Arlington Art Truck Previous Seasons
What's Your Sign? by Paul Shortt
The Arlington Art Truck, funded partly by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, delivers cultural experiences to where you live, work and play and gives you a chance to engage with County and nonprofit initiatives in Arlington in a unique, fun way!
During the Art Truck season from April – November, artists-in-residence pack the van with projects ranging from interactive sculptures, installations, performances and more. Each project is paired with a County or community partner so visitors can create or activate artworks as well as learn more about County and community resources. Learn more about our previous seasons of the Arlington Art Truck below and click here for the current season.
Recreate the magic of the Arlington Art Truck at home with free, printable projects designed by our resident artists from previous years by visiting Arlington Arts at Home.
2020
Words to Art Spring 2020 by Sushmita Mazumdar
Greetings from our Microbiome! by Shelly Smith
2019
Trash Garden by Rachel Schmidt
What’s Your Sign? by Paul Shortt
Futura Percussion 1860 by Neil Feather
Arlington Abstracted Mural at the Grove by Marc Pekala
2018
Bipedal Soundscapes by Emily Francisco and Alex Braden
You Are Magic by Alicia Eggert
Going Native: Flora and Fauna of Arlington, Virginia by Kate Samworth
Color Your Future Garden by Marcella Kriebel
Arlington Abstracted by Marc Pekala
2020
Words to Art Spring 2020
An Arlington Community Art Project by Sushmita Mazumdar
Monday, April 27th – Sunday, May 24th
Give artists ONE WORD expressing your feelings and perception of the #COVID19 quarantine and watch them transform it into art! Arlington Arts will ask you to post new words every Monday for the next four weeks. Artist Sushmita Mazumdar and four other Arlington artists will turn select words from your submissions into original sketches to be posted on our social media throughout the weekend. The finished works will be posted on Sushmita’s website, Studio Pause.
Make your own artwork expressing a word at home and post it with #WordsToArtArlington. You can also share it at home in your window, or as chalk art on the sidewalk!
This project was originally designed by Sushmita Mazumdar in 2018 for Art on the ART Bus. The 2020 version takes a new angle by asking you to collaborate.
Participating artists:
Sushmita Mazumdar (Buckingham)
David Amoroso (Douglas Park)
Maribeth Egan (Ballston/Virginia Square)
Kate Fleming (Maywood)
MasPaz (Arlington Ridge)
Virtual Artist Talk and Reception
Wednesday, June 10th, 7 P.M.
Join us in a Zoom reception and talk. Find the invitation in Facebook.
Greetings from Our Microbiome! by Shelly Smith
Tuesday, July 7 – Monday, August 31, 2020
Due to the pandemic, we were not on the streets of Arlington for this activation. It was redesigned as a social media project and virtual artist talk.
The work of Arlington artist Shelly Smith focuses on microscopic life found in water and soil. The artist has illustrated five postcards, featuring the diversity of microorganisms found in five different bodies of water in Arlington, including a bog, vernal pool, and stream. Come examine the living creatures through a microscope, paint the postcards yourself, and then mail them to friends.
Water run-off from our yards and streets not only affects the health of our waterways but it also impacts the larger ecosystem, including trees and plants. The Office of Sustainability and Environmental Management is our community partner, and the postcards share how we can be better stewards of the natural environment by reducing stormwater runoff and pollution at home.
Virtual Art Activation
Tuesday, July 7th – Thursday, August 11th
Explore Arlington’s waterways with Ballston neighborhood artist Shelly Smith. Check the Arlington Art Truck Instagram or Arlington Arts’ Instagram, Facebook or Twitter account July 7 – August 11 to sign up for free postcard packs we will mail to you. The pack will have a mix of color and black and white postcards of which you can color-in yourself and mail to your friends! Choose English or Spanish or a combination.
Virtual Artist Talk
Tuesday, July 28th, 6:30-7:30 P.M.
Join us for the Greetings from Our Microbiome virtual artist presentation. The presentation will take place via Zoom and include a short Q&A. Sign up for the presentation here and we will email you a link and passcode a few days prior to the talk.
