Arlington Arts Magazine Issue #1
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
www.arlingtonarts.org | Issue #1 | Sept-Dec, 2018 THE POWER OF CONNECTING ARTISTS & COMMUNITY A LOOK AT ARTS PROGRAMMING CREATED AND SUPPORTED BY ARLINGTON CULTURAL AFFAIRS , CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION ARLINGTON ARTS MAGAZINE THE ARLINGTONES ARLINGTON HOW WOMEN ARE RE- ART TRUCK FOR DEFINING HARMONY WOMEN ARE SHAKING UP THE 100-YEAR-OLD ALL BARBERSHOP CHORUS GENRE A NEW MODEL OF PRESENTING ART IN ARLIGTON: FIRST SEASON OF THE ARLINGTON ART TRUCK DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS & THE SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION Arlington Arts Center 15th annual event celebrates community, culture and collaboration COVER PHOTO Arlington Art Truck Photo by: Cynthia Connolly RAIN OR SHINE: UNITED ROSSLYN JAZZ FEST RAIN COULDN’T STOP THE FUN AT THIS UNDER A YEARS JAZZ FESTIVAL GROOVE PLUS re-watch the performances from True Loves Band FIRST FRIDAYS GROOVIN’ ON THE PIKE CONNECTS ALL OF ARLINGTON WHILE Orquesta Akokan DANCING IN THE LIBRARY STACKS ON Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles COLUMBIA PIKE PREVIEW OF ARLINGTON ARTS PROGRAMS IN 2019 From commemorations of Arlington’s Civil Rights legacy, to making affordable housing for artists a reality, here’s what to expect in 2019. DIRECTOR’S LETTER he year 2018 included More than 1,000 participants danced among many positive chang- the stacks to music performances ranging es to Arlington’s eco- from bluegrass, latin jazz, funk, West African nomic and cultural Tprofile, most dramatically rhythms, Brazilian and more. Though the piz- the Amazon decision to bring za was on the house, sales of beer and wine its HQ2 to “National Land- at the Groovin’ on the Pike series went ing” (Crystal City, Potomac directly back into the community through Yards, and Pentagon City.) the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organiza- The arts in Arlington are also experiencing many changes tion (CPRO), dedicated to improving and and Arlington Arts staff used energizing the neighborhood. this year as an opportunity to evaluate our mission, pro- Other programs celebrated the vibrancy and grams, and organization. Our diversity of the Arlington community, from take-away was a clear mes- sage proclaiming our main the 15th Annual Día De Los Muertos event Michelle Isabelle-Stark contribution to Arlington as at Arlington Arts Center, to Arlington’s signa- Director, Arlington Cultural Affairs “creating, supporting, and ture music festivals: Rosslyn Jazz Festival and promoting the arts, by con- the Columbia Pike Blues Festival. necting artists and commu- nity to reflect the diversity of Arlington.” In 2019, we’re expanding our model of artis- tically enhanced civic engagement by con- This mission embodies our new innovative tinuing to pursue an affordable housing initi- CONNECTINGarts delivery method with more emphasis ative for creatives with Artspace. The on bringing artists and resources directly to Arlington Art Truck will serve as a launch pad you in the places you live, work, and play. for the County’s Zero Waste Resolution help- We were excited to launch the Arlington Art ing the Department of Environmental Servic- Truck mobile artist-in-residence program, es Solid Waste Bureau gather relevant data funded by the National Endowment for the and raise awareness of this vital cause. We ARTISTS &Arts, and introduce our Award Winning First will undertake several ambitious public art Fridays: Groovin’ on the PIke Concert Series projects, including commemorating at Columbia Pike Branch Library. Arlington’s civil rights past, placing public art along the National Landing transit corridor, Over 6,000 people interacted with our and further integrating public art into civic Arlington Art Truck artist activations, and private projects with a revised Public Art COMMUNITY creating unique artwork in parks, schools, Master Plan. farmers markets, and festivals. At each activation, County and nonprofit partners This magainze serves as a window into how were paired with the artist to provide the we and other Arlington cultural organizari- public with important information about ons work to make Arlington a great place to services that were in some way connected to live, work, and play! We look forward to see- the content of the art project, establishing ing to seeing what else artists and communi- the Arlington Art Truck as a new method to ty can produce and build together. increase and diversify civic engagement. