arts

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Wild Animals Rescued During Hurricane — Given this week’s weather, Hurricane Irene is increasingly looking like a brief summer rain shower. Nonetheless, the hurricane created a dangerous situation for humans and animals alike. Animal control officers from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington rescued more than 20 wild animals during the storm, mostly baby squirrels. [Washington Post]

Defense Contractor Moving HQ to Arlington — Defense contractor ATK is moving its headquarters from Minneapolis to Rosslyn. The move will only affect the top brass at the company, however. Fewer than 10 employees, mostly executives, are expected to make the move. [DefenseNews]

Arlington Man Found Dead in N.J. — Arlington resident David C. Williams, 47, was found slumped over in the driver’s seat of his car in Woodbine, N.J. on Wednesday. Foul play is not suspected. [Shore News Today]

Arlington Arts Center Happy Hour — The Arlington Arts Center will be starting its series of fall happy hours on Thursday, Sept. 15. [Clarendon Nights]

Flickr photo courtesy of Brendan L.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Board Awards Nearly Quarter Million to Arts Orgs — On Saturday the County Board voted to approve 25 grants, worth $249,077, to Arlington-based arts organizations. “Arlington has a thriving, vibrant, diverse arts community that brings not only economic benefit, but cultural enrichment, diversity and joy to our County,” County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said in a statement. The top grantees, at $44,625.14 apiece, are Signature Theater and Synetic Theater. [Arlington County]

Board Adopts Inventory of Historic Properties — The County Board has voted to adopts a list of nearly 400 Arlington properties deemed ‘historic.’ Each property on the list was assigned a ranking from “essential” to “minor.” While officials say the inventory is an important step in the preservation process, inclusion on the list doesn’t prohibit owners from making “by-right” changes to their property. [Sun Gazette]

Free Slurpees Today — In celebration of its “birthday” today — on 7/11/11 — 7-Eleven stores are offering a free 7.11 ounce Slurpee to customers while supplies last. The company hands out an average of about 1,000 free Slurpees per store. There are at least twenty 7-Eleven stores in Arlington.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Residents Sound Off on Arlington Arts Proposal

By Katie Pyzyk

Arlington County residents voiced their opinions about the newly-released ‘Arlington Arts 2030’ report Monday night.

About two dozen people showed up at the Shirlington Library to respond to draft recommendations put forth by the Arlington Commission for the Arts and its consultants regarding the future of the county’s arts scene. A previous proposal was developed in the 1990s, and the Commission is seeking a new plan to outline the next 20 years.

Arlington Arts Commission Chair John Seal explained that the proposal assumes the county will continue its current push toward urbanization. He said additional venues, funding and availability of arts is necessary to keep up with the trend.

Angie Fox, president of the Crystal City Business Improvement District, expressed concern — not necessarily with an increase in arts funding, but with the overall focus of the commission. Fox believes, for instance, that the commission should not concern itself with what it doesn’t necessarily excel at, like facilities management. She also takes issue with the proposed allocation of money.

“There’s no real new mission statement,” Fox said. She believes the commission report fostered the attitude of “let’s just give money to the same things we’ve been doing.”

This resonated with others in the group, who believed shifting around funds could be more effective than outright requesting more. Nikki Hoffpauir, Board President for The Arlington Players theater company, pointed out that it’s not just money falling victim to mismanagement, but underused facilities as well.

“There are ways you could use what you already have to help us better,” she said.

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Report Recommends Increased Arts Investment in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

As officials continue trying to stem the tide of red ink at Artisphere, Arlington’s new arts and cultural center, the Arlington Commission for the Arts sees the need for more art venues down the road.

The commission and its consultants have just released a draft copy of “Arlington Arts 2030,” a report that proposes “a long-range strategy for supporting the arts over the next 20 years.”

The report recommends that the county “pro-actively and steadily move… [from] supporting the arts in a manner appropriate for a suburban community to one of building the arts to support the growing urban community that Arlington is today.” To that end, the report recommends increased investment in the arts, art facilities and the artists themselves.

Among the draft recommendations:

  • Offer low cost or affordable housing specifically for use by artists
  • New “public arts spaces” in Crystal City, Shirlington and the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor
  • Public funding (both bonds and “pay go”) to supplement funds from developers to help build already-proposed projects like a black box theater in Virginia Square, a replacement theater for the 1960s-era Spectrum Theater in Rosslyn and a new cultural center at Courthouse Plaza
  • A new, dedicated facility for dance performances
  • An outdoor amphitheater in the Shirlington/Four Mile Run area
  • Increase the annual art grant budget from approximately $250,000 to $350,000 over five years
  • Set aside 2 percent of the county’s Capital Improvement Program budget for public art projects
  • Spin off the county’s art-centric Cultural Affairs division (currently funded at $2.15 million per year) as its own department, separate from the Parks Department
  • Increase the Cultural Affairs marketing budget and emphasize Arlington as a “cultural destination”

Two hearings will be held to gather public input on the report. The first will be held at Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd) from noon to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 11. The second will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, June 13, at the Shirlington Public Library (4200 Campbell Avenue).