Science Sketch Along @ the Virtual Arlington County Fair on Facebook Live (pre-recorded)
Saturday, August 15th, 10 A.M.
Bring your favorite art supplies and join Arlington Art Truck program artist Shelly Smith for a fun drawing session featuring Arlington’s amazing microorganisms. We’ll sketch from images taken with Shelly’s microscope as we learn more about her summer project, Greetings from Our Microbiome, including how to protect our waterways and engage in citizen science. Go to the Arlington Art Truck Instagram or Arlington Arts’ Instagram, Facebook or Twitter for more information. View the video below!
FREE “TAKE AND MAKE” PICK UP LOCATION:
Wednesday, August 5, 9-11:30 A.M., Our Lady Queen of Peace Food Pantry pick up, 2700 19th St South
Science Sketch Along
Vote by Stephen Powers
Wednesday, October 14 and Thursday, October 15, 2020
Stephen Powers, the artist who painted the Arlington Art Truck, designed a sign encouraging everyone to vote. We were fortunate to get a handful of these signs for free and will be distributing at the below locations.
Wednesday, October 14, 6-8pm, Shirlington Dog Park, 2710 S Oakland Street
Thursday, October 15, 12-4pm, Central Library, 1015 N Quincy Street
Thursday, October 15, 5-8pm, Powhatan Springs Skatepark, 6020 Wilson Blvd.
Flight by Greg Stewart
October and November, 2020
Due to the pandemic, we presented a mini activation of Greg Stewart’s project, “Flight”. The Arlington Art Truck offered free seed bird sculpture “Take and Make” kits at the below locations. We look forward to implementing the full version of this project(as described below) after the pandemic.
Learn about the birds that migrate through our area each autumn, and those that are threatened by loss of habitat in Virginia. Artist Greg Stewart and a team of James Madison University students will be on-hand to facilitate your artmaking. You can select from a library of laser cut names of fall migrating birds, then stencil them onto the ground with sifted soil and create a bird sculpture with clay and native seeds in the shape of the threatened birds to take and plant.
Our community partner for this project is Arlington County’s Urban Forestry and Natural Resources Management Offices, who will offer you tips on tree care, wildlife and ecosystem management, grant opportunities for free trees and will be sharing information and collecting input from the public on their Urban Forest Master Plan and Natural Resources Management Plan revision. The Urban Forest Master Plan addresses the conservation, planting and maintenance of trees in Arlington County, preserving a healthy ecosystem, and the Natural Resources Management Plan looks to conserve and enhance the unique ecosystems in our parks.
This project is developed in partnership with James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
MAKE & TAKE: A sculpture in the shape of threatened birds made of native Arlington seeds and clay to plant in your own yard. Stencil the names of migrating birds on the ground. View threatened birds through a 3D View-Master.
MEET: Greg Stewart, sculptor, students from James Madison University and Arlington County’s Arborist.
LEARN: About birds and trees of Arlington County, the Urban Forest Master Plan and Natural Resources Management Plan revision.
FREE “TAKE AND MAKE” PICK UP LOCATIONS:
Sunday, October 18, Westover Farmers Market, 8-noon, 1644 N. McKinley Road, (McKinley Road and Washington Blvd.),
Tuesday, October 20, Crystal City Farmers Market, 3-7 P.M. 2121 Crystal Drive , 3-7pm
Saturday, October 24, Lubber Run Farmers Market, 8-noon, 4401 N. Henderson Road (Henderson and George Mason Drive)
Saturday, November 7, Long Branch Nature Center, 9-1 P.M. 675 S Carlin Springs Road
Sunday, November 15, Fairlington Farmers Market, 9-1 P.M. 3308 S Stafford Street
2019
Trash Garden by Rachel Schmidt
Area artist Rachel Schmidt will create a landscape inside the Arlington Art Truck from discarded plastics that were used by the artist in her everyday life. Participants will wrap the plastic in paper printed with Arlington fauna imagery photographed by Drew Model and Discovery School students. When placing their final wrapped object into the installation, participants will hear recorded memories of our natural environment. The final installation will contain 53 pounds of plastic- the amount that a County resident throws away in one year. Through our participation, this project helps us to visualize the landscape of plastic waste to which we all contribute and which never completely disappears.
