(Updated 1/6/23) Last week, Alexandria city staff pulled back the curtain on the city’s progress on turning Old Town North into an arts district.
The goal is to trade density in Old Town North for arts uses — mirroring earlier arrangements between the city and developers for affordable housing uses.
The kitschy I Love You sign in Waterfront Park is no more, replaced with a holiday tree, but the big news this week is the announcement of a new art project that will replace the tree early next year.
A new project by New York City-based artist Nina Cooke John called “Two Boxes of Oranges and Admonia Jackson” will be installed in March 2023 and will remain in place until November.
A 60% chance of rain might dampen this Saturday’s Art On The Avenue festival in Del Ray, but at least it’s not a hurricane.
Art On The Avenue was supposed to be held on Saturday, October 1, but was postponed due as the remnants of Hurricane Ian battered the East Coast. It was a good decision, since the entire weekend ended up being cold, wet and dreary in Alexandria.
(Updated at 10:35 p.m. on 11/22/22) The fifth art installation at Waterfront Park will commemorate the wrecked 18th century ships discovered at the sites of the Hotel Indigo and Robinson Terminal South.
“Two Boxes of Oranges and Admonia Jackson” will be erected in mid-to-late March 2023 and be up until November. The work, by New York City-based architect and artist Nina Cooke John, reveals a steel abstract of a ship’s hull, meant to illustrate the city’s historical depths.
A local art exhibit showcasing psychedelic art throughout rock-and-roll history will be free this weekend and includes a unique piece of local music history.
The Psychedelic Art Exchange’s Rock & Roll Poster Show is on exhibit at Gallery at Canal Center (11 Canal Center), a new art gallery that opened earlier this month. The gallery said in a release that entry will be free this weekend.
More art is in store for Old Town North.
On October 15 (Saturday), a number of sidewalks and parking lots will be brightened by work from more than a dozen chalk artists.
A new art gallery in Old Town North will celebrate its grand opening with an event showcasing a number of Alexandria artists.
Starting on October 8 (Saturday), the Old Town Arts Alliance will celebrate National Arts & Humanities Month at the Canal Center Plaza (44 Canal Center) in the new Old Town North Arts District.
Alexandria’s knitters and crocheters can celebrate their finished work at a new interactive mural at yarn shop fibre space (1319 Prince Street) in Old Town.
The mural allows for customers to take photos with their finished objects (known as FO’s), and pretend to be holding an umbrella under a shower of knitting notions and tools.
Fall is art season in Alexandria.
Two popular art festivals are on the horizon — the 20th Annual Alexandria Old Town Art Festival on September 17 and 18, followed by Art On The Avenue on October 1 in Del Ray.
Port City Brewing Company is collaborating with Made in ALX for a pop-up market next weekend featuring around two-dozen local artists and businesses.
The market is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 18, from noon-5 p.m. at Port City Brewing Company (3950 Wheeler Avenue). Admission is free and the market is pet-friendly.
Alexandria’s Office of the Arts has announced new funding aimed at helping to revitalize community programs in the West End, Arlandria and Old Town.
The Creative Neighborhood Grant Program (CNGP), funded by the City of Alexandria and a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, launched in April with $60,000 to distribute.
