The Andres Institute of Art was founded in 1998 by sculptor John Weidman and philanthropist Paul Andres. The first symposium was held in 1999. Seven artists were invited to come to Brookline for two weeks to create sculptures which would be placed on permanent display on the mountain. Sculptors from Lithuania, Latvia, England, Czech Republic, Ukraine, New Hampshire and Vermont attended this first symposium and stayed with local volunteer families.

As the sculptures were completed, volunteers moved them from the studio to the sites using heavy equipment. When the sculptors headed home, seven new sculptures had been placed on the mountain. One of them, Phoenix, is to this day the largest work in the sculpture park; it is 15 feet tall and weighs about 11 tons.

The symposium format proved a great success. Since that time, the Institute has held the event annually, welcoming three to five artists to work their craft within a new theme selected for each symposium. The sculptors continue to stay with local hosts and share meals provided by volunteers. They receive a small stipend for participation but the real rewards are to create as they choose, to learn from other sculptors and to choose the location for their work to be enjoyed. As a result of the collective effort from these gifted artists, we now have over 100 thought-provoking original works of art nestled along walking trails on the mountain in our 140 acre sculpture park. 

After a two-year hiatus the Symposium will return in 2022 with the theme of: “Catch ’22”. We invite you to attend over the symposium period to meet the artists and watch them at work to follow the evolution of raw material to sculptural works.