The medians along New York Avenue from 9th to 13th Streets in Downtown are due for a major facelift this winter. The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), at 1250 New York Avenue, has teamed with the Downtown BID, the DC Office of Planning (OP) and other agencies to begin work on the New York Avenue Sculpture Project.
This art project will transform the public environment along one of Downtown’s major boulevards into an outdoor gallery featuring contemporary works by world-renowned women artists. The works will be displayed in temporary installations for one to three years in four medians located between Herald and Mt. Vernon Squares.
“In light of Downtown’s continuing transformation as a cultural and entertainment district, we are refocusing attention on the quality of experience in public areas and spaces,” said Richard H. Bradley, the BID’s executive director. “The sculpture project absolutely exemplifies the kind of placemaking that we envision will engage the senses and promote contemplation.
Phase I will be dedicated in the spring and will include new landscaping and sculpture pad construction in front of the museum. French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle will be the inaugural artist. Her nine- to 15-foot high whimsical and colorful works celebrate women, children, heroes, cultural diversity and love.
The sculpture project is expected to be completed in 2015. NMWA, with BID and Federal Highway Administration support and gifts from the Museum’s National Advisory Board member Medda Gudelsky and the Homer and Martha Gudelsky Family Foundation, is funding the project. The OP helped the Museum with early planning.
For more information about the NMWA, visit www.nmwa.org.