Background on the Virginia Street Arts Festival.
The Virginia Street Arts Festival is entering its 5th year of bringing public art and cultural vibrancy to Waynesboro’s industrial and historic structures.
Last year, the Street Arts Festival partnered with the Wayne Theatre Alliance to bring three artists to their downtown campus, including internationally acclaimed Nils Westergard, for two days of live painting, dance and musical performance, and interactive programming for students.
The Street Arts Festival is held concurrently with the Fall Foliage Festival Art Show, organized by the Shenandoah Valley Art Center. This signature event is entering its 49th year and brings over 100 fine juried artists to the streets of downtown Waynesboro for a packed weekend of art sales, live music, food trucks, and celebration. Collectively, the Street Arts Festival and the Fall Foliage Festival showcase the overlapping talents of muralists, craft artisans, fine artists, and more.
The image shown here is Nils Westergard’s mural in progress during the 2018 Street Arts Festival.
2019 Festival
The Blue Ridge Children’s Museum has committed to hosting the 2019 Street Arts Festival at their future location, celebrating the new energy and investment focusing on the Race Avenue / Short Street / Constitution Park corner of Waynesboro. Their next door neighbor to the north has likewise offered up a building canvas for 2019 street art murals. Additionally, Habitat for Humanity — which owns both the former Salvation Army building (now a new Restore retail store) and the neighboring church building that fronts on Arch Avenue and extends to the front of the Ice House — has indicated an intention to partner in the event and to consider housing-themed murals on their buildings.
Julia Chon, who has a multi-state history painting child-sized and themed murals, will be working with the Children’s Museum to craft a design appropriate to their location and interests. She is seen here partway through completing a 2018 mural besides the Wayne Theatre.
Ice House Proposal
The 2019 Virginia Street Arts Festival, scheduled for October 12 & 13, is already planned to take place along and around the Ice House. We would like to propose a partnership to include the Ice House property at a scale to be determined by its owners, as part of celebrating and highlighting its historic importance and ongoing potential.
What the Street Arts Festival Offers
The Street Arts Festival would provide the artist, paint, and equipment necessary for the completion of the mural. We would propose Nils Westergard as our signature artist for the event and for the Ice House mural, based on both his international renown and his extensive experience in painting anchor buildings in urban settings, at scales and complexities comparable to this undertaking. Samples his work are included below and can also be reviewed more extensively at http://nilswestergard.com/street.
Ice House Proposal
If the Ice House owners are interested in participating as a canvas and anchor destination of the Virginia Street Arts Festival, we stand ready to discuss possibilities, scope, mural designs, and more.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at (540) 241-9439 or by email to discuss further.
Regardless of the ultimate outcome, we look forward to being in your block of downtown Waynesboro, as neighbors and revitalization partners, this October 12 and 13th, 2019.