Federal grant supports public art project in Seven Corners

A public art project is planned for the area between Arlington Boulevard and Sleepy Hollow Road in Seven Corners

The Arts Council of Fairfax County’s “Image Art Here” initiative, calling for the creation of temporary public art in Seven Corners and Springfield, has been approved for a $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Imagine Art Here will elicit a vision for the role of the arts in the community and collect resident, workforce, and visitor feedback on the type of facilities, public art and related arts amenities desired at both locations. The input from the Imagine Art Here initiative will inform the Master Arts Plan being spearheaded by the Arts Council on behalf of Fairfax County.

The Seven Corners art project will be installed at Route 50 and Sleepy Hollow Road, and the Springfield project will be located in a pedestrian and vehicular underpass near the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station.

The arts council anticipates starting both projects this summer, with installations and public engagement taking place in 2017. The artists will be selected by a panel of arts, architecture, planning, and community representatives. 

Both projects will enhance the experience of residents, employees, and visitors passing through those areas; promote community participation; and increase public awareness of the potential for public art. The Arts Council is working with the Fairfax County government, corporate sponsors, and community partners to carry out the projects.

“We are just delighted to receive this NEA grant to bring Imagine Art Here to the communities of Seven Corners and Springfield,” said Linda Sullivan, the president and CEO of the Arts Council. “It’s all about engaging the public in a dialogue on art and arts amenities for their community – and we get to engage artists in producing temporary public art in highly visible locations.” 

“As the long-awaited redevelopment of Seven Corners gathers momentum, community involvement will be critical,” said Mason Supervisor Penny Gross. “Engaging our residents for public art is an important facet of that involvement.”

This is the second NEA-funded Imagine Art Here project. The first one, in 2015, was the Tysons Tiles project by artist Julia Vogl. A thousand Tysons residents, employees, and visitors were asked about their vision for the arts at Tysons and were then able to see the responses displayed in two massive ground murals located at Greensboro Green Park and Tysons West. In addition, responses were illuminated in LED lights on the exterior of the Silverline Center building and displayed on a wrapped shuttle bus.