New art installation brings with it talks of an ongoing art program.
Walk through Mosaic District and you’ll notice something a bit out of the ordinary. Where many community common places prohibit skateboarding and graffiti, the Mosaic District embraces it this summer with two installations by local artists.
James Walker and James Bullough, artists whose work was curated through Art Whino Gallery at National Harbor, Maryland, have brought the essence of body motion through depictions of skateboarders and breakdancers in their two-man show, “Transcendence,” on display until July 26.
Last June, EDENS, the property management company of Mosaic, reached out to the Fairfax Arts Council to put a call out to artists to create a mural in Mosaic District. Shane Pomajambo, executive director and editor-in-chief at Art Whino, was given notice and immediately put together a pitch. “I go where there is a need,” he says, and having lived in Northern Virginia for 30 years, he remembers what Merrifield used to be, “a garden center and a movie theater,” and has seen “the level of sophistication” the development has brought to the area. But what really clinched his desire to be part of the project was the development company’s forward thinking in bringing art to their development.
“Art Whino was a great fit,” says Angela Rakis, director of marketing at EDENS. “They were edgy and able to work within the unique space and urban environment; it’s not your traditional gallery space or a big office lobby.”
This partnership began in September, and this past March “Transcendence” was unveiled.
“It’s been an amazing reaction because it is art where you wouldn’t really see art,” Pomajambo says. “It’s really hard to have someone say they don’t like art, and that is why it’s so important to continue this dialogue with people and introduce them to art when they wouldn’t normally be introduced to that because otherwise it’s not in their psyche or periphery of experience.”
While it is not new to have art displayed in Mosaic—last year the development hosted the Mosaic Yards Project where 150 paintings by professional and amateur artists decorated the walls around the construction of the Modera Mosaic apartment buildings—this project has sparked more conversations about ongoing artistry projects. A residency program is being discussed with the arts council, according to Pomajambo.
Rakis says no plans have been finalized for what happens once “Transcendence” comes down in July but that EDENS hopes to create an ongoing art focus, concurring on the art council idea of an artist in residence program. For now, Rakis says the company is focusing on turning Mosaic into a neighborhood with many avenues of exploration and taking calls from local artists looking to show their work there. –Lynn Norusis
(June 2015)