Currently, according to county officials, there are ten individual, publicly-accessible theaters in Arlington, each of which receives some sort of county support. That’s in addition to one county-run outdoor amphitheater. There are also 15 individual visual arts galleries in Arlington, six of which are managed or curated by the Cultural Affairs Division. Two of the theaters and three of the galleries are within Artisphere.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Public Forum on Proposed Pike Streetcar — A public meeting will be held tonight to discussed the proposed Columbia Pike/Crystal City streetcar. The meeting will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th Street South). We’ve heard from a few streetcar critics who plan on attending the meeting. They might be surprised to learn that their sentiments aren’t shared by Gov. Bob McDonnell, who told WTOP that Arlington is doing “a good job” with the streetcar project.

Capitol City Brewing Co. Expanding in Shirlington — After losing the lease on its Capitol Hill location, Capitol City Brewing is planning on moving its brewing operations to Shirlington. The company is taking over an adjacent property to enable the expansion, which will make it one of the 10 largest brewpubs in the County. More from Shirlington Village Blog.

Comic Art Show Debuts Tomorrow — Are comic books art? That question will be answered tomorrow, when the Arlington Arts Center debuts its latest show. Party Crashers will feature “fine artists who mimic the appearance of comic art.” More from Clarendon Nights.

George Mason Drive Reopens — George Mason Drive has reopened near Virginia Hospital Center. It was closed for most of the day yesterday, following a powerful storm that knocked over trees and snapped power lines.

Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99

County, Rosslyn Show Off Soon-to-Open Artisphere

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County and the Rosslyn Business Improvement District held a press conference today to show off Arlington’s nearly-completed cultural center, Artisphere. The venue is a centerpiece of the effort to revitalize the workaday Rosslyn business district.

The $6.7 million, 62,000 square foot facility will open to the public on Sunday — 10/10/10 — at 10:10 a.m. A ritzy opening gala ($250 per ticket) will be held Friday night, while a hipper, cheaper “second opening” sponsored by Pink Line Project and Brightest Young Things will be held Saturday night.

Within Artisphere are three theaters, three formal exhibit spaces, a multi-use ballroom, an expansive outdoor terrace, a bar/restaurant (which is currently lacking a tenant), a two-level Wi-Fi lounge, and a retails crafts store.

The theaters include the 350-seat Dome Theater, a repurposed Imax venue; a 200-seat black box theater that will be the new home of the Washington Shakespeare Company; and the existing, adjacent 367-seat Spectrum theater.

The ballroom will be used for events, regular weekday dance lessons, and weekly late-night concerts that will be held on Saturdays and feature contemporary rock, punk and fusion acts.

The terrace will be used for openings and for private events, especially during the warmer weather months. The Wi-Fi lounge will be open to anyone who wants to hang out, get work done or get food or drinks from the restaurant. (We’re told the bidders looking to manage the restaurant space include several well-known local restaurateurs.)

If you must drive, parking garages under Artisphere and the Spectrum theater offer about 300 spaces that will be free after 6:00 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends.

Those who crave the limelight take note: a reality show camera crew from TLC will reportedly be at Saturday’s opening event. They’re following a balloon artist who will have three elaborate exhibits on display.

More photos after the jump.

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Artisphere Will Be a Dance Venue

By ARLnow.com

Arlington officials took select members of the media (read: not us) on a hard hat tour of the still under-construction Artisphere last night.

In her write-up of the tour, the Washington Post’s Jacqueline Trescott is skeptical of the county’s ability to finish the project in time for its scheduled October 10 opening.

Trescott then describes Artisphere’s effort to attract a younger demographic. Among the plans for getting 20-to-45-year-olds to participate in the arts: dancing.

Built into the programming, [Arlington cultural affairs chief Norma] Kaplan said, will be opportunities for interaction with the artists. “We are trying to attract audiences that normally don’t come into a cultural center,” she said. One idea is to have late-night dances, with regional bands, on the weekends.

The ballroom will have regular nights for salsa, swing and social dance, and Kaplan said she expected it to draw a crowd. “There will be live music 90 percent of the time. Dance is very popular in this area, but there aren’t a lot of ballrooms,” she said, describing the retractable bandstand as a “Murphy bed stage” in what is believed to be the second-largest dance floor in the area after Glen Echo Park.

Read more from the Washington Post.

East Falls Church Plan, New Rosslyn Metro Station on Saturday’s Board Agenda

By ARLnow.com

In addition to voting on outdoor seating proposals for American Flatbread and Screwtop Wine Bar, the County Board will considering some proposals with far-reaching consequences.

The board will vote on an initial framework for the East Falls Church development plan, which has attracted quite a bit of controversy. The plan could pave the way for the construction of apartment buildings, retail spaces and other dense, pedestrian-friendly development in what is now a much more single-family-home-oriented area.

Another item under consideration would result in the construction of a new entrance to the Rosslyn Metro station . The $32-35 million dollar project was originally meant to take place concurrent to the construction of the Rosslyn Central Place development, but the development has stalled due to financial complications.

A $159 million bond referendum is also under consideration. The board will decide whether to put the bond issue on the ballot in November. The bonds would fund construction of a new Wakefield High School as well as various Metro, transportation, park and infrastructure projects.

Other items of interest include votes on $249,077 in arts grants, more than $750,000 in equipment for the new Artisphere, and whether to schedule a hearing on a proposal to protect six trees from removal on private property.