Art on the Median

Release Date: Thursday, April 29th 2010

	Downtown BID Executive Director Richard H. Bradley joins other DC luminaries at the April 28th ribbon cutting for the NY Avenue Sculpture Project.

	Arbre Serpents (Serpent Tree), similar to the Tree of Life, celebrates the connection between living beings

They're here! Phase I of the National Museum of Women in the Arts' (NMWA) bold, new outdoor arts project officially hit the streets on Wednesday, April 28. More than 150 people attended the dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony,  which featured special guest Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden and DC luminaries  such as NMWA founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay,  Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton,  Councilmember Jack Evans, Downtown BID Executive  Director Richard H. Bradley and Office of Planning Director Harriet Tregoning.

Since NMWA began installing French artist Niki de Saint Phalle's whimsical and colorful sculptures along the New York Avenue median from 12th to 13th Streets, heads have been turning, cameras snapping and people gawking at the larger than life figurines now gracing one of Downtown’s major throughways. 
  

WUSA 9 anchor Andrea Roane listens to Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden address the crowd about the importance of public art.

The initiative, a private-public partnership between the NMWA, the Downtown BID and the Office of Planning, promotes cultural tourism, provides free access to the arts for Downtown workers, visitors and residents and is changing the face of New York Avenue. 

 

 

Councilmember Jack Evans and Office of Planning Director Harriet Tregoning share a smile with speaker, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Phase I of the New York Avenue Sculpture Project includes four 12- and 15-foot high Saint Phalle sculptures: Les Trois Graces (The Three Graces), representing women in Greek mythology  who personified charm and beauty; Nana on a Dolphin, which links women with nature (Saint Phalle’s robust female figures are called “Nanas”); Arbre Serpents (Serpent Tree), similar to the Tree of Life, celebrates the connection between living beings; and #23 Basketball Player, 1999, which alludes to a well-known professional basketball player. All are made of fiberglass and encrusted with mirrors, colored stones and mosaic glass.

The New York Avenue Sculpture Project will continue to feature temporary sculpture installations of world-class contemporary art by women, installed in four phases between 2010 and 2015 with changes every one to three years.
 
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