Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.

dcarts

DC Arts
 
  • facebook
  • Follow us on X
  • instagram

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Present the Dedication of "Here to Here"

Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Artist Sheila Crider's vibrant installation enlivens St. Elizabeths East Campus and GatewayDC

WHO: Mayor Vincent C. Gray, The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH), the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), and artist Sheila Crider

 

WHAT: Dedication of Here to Here

 

WHERE: St. Elizabeths East Campus, GatewayDC Pavilion, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE

 

WHEN: November 8, 2014, 11:00 AM

 

(Washington - DC) - Mayor Vincent C. Gray, The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) are pleased to announce the dedication of Here to Here, a vibrant installation creating connectivity at St. Elizabeths East Campus and GatewayDC from one end of the green space to the other. The artwork is by Sheila Crider and is commissioned by DCCAH and DMPED, as part of the St. Elizabeths East Way-Finding Public Art Project.

 

Here to Here consists of 24 brightly colored triangular aluminum sculptures that activate the extent of the lawn in front of GatewayDC, a community space on campus utilized for various activities. Sheila Crider's design for the sculptures was inspired by the rooftops of the historic campus buildings and based on chain link fencing and directional arrows. Fabricated by KC Fabrications in Gardiner, NY, the sculptures also consist of colorful Solar LED block lights that create a meandering path across the lawn at night. Here to Here will also create connectivity with a second installation by Ms. Crider, entitled Wishing on Stars, which will be installed at the entrance to the campus at 1300 Alabama Avenue SE later this year.

 

Ms. Crider's work was selected by an art selection panel consisting of public art specialists, DMPED and District Department of Transportation representatives and Ward 8 community stakeholders. The project had extensive engagement of the Ward 8 community though arts working groups and community participation in the selection process.  The welcoming installations were designed to lead the community and visitors to the St. Elizabeths East Campus and Gateway Pavilion during the redevelopment process. The project is the first of many public art activations that will take place on the campus over the next several years. 

 

"Shelia Crider's art both activates the St. Elizabeths campus in a colorful and exciting way, and also represents the close bonds that this redevelopment effort has with the local Ward 8 artist community," says Catherine Buell, Executive Director, St. Elizabeths East.

 

"The artwork creates a new link for the campus to community," says Judith Terra, Chair of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. "Public art can be a connector, while adding elements of creativity that enliven public spaces. The Commission is happy to be a part of the next generation of work for St. Elizabeths."

 

"Here to Here shows our commitment to creative placemaking and exemplifies our important partnerships with communities to enhance public spaces," says Lionell Thomas, Executive Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

 

About Sheila Crider

 

Artist Sheila Crider grew up in Anacostia in Southeast Washington, DC, and currently resides in the Congress Heights neighborhood near the St. Elizabeths Campus.  She produces two and three dimensional mixed media works primarily on paper. Her most recent projects include public art for the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia, NY and the Community of Hope Clinic in Washington, DC.  In 2009, Ms. Crider created a mural at the St. Elizabeths Hospital and worked out of a studio on the campus. Recent exhibitions have included the Kreeger Museum and the Katzen Gallery both in Washington and Gallery Molly Krom in New York. Her most recent work is featured in the spring 2014 issue of Studio Visit Magazine.

 

About the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development

 

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development is charged with executing the Mayor's economic development strategy which encourages growth and investments across the District. Strategy is centered on three major priorities: attracting businesses, revitalizing neighborhoods and creating jobs.

 

About the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

 

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities provides grants, professional opportunities, education enrichment, and other programs and services to individuals and nonprofit organizations in all communities within the District of Columbia. The Arts Commission is supported primarily by District government funds and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.