Tuesday, April 2 – 9-2:05pm – Discovery Elementary School at 5241 36th Street North (not open to the public)
Thursday, April 4 – 9:20-1:30pm -Drew Model School at 3500 23rd South (not open to the public)
Saturday, April 7 – 9-1pm – Columbia Pike Farmer’s Market, 2820 Columbia Pike
Saturday, April 13 – 1-4pm – Arlington Palooza, 901 S George Mason Drive
Wednesday, April 17 – 10-noon – EarthFest @ Arlington Mill, 909 S Dinwiddie Street
Sunday, April 28 – 9-1pm – Westover Farmer’s Market, 1644 McKinley Road
Saturday, May 4 – 8-noon – Lubber Run Farmer’s Market, 4401, N. Henderson Road
Friday, May 10 – Artist & Curator Talk @ Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Independence Ave. SW & 7th St., Washington, DC 20560
Saturday, May 11 – 9-1pm – Arlington Mill Farmer’s Market, Arlington Mill Community Center, 909 S Dinwiddie Street
What’s Your Sign? by Paul Shortt
In What’s Your Sign?, the Truck will set up at various locations displaying and distributing signs by Florida-based artist Paul Shortt. Participants can select free, pre-made signs about daily life, consumption and the environment or make their own. These signs provide useful, funny and odd reminders, questioning how we engage in the public spaces that we encounter every day. There will also be a sign making station to create your own signs to take home. Check out the What’s Your Sign? project documentation on the artist’s website.
Wednesday, May 15 – 11-1:30pm – Central Plaza & 4-7:30pm Clarendon Metro Plaza at 3100 Wilson Boulevard
Thursday, May 16 – 11-2pm – Food Truck Thursday, 220 20th Street
Friday, May 17 – 6:30-9am – Ride Your Bike to Work Day, Gateway Park at 1300 Lee Highway & 4:30-6:30pm New District Brewery, 2709 S Oakland Street
Saturday, May 18 – 11-3pm – Make Your Mark Festival, 3700 S. Four Mile Run
Sunday, May 19 – 12-6pm – Quarter Fest, Ballston Quarter, 4238 Wilson Boulevard
Saturday, September 21 – last day TBD: pop-up display in lobby without Truck- while supplies last – Arlington Mill Community Center, 909 S. Dinwiddie Street
Futura Percussion 1860 by Neil Feather
Learn about basic and early principles of electricity by operating a sound machine designed by Guggenheim Fellow and Baltimore artist Neil Feather. This interactive sound sculpture re-uses scientific and mechanical tools like switches and electromagnetic coils – all technology developed before the 1860’s. Activate the sculpture by cranking a bicycle wheel, pushing buttons and switches and turning knobs to make your own sound composition. If you have questions – ask the artist Neil who will be standing by your side in this journey through science, sound and history!
Thursday, May 30 – 11-2pm – on the plaza at the entrance to the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center, 2100 Clarendon Boulevard – be sure and check out Made in Arlington indoors, same time!
