Arlington Art Truck
The Arlington Art Truck season 2 kicks off April 2019 delivering interactive art projects to where you live, work, and play!
Packed with digital and traditional creative tools, the Arlington Art Truck is a curated mobile tool box for artists-in-residence. From April to October, the Artists themselves cruise the streets of Arlington to engage the public in curator/artist developed projects ranging from an impromptu workshop or performance, to a pop-up gallery, all designed to blur the line between participant and presenter, citizen and bureaucracy. The Arlington Art Truck was the recipient of a $25,000 Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in support of its first season of programming.
This year, the Solid Waste Bureau and EcoAction Arlington are the two community partners for the season. Meet their staff at each activation and learn how to reduce waste through the artist’s interactive project- curated and developed specifically for our community.
schedule subject to cancellation due to weather, see social media for most immediate updates
Learn more about the Arlington Art Truck 2019 season below and see the past 2018 season here.
2019 Activations
Trash Garden by Rachel Schmidt
DC-area artist Rachel Schmidt explores the question "when you throw away or recycle plastic—where does it really go?" Schmidt will create a landscape installation inside the Arlington Art Truck made from discarded plastics participants will wrap in paper printed with Arlington fauna imagery photographed by Drew Model and Discovery School students. The interactive installation will feature recorded memories of the natural environment from previous Arlington Art Truck contributors. Trash Garden serves as a metaphor for everyday life: an evolving landscape to which we all contribute and built of plastic waste which never truly disappears.
What's Your Sign? by Paul Shortt
In What’s Your Sign?, participants can select free, humorous signs about daily life, consumption and the environment by artist Paul Shortt, or make their own signs that re-think the spaces we encounter every day. The Arlington Art Truck will set up at various locations temporarily placing signs around the area with a sign making station along with a selection of pre-made signs for you to take home, providing useful, funny and odd reminders about how we engage with our environment.
Futura Percussion 1860 by Neil Feather
Using early principles of electricity, Baltimore artist Neil Feather re-uses objects like motors, wheels, knobs, and instruments to create his sculptures. Learn about basic electricity by operating Futura Percussion 1860, which uses only scientific and mechanical tools like switches, batteries and electromagnetic coils that had been developed by the 1860’s. If you have questions – ask Neil- he will be standing by your side in this journey through science, sound and history! Futura Percussion 1860 is a perfect example of the reuse of materials. The question is for you to explore what is NOT reused in this stunning kinetic sculpture!
Special Event: Celebration of Arlington Abstracted Mural @ Art on the Plaza
In the previous Arlington Art Truck season, participants created Arlington Abstracted artwork by rearranging multiple 2” x 2” squares extracted from Arlington’s iconic business signs of the past. Vote for your favorite design through January 31st on Facebook to become the new mural at the Pop-Up park on the surface parking lot adjacent to 2100 Clarendon Blvd in Court House! Then on May 30, celebrate the new mural on-site and meet the artist Marc Pekala! If you missed creating your own Arlington Abstracted work, you can make one at the event!
Thursday, May 30 – Celebration of new mural at The Grove pop-up park located in the surface parking lot near 2100 Clarendon Blvd, 11-2pm (programmed during Art on the Plaza)
More about the project
About Marc Pekala
Upcoming Events
Trash Garden by artist Rachel Schmidt
Tuesday, April 2 - Discovery Elementary School 9-2:05pm – not open to public
Thursday, April 4 – Drew Model School – 9:20-1:30pm– not open to public
Sunday, April 7 – Pike Park Farmer’s Market, Walter Reed and Columbia Pike, 9-1pm
Saturday, April 13 – Arlington Palooza, Alcova Heights Park, 901 S George Mason Drive, 1-4pm
Wednesday, April 17 Arlington Mill Community Center, 909 S Dinwiddie St, EarthFest: 10am-noon, In Community Center on PL level: noon-2pm
Sunday, April 28 – Westover Farmer’s Market, Westover Library Plaza, 1644 N McKinley Rd, 9-1pm
Saturday, May 4 – Lubber Run Farmer’s Market, 4401 N Henderson Rd, 8-Noon
Saturday, May 11 – Arlington Mill Farmer’s Market, 909 S Dinwiddie St, 9-1pm
What’s Your Sign? by artist Paul Shortt
Wednesday, May 15 – Rosslyn Farmer’s Market, 1800 N Lynn Street, 3-7pm
Thursday, May 16 – Food Truck Thursday, 220 20th Street, 11-2pm
Friday, May 17 – Bike to Work Day – Morning: Rosslyn in Gateway Park, 6:30-9am; Evening- in front of New District Brewery Company, 2709 S Oakland St, 4:30-6:30pm
Saturday, May 18 – Make Your Mark, Arlington Cultural Affairs, 11-3pm- RAIN OR SHINE:
SHINE location: in front of New District Brewing Company, 2709 S Oakland St
RAIN location: Make Your Mark, 3700 South Four Mile Run
Sunday, May 19 – Quarter Fest, 12 noon - 6pm- RAIN OR SHINE:
SHINE location: Plaza at Ballston Quarter Mall, 4238 Wilson Blvd,
RAIN location: Look for us inside Ballston Quarter Mall: follow the signs!
Arlington Abstracted by artist Marc Pekala
Thursday, May 30 – Celebration of new mural at The Grove pop-up park located in the surface parking lot near 2100 Clarendon Blvd, 11-2pm (programmed during Art on the Plaza)
Futura Percussion 1860 by artist Neil Feather
Saturday, June 8- Rock 'n Recycle- Solid Waste Bureau Open House, 2700 S Taylor Street, (go to the top of the hill- free parking on levels 2 and 3 of garage on left), 9-3pm
Saturday, June 15, Columbia Pike Blues Festival, Walter Reed Drive at Columbia Pike, 12-8pm
Saturday or Sunday, June 22 or 23, TBD
Tuesday, June 25, Crystal City Farmer’s Market, 20th and Crystal Drive, 3-7pm
Sunday, July 14, Fairlington Farmer’s Market at the Fairlington Community Center, 3308 S Stafford St, 9-1pm
Thursday, July 25, Pentagon Rock and Row, 1100 S Joyce St, 6-9pm
Friday, August 16th, Arlington County Fair, 3-8pm - TBC
Saturday, August 17th, Arlington County Fair, 3-8pm - TBC
Check back soon for additional upcoming events!
Behind The Art Truck Design
Photo copyright 2017 Cynthia Connolly
The Arlington Art Truck's exterior has colorful and witty illustrations hand painted by internationally renowned artist Stephen Powers. Stephen worked alongside Arlington Art Truck curator Cynthia Connolly to create a "parade of usual and unusual art supplies" including Cynthia's saddle shoes and Leica camera as a nod to their collaboration. Paying homage to his start as a graffiti artist and tagger, the blank side of the Truck outlined in dotted lines will feature magnetic interchangeable letters in his signature style. About the Artist