Metropolitan Park Public Art Projects
Location
1400 S. Eads St. and 501 15th St. S, Arlington, VA 22202
Artwork Details
Artist: Nekisha Durrett, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, and Aurora Robson
Expected: 2023
As part of the Metropolitan Park Redevelopment Project, a new community space is being developed. Arlington Public Art is pleased to welcome three new public art projects associated with Amazon's Met Park development: Queen City by Nekisha Durrett; Shhh by Aurora Robson and Untitled Perched Objects by Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle. Public art in Metropolitan Park will inspire interaction and dialogue, and bring a sense of community, human connection, and intimacy to the park.
Durrett's Queen City confronts the 1941 seizure of Black-owned land by the federal government for the construction of the Pentagon, a story that is not often talked about as part of Arlington’s history. The piece features a 35-foot-tall brick tower which will include 903 ceramic vessels in the shape and color of a drop of water representing each individual that lived in Queen City and made by Black ceramicists from the local area and beyond.
With Shhh, Robson invites viewers to step out of everyday life to marvel at the incredible biodiversity of Virginia and the many things that we don’t hear or see unless we are quiet and observant. The artist has used upcycled plastic to create 3-D printed mushrooms. At night, each component responds to movement by softly glowing within, reminiscent of the bioluminescent mushrooms found in nearby forests.
Manglano-Ovalle's Untitled Perched Objects presents a series of events populating one's journey along the forest path. The assortment is familiar yet unexpected, inviting the viewer to consider all the objects that surround us, those overlooked and those which may hold our focus. Each is a part of the everyday and yet extraordinary, recognizable and yet inexplicable.
Per County Public Art Guidelines, the Public Art Committee of the Arlington Commission for the Arts voted to approve these art concepts at their March 3, 2021 meeting. Since then, Arlington Public Art has continued to work with Amazon and the three artists to develop their proposals and oversee their installation, in keeping with the County's standard site plan-initiated public art process. The installation of all three projects is expected to be completed by the park opening in the Summer of 2023.
Learn more about Metropolitan Park Public Space Project.
Learn more about Nekisha Durrett, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, and Aurora Robson.
Funded by Amazon.