THE INITIATIVE FOR PUBLIC ART
RESTON LAUNCHES MASTER PLAN AND COMMUNITY WIDE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC ART IN RESTON
For Immediate Release
Reston’s tradition of making art and culture an everyday part of life in the community is about to take a bold new step. A group of Reston civic and community leaders have joined to develop a vision and plan for cultivating a new generation of public artworks throughout the community.
The group, Initiative for Public Art – Reston, expects to stimulate a community-wide discussion about the role that public art can play in urban places and community life, and plans to commission new artworks that are engaging, memorable and recognized for their artistic excellence.
“Public art has always been a part of Reston’s tradition, but it is more important for Reston now than ever,” says IPA-R President Joseph L. Ritchey. “As the community matures and evolves, public art can create new anchors for our public spaces, new connections to the landscape that we have so carefully protected, and new connections within our community.”
The plan will be built on discussion with and involvement of the Reston community. Already, IPA-R has launched a web-site, www.publicartreston.org, and has posted a survey that everyone who lives and works in Reston should take the time to answer.
On May 29, IPA-R will be hosting “Imagine Art Here,” a public forum that will explore current directions in public art and how they could shape an exciting new generation of art projects in Reston. IPA-R’s consulting team and guest speakers will discuss how artists work in the public realm, and how public art is transforming public places. Community members will have opportunities to contribute their own thoughts about the types of public art they would like to see in Reston. The forum will begin at 7 p.m., at the Reston Community Center’s Center Stage, at the Hunter Woods Village Center, with a reception at 6:30 p.m.
“Our goals are to create a world-class public art master plan, energize a new generation of civic leadership in support of public art, and to provide a model for communities in Fairfax, in Virginia and throughout the country,” says Ritchey.
Reston already has a strong tradition of commissioning artworks in its public places. At the inception of Lake Anne Village, sculptor Gonzalo Fonseca and architect James S. Rossant created play settings and whimsical sculpture at Washington Plaza and the North Shore Drive underpass at Lake Anne Village that still delight people today. And the public spaces of Reston Town Center are anchored by the Mercury Fountain, by sculptor Saint Clair Cemin.
Today, public artists are working in a wide variety of approaches. IPAR’s initiative will consider how temporary, event-based projects; environmental artworks; interactive projects; and artworks created in collaboration with the community could become part of the mix in Reston.
IPA-R has hired the consulting team of Todd W. Bressi and Meridith C. McKinley, national experts in urban design, planning and public art to lead the effort. The team’s work in San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary and Arlington has placed them in the vanguard of art consultants throughout the country. Bressi is based in Philadelphia and McKinley’s firm, Via Partnership, is based in St. Louis.
Key IPAR partners are the Reston Association, the Reston Community Center, the Greater Reston Art Center, the Reston Town Center Association, the Reston Chamber of Commerce, the Arts Council of Fairfax County and the League of Reston Artists.