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS & THE SPIRIT OF COLLABORTION l MasPaz and Bell Visuals collaborated to create eye-catching visuals on the facade of Arlington Arts Center. Dia de los Muertos, one of Mexi- To compliment this long-standing co’s venerable cultural traditions, community event, Arlington Arts is a festive celebration of the dead Center partnered with Arlington that honors their journey back to Arts to commission artists MasPaz the afterworld. The holiday has its and Robin Bell of Bell Visuals to ARLINGTON ARTS CENTER, origins in the Aztec ritual of honor- collaborate on the digital projec- ONE OF THE REGION’S ing the dead for an entire month. tion on the façade of their building LARGEST NON-FEDERAL When the Aztecs were invaded by entitled Una Luz Para Los Muertos Spanish conquistadors and (A Light For the Dead.) MasPaz, an VENUES FOR Catholicism became the religion of Arlington resident, is a Colombian CONTEMPORARY VISUAL the land, this pre-Columbian tribal native with strong influences of ARTS, STARTED THIER ritual was only celebrated by a few Latino American street culture in indigenous people in Southern his art. Robin Bell is known for his ANNUAL DIA DE LOS and Central Mexico. In Northern provocative projections seen on fa- MUERTOS CELEBRATION 15 Mexico, cades of famous YEARS AGO AS A FREE people cele- Washington, DC brated the buildings. COMMUNITY EVENT WITH AN traditional COLLABORATION EXHIBITION OF VISUAL ART AT Catholic AND CULTURE The days festivi- ITS CORE, THAT HIGHLIGHTS holiday of ties included live THIS JOYOUS, ARTISTIC honoring the ARE TWO OF THE performances by dead called Ballet Folklorico CELEBRATION ON A LOCAL All Saints Day WORLD’S MOST Mi Herencia LEVEL. in November. POWERFUL FORCES. Mexicana, an or- ganization In the ear- dedicated to ly 2000s, the promoting and Mexican gov- preserving Mex- ernment felt that Día de los Muer- ican folklore, and the Washington, tos, a mix of the Aztec celebration DC-based group Mariachi Aguila and All Saints Day, was a “unifying who performed traditional mari- national tradition based on indig- achi music. Guests participated in enous tradition” and made it a na- art workshops and had their fac- tional holiday. UNESCO agreed and es painted with traditional skull in 2008, the tradition was inscribed imagery. Arlington Arts Center in the Representative List of the offered traditional Mexican food Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hu- included pan de los Muertos and manity. Now, Día de los Muertos is Mexican hot chocolate sponsored not only a celebration of the dead, by the Ballston BID. Local hit food but a celebration of indigenous truck La Tingeria was on-site with traditions and how they can unify other Mexican bites. a country and inspire imagination around the globe. Collaboration and culture are two of the world’s most powerful This year for the 15th Annual Dia forces. They bring together the de los Muertos Celebration, Ar- best in us all to create something lington Arts Center presented an greater. Over 1,100 people came to exhibition of work on loan from celebrate the 15th Annual Día De Self-Help Graphics & Art (SHG), Los Muertos Celebration proving a community-driven nonprofit culture is one of the greatest con- based in Los Angeles that is de- nectors of peoples in the world. voted to fostering the creation and advancement of new work by Chicano/a and Latinx artists. The exhibition included prints from SHG’s archive, which were original- ly presented as part of their 2017 exhibition, Día de los Muertos: A Cultural Legacy, Past, Present & Fu- ture which was part of the Getty Museum’s Pacific Standard Time initiative exploring Latinx art in di- aloge with Los Angeles. PHOTO. » Sonia Romero, Untitled, 2015, 3D print and laser cut on hand-painted wood, 12x12x1.5 in. hat happens when ed the diversity of the Colombia Pike neighbor- you combine beer hood. She reached out to Arlington Arts, and and wine, free pizza, Josh Stoltzfus, Deputy Director and Cultural Af- a library, and great lo- fairs Programmer, remembered the impromptu Wcal bands every first Friday of the indoor performance in Westover and it seemed month? Well, you get the Arlington like a perfect fit to activate the library every County Manager’s Excellence Award First Friday of the month. Winning First Fridays: Groovin’ on the Pike at the Columbia Pike Branch For the first Groovin’ on the Pike, Arlington Arts Library! The program, a partnership hit pay-dirt again: LADAMA, a music ensemble between Arlington Arts and Colum- comprised of four Latina musicians from across bia Pike Branch Library has its ori- the Americas (Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and gins on one hot summer day in West- the U.S.A.), just happened to be in the area. It over… was decided to put the stage in front of the DVD/VHS section; the meeting room was Westover Branch Library wanted to provide some after-work fun by hosting an outdoor concert series in Summer 2016. Arlington Arts booked Krar Collective, a noted Ethiopian band who happened to be passing through the area while on-tour. When a heat-advisory threatened the performance, organizers quick- ly set the group up in a corner of the air condi- tioned library and moved some of the stacks back. As people filled in, happy to be out of the heat, the stacks walked further and further back. People repurposed computer chairs and couches as their lounge viewing area, turned the children’s area rug into a dance floor, and the band smiled ear to ear doing something novel: making noise in the library.