn more about each balloon, see their respective pages.
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