Art will soon be hidden in trees, on lawns, in parking lots and at bus stops throughout the city as part of a community event.

The Madison Art Hunt, which is a city-wide art exhibit featuring works by local artists hidden in unexpected places around the city, is slated to start June 6. Clues about where each installation is will be posted periodically on the Madison Art Hunt website, with those who visit the art and submit photos entered for the chance to win prizes.

The Art Hunt, organized by University of Wisconsin student Betsy Arant, will begin with a public reception June 6 at 7 p.m. at Bright Red Studios on Ingersoll Street. The reception will also offer sneak preview of some of the clues for anyone looking to get a head start, the statement said. 

The scavenger hunt is open to the public, and the entire Madison community is invited to forage for art until June 15.

“[The art] will be designed to interact with the unexpected locations and to encourage passersby to take a closer look at the world around them,” the statement said. “The Madison Art Hunt brings great art off the walls and into our surroundings.”

Bright Red Studios employee Evan Bradbury said he is very optimistic about the upcoming event and it provides a chance to view art in unique way.

“This event is an opportunity to put art all over the city in a way that one single location cannot do,” he said.

Bradbury said Arant chose to launch the event at Bright Red after attending a series of shows at the gallery. He said by becoming involved with the Madison Art Hunt, the studio’s artists will also receive recognition along with the Madison art community as a whole.

Joe Yang, an employee at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, said the Hunt is an important part of the Madison art scene. Yang said he believes it will contribute to the already existing diversity of styles and perspectives represented in the city.