Saturday, June 8 – 9-3pm – 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)
Saturday, June 15 – 1-8:30pm – Columbia Pike Blues Festival, Walter Reed Drive at Columbia Pike
Saturday June 22 – 10-2pm – in partnership with Shirlington Public Library, plaza in front of 4200 Campbell Avenue
Thursday, June 27 – 3-7pm – Ballston Farmer’s Market, Welburn Square, 901 N. Taylor Street
Tuesday, July 9 – 3-7pm – Crystal City Farmer’s Market, Crystal Dr & 20th Street S
Sunday, July 14 – 9-1pm – Fairlington Farmer’s Market, Fairlington Community Center, 3308 S Stafford Street
Thursday, July 25 – 6-9pm – Pentagon City Rock at the Row, 1101 S Joyce Street
Friday, Aug. 16 – 4-9pm – Arlington County Fair, Thomas Jefferson Community Center, 3501 2nd Street S Rain or Shine
Saturday, Aug. 17 – 4-9pm – Arlington County Fair ,Thomas Jefferson Community Center, 3501 2nd Street. S Rain or Shine
Arlington Abstracted Mural at the Grove by Marc Pekala
Join us at PARK(ing) Day 2019 and stop by the pop-up plaza (15th Street North and North Uhle Street at the surface parking lot) to celebrate the mural’s premiere and meet artist Marc Pekala. The Arlington Art Truck will be there with Pekala’s Arlington Abstracted project for anyone interested in designing their own colorful creation.
For the Arlington Art Truck, Pekala reimagined eight iconic signs for Arlington business past and present in his signature abstracted aesthetic. The signs were broken into tiles that the public was invited to arrange into their own colorful designs. At the end of the activations, a competition of the best participant designed poster was held with plans for the winning design to be transformed into a mural by Pekala at the pop-up plaza. The winning design was created by Arlington resident Brandon M. Bailey.
The mural covers three parking spaces transformed into a pop-up plaza adjacent to “The Grove” – the last remaining vestige of the original Arlington County Courthouse site from 1898. This project is supported by Arlington Arts and the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development – Urban Design Section as well as the Department of Environmental Services – Transportation Engineering and Operations whose repaving of the parking lot created a perfect mural canvas.
For more information on the Arlington Abstracted project and the businesses that inspired the designs, please visit this link.
Friday, Sept. 20 – 11-2pm – 15th Street N. and N. Uhle Street at the surface parking lot.
Ties That Bind: Learn to Sew on a Button and Connect by Lorenzo Cardim with artists Charlene Wallace and Angela Latson
Learning to repair your clothing is a great way to conserve resources. For the fall Arlington Art Truck project, artists Lorenzo Cardim, Charlene Wallace, and Angela Latson will teach participants how to sew a button while building community connections. You’ll sew fun colorful buttons of all shapes and sizes onto fabric shaped like Arlington civic associations or neighborhoods to create a map of Arlington. During this eight week activation, segments of the map will fill up with colorful buttons which collectively represent the diversity of our community.
In late October, at Arlington Central Library’s Community Engagement Space, participants will have the special opportunity to watch the artists sew the individual civic association segments together into a bedazzling representation of the community!
While sewing, chat with neighbors, make new friends, and share ideas on how to conserve resources.
Arlington’s Solid Waste Bureau and EcoAction Arlington are community partners this season. A member of the Solid Waste Bureau will be on site to answer questions about recycling and reducing waste.
Saturday, Sept. 7 – 1-7pm – Rosslyn Jazz Festival, Gateway Park, 1300 Lee Highway
Saturday, Sept. 14 – 8-noon – Arlington Farmer’s Market, 1401 N. Courthouse Road
Saturday, Sept. 21 – 11-6pm – Clarendon Day, Clarendon Boulevard and Wilson Boulevard between Washington and Highland
Sunday, Sept. 29 – 12- 5pm – ValleyFest @ New District Brewing, 2709 S Oakland Street
Saturday, Oct. 5 -1- 6pm – Columbia Pike Fall Festival, S Adams Street at Columbia Pike
Saturday, Oct. 12 – 9-1pm – Marymount Farmer’s Market, 2807 N Glebe Road
Monday, Oct. 14 – Wakefield High School at 1325 S Dinwiddle Street (not open to public)
Sunday, Oct. 27 – 9-1pm – Fairlington Farmer’s Market, 3308 S Stafford Street —CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN
Tuesday- Thursday Oct. 29-31: noon-6pm – see the artists stitching the map together – Arlington Central Library’s Community Engagement Space located in the lobby near the parking lot entrance, 1015 N Quincy Street Rain or Shine
December 12 – February: see the final map sewn together on display in the lobby of The Bozman Government Center, 2100 Clarendon Blvd. (open weekdays 8-5pm, closed weekends and holidays)
Download a sewing kit and instructions by visiting our Arlington Arts at Home page.
