Public Art Art-Reston

Outreach and community programs serving to promote Public Art in the community and beyond include: 1. Artists residencies at two elementary schools in Reston where professional artists valerie theberge and shahin talishkhan led workshops with students who realized a mosaic bird bath and mosaic poles for bird houses that were installed on the school grounds. The program was supported by fairfax county Public schools through a Public Art proffer and grants from artsfairfax, the Virginia commission for the arts and the national endowment for the arts; 2. Guided tours of the Public Art at lake anne village center; 3. And artist talks with marco rando, zachary oxman, and ben volta.

Public Art Reston, in collaboration with Reston association, walker nature center, Reston bicycle club, and Reston community center, selected designs concepts submitted by artists who responded to a call for site-specific bike racks. Artists were not only tasked with creating site-specific designs, but also to follow fairfax county criteria and standards for such amenities. Artist-designed bike racks are installed at the lake house, walker nature center, and pony barn park. The project is supported by friends of Reston, Reston association, Reston bicycle club, and by grants from the Virginia commission for the arts and the national endowment for the arts.

Public Art Reston, in collaboration with atlantic realty companies and Reston association, selected artist ben volta to create a permanent Public artwork for the exterior and interior walls of the colts neck road underpass. The project included an extensive community engagement program. Ben volta was inspired by the 55 miles of pathways and combined 710 drawings created by an intergenerational team of over 650 restonians to create a colorful connector that reverberates collective energy and rhythm. In workshops led by the artist from may to june 2019, students from hunters woods and dogwood elementary schools and southgate community center, seniors from hunters woods fellowship house and hunters woods at trails edge, as well as Reston residents, adapted a quote by henry david thoreau to inspire creative action: draw a path (however wide, narrow, straight, jagged, crooked, curly and winding) in which we can all look at and enjoy with love and reverence. The permanent Public artwork entitled thoreaus ensemble is supported by a Public Art proffer by atlantic realty companies, as well as by grants and sponsorship by corporations and individuals.

Connies quilt was the fifth temporary installation for the lake thoreau spillway realized by students at south lakes high school (slhs) through the steam team after school program. Lake thoreau resident james pan approached Reston association (ra) in 2012 with the idea of involving slhs students in transforming the unattractive, concrete spillway platform into a work of Art. Through this initial financial support, ra partnered with Public Art Reston to support slhs Art teacher, marco rando who leads the steam team after school program. Over the course of a school year steam team members gain real world experience in all aspects of the design, development and construction of a work of Art through a professional Public Art process. Steam team members create design concepts and present them to the Public Art Reston Public Art committee and the ra design review board for final approval. The final design is tested for durability and constructed by students at the high school where it is disassembled and then reinstalled on the spillway by ra staff for all community members to engage with over the course of the installation. The project was supported by the lake thoreau entertainment association, Reston association, and many community members.