Public invited to community dialogue session, with free dinner

Some of the artworks produced by students as part of the Re-Imagining Community initiative.

The public is invited to a gathering next Thursday to explore the meaning of community through art – and enjoy a free Latin American Dinner.

The session, titled “Re-Imagining Community through Dialogue, Poetry and Art,” is March 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m., in the cafeteria of Bailey’s Lower Elementary School, 6111 Knollwood Drive, Bailey’s Crossroads. Free childcare will be provided.

Participants will listen to a poem about community by local high school students, share their vision of community through graphic design, and see how students express their perceptions through activist art.

This is the third in a series of dialogues hosted by the Fairfax County Department of Community Services in partnership with the Mason Police District and George Mason University’s School of Art.

The first dialogue was held last May at the Dar Al-Hijra Islamic Center in Seven Corners, and the second took place in October at the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church. At those sessions, students from Annandale, Stuart, Falls Church, and Woodson high schools displayed the art they produced for the project to illustrate their feelings about community.

It’s not necessary to have attended the first two sessions to participate in the third one.

Proceeds from the Taste of Annandale are supporting the Re-Imagining Community through Art initiative.

For more information, contact Norma Lopez, 703-544-5475, [email protected].

UPDATE: This event was canceled, due to snow and will be rescheduled.