2018
Bipedal Soundscapes by Emily Francisco and Alex Braden
Bipedal Soundscapes created by DC area artists Emily Francisco and Alex Braden lets participants activate a sound sculpture. By pedaling a stationary bike, participants power a five-tiered turntable housing vinyl records creating their own unique audio experience. Visitors controlled the speed of the turntables by pedaling on the stationary bicycle, allowing riders to dictate the way the piece is experienced.
Community partners: Phoenix Bikes and BikeArlington Phoenix Bikes’ nonprofit youth bike education program and their upcoming new space on Columbia Pike at the Arlington Mill Community Center. BikeArlington is Arlington County’s bike education and encouragement program.
Wednesday, April 4 – 11-12:30pm –18th and Crystal Drive, (press event)
Wednesday, April 4 – 6-9pm – Crosshairs Garage Races, Parking Garage at 201 12th Street South, Crystal City
Sunday, April 8 – 9-1pm – Westover Farmer’s Market at 1644 Westover Library Plaza
Tuesday, April 10 – 8-11:30am – Thomas Jefferson Middle School at 125 South Glebe Road (closed to public)
Thursday, April 12 – 10:41-2:24pm – Kenmore Middle School at 202 South Carlin Springs (closed to public)
Saturday, April 21 – 1-4pm – Arlington Palooza. Alcova Heights Park at 901 South George Mason Drive
Thursday, April 26 – 6:30-9pm – Phoenix Bikes Maker’s Ball, Crystal City Shops at 2100 Crystal Drive
Saturday, May 5 – 9-1pm – Arlington Mill Farmer’s Market at Columbia Pike and Dinwiddie Street
Saturday, May 12 – 9-1pm – 15th and Courthouse Road, a Courthouse 2.0 project
Wednesday May 23 – 3-7:30pm – Clarendon Plaza, Clarendon Metro, 3100 Wilson Boulevard
Saturday, June 2 – 1-4pm – MAKE your MARK 2018! 3700 South Four Mile Run Drive, (Arlington Art Truck will be in front of New District Brewery next door)
You Are Magic by Alicia Eggert
You Are Magic is a large-scale, interactive inflatable sculpture designed to inspire wonder and evoke the power of collaboration. When two people touch the handprint sensors and hold hands across the platform, the deflated sculpture comes to life. The inflatable fills with air, growing larger the longer participants hold hands, expanding into the words “You Are Magic.” But as soon as they release their hands the circuit is broken, and the sculpture deflates into a crumpled pile of fabric on the ground.
Community Partner: Volunteer Arlington connects individuals, groups, nonprofits and businesses in an effort to promote volunteerism. Volunteer Arlington is one of the four main offerings of Leadership Center for Excellence, whose mission is to enlighten, inspire and connect leaders through community building and leadership development.
Tuesday, May 15 – Arlington County Public School at 2121 North Culpeper Street (not open to the public)
Wednesday, May 16 – 11:30-7pm – Arlington Mill Community Center, 909 S Dinwiddie Street – Artist talk & Slideshow – 11:30 and 4pm. Free parking in garage!
Thursday, May 17 – 8-2pm – Food Truck Thursday (with VeloFix & Crafts Market), 1900 Crystal Drive
Friday, May 18 – 11-2pm – Central Place, Rosslyn, 1800 N Lynn Street & 4:30-7pm – Bike to Work at New District Brewing, 2709 S Oakland Street
Saturday, May 19 – 9-11am – Columbia Pike Branch Library at 816 S Walter Reed Drive & 1-4pm – 15th and Courthouse Road, in partnership with Courthouse 2.0: Reimaging the Civic;
Sunday, May 20 – Taste of Arlington on the lawn of Arlington Art Center, 3550 Wilson Blvd
Going Native: Flora and Fauna of Arlington, Virginia by Kate Samworth
Going Native: Flora and Fauna of Arlington, Virginia, created and illustrated by artist Kate Samworth, is a folding, pocket-sized manual of some of Arlington’s native plant, mammal, and insect species of Arlington. Using her artwork as a reference, participators enjoyed a quick hands-on art project examining and recreating the shapes and patterns found on selected species of plants, insects, and butterflies by using collage, watercolor and drawing. By doing this project it will help participators to identify these species and the ecosystems they support in their own backyard.
