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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Artists have until July 15 to answer an open call, announced Wednesday, to design street-pole banners for Old Town North, a designated Arts & Cultural District.
The Old Town North Alliance is running the commission, which asks artists for banner designs that will hang from lightpoles along the district's main corridors. Organizers say the call is open to emerging artists, and that no finished concept or artwork is required to apply — just work samples and background information.
The banners are funded through a $7,500 matching Business and the Arts grant the alliance received from the City of Alexandria's Office of the Arts to design, fabricate and install signage marking the district, which runs through the neighborhood between the Torpedo Factory Art Center and the Potomac River waterfront.
Applicants are asked to submit an artist statement, up to six work samples and a proposed fee by July 15. The selected artist is scheduled to be awarded the commission Sept. 21, with final designs due Nov. 1, according to the alliance.
Organizers say they are looking for three to five banner design variations in two sizes — 18 by 36 inches and 30 by 60 inches — and an "artist-driven concept," not just branding. Old Town North iconography is encouraged.
Questions and submissions can be directed to Sarah Almy, the alliance's executive director, at director@otnalliance.org.
The banner project falls under the alliance's placemaking work, which includes gateway signage, wayfinding and a public art program aimed at making the neighborhood more walkable and livable. A nonprofit that works to carry out the city's 2017 Old Town North Small Area Plan, the alliance also sponsors neighborhood events including a Thursday farmers market, a summer concert series and Taste of Old Town North.
The commission is the latest step in a yearslong effort to build out Old Town North as a cultural hub. The small area plan designated the neighborhood as an arts district, and it is now home to institutions including The Art League and MetroStage, with additional arts spaces planned at several new developments along the waterfront.