Community partner: Plant NOVA Natives, is the joint marketing campaign of a grand coalition of non-profit, governmental, and private groups, all working to reverse the decline of native plants and wildlife in Northern Virginia. Plant NOVA encourages residents as well as public and commercial entities to install native plants as the first step toward creating wildlife habitat and functioning ecosystems in their own backyards.
Thursday, June 7 – 4-7pm – Ballston Mega Market, Welburn Square, Ballston Metro at 901 Fairfax Drive
Saturday, June 16 – noon-8pm – Columbia Pike Blues Festival, Walter Reed and Glebe Road
Saturday, June 23 – 9-1pm – Arlington Mill Farmer’s Market, 909 S Dinwiddie Street
Saturday, June 30 – 8-noon – Arlington Farmer’s Market, 14th and N Uhle Street
Tuesday, July 10 – 4-7pm – Crystal City Farmer’s Market, 18th and Crystal Drive
Sunday, July 29 – 9-1pm – Fairlington Farmer’s Market, 3308 S Stafford Street
Thursday, August 2 – 4-7pm – Ballston Mega Market, Welburn Square, Ballston Metro at 901 Fairfax Drive
Download a coloring pages by visiting our Arlington Arts at Home page.
Color Your Future Garden by Marcella Kriebel
Marcella provided five different black line illustrations that you can choose to watercolor in your own way: Arlington seed planting charts that reveal the diversity of the County through a broad selection of vegetables grown in our community gardens in one of the four seasons, or a map of the Arlington Community Gardens.
Community Partners: Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) with the Plot Against Hunger program. During the activations, visitors could grab some seeds to “Grow a Row” for Arlington Food Assistance or grab a plant and learn to grow edibles indoors.
Wednesday, July 18 – 4-7pm – Rosslyn Farmer’s Market, Central Place, Rosslyn Metro at 1850 N Moore Street
Download seed planting charts and coloring pages by visiting our Arlington Arts at Home page.
Arlington Abstracted by Marc Pekala
Artist Marc Pekala reimagined eight iconic Arlington business signs in his signature abstracted aesthetic. Mounted onto small magnetic sheets and broken into multiple 2×2 squares, the artists asks participants to let loose and rearrange them into new original colorful abstract artworks of their own. One of these designs will be selected to become the new ground mural in Spring 2019 in the Pop-Up park at 2100 Clarendon Blvd.
Community Partner: Inspection Services Division, Arlington County. Want to renovate your home or add on a deck? Talk to inspection services at these Arlington Art Truck activations!
More about the project
About Marc Pekala
Saturday, September 8 – 1-7pm -Rosslyn Jazz Festival, Gateway Park at 1300 Lee Highway
Saturday, September 15 – noon-6pm – Nauck Civic and Community Pride Day at Drew Model Elementary School at 3500 23rd South
Saturday, September 29 – 11-2pm – West Columbia Pike Food Truck Party at 4800 Columbia Pike
Sunday, September 30 – noon-5pm – Arlington Valley Fest, 2709 S Oakland Street
Saturday, October 6 – 2-7pm – Columbia Pike Fall Festival, S Adams and Columbia Pike
Thursday, October 11 – Washington and Liberty High School at 1301 N Stafford Street (not open to public)
Saturday, October 20 – 9-1pm – Marymount Farmer’s Market, 2807 N Glebe Road
Wednesday, October 31 – 11-3pm – in front of Fashion Centre at Pentagon City at 1100 S Hayes Street (with the Mobile Visitors’ Van)