Dear Arts Patrons, Aficionados and Supporters,
Among other information in this Update, please vocalize your support for a quality performing arts venue to be built in Pentagon City – see below for more details.
2021 Arlington Arts Groups Performances and Events
Calendar of Live Events (Subject to Change) – March, April May
1/21-4/16 – “Magnolia” exhibit by Nekisha Durrett, Cody Gallery, Info here.
3/1-3/26 – “Ambient Light” Exhibition, Gallery Underground
5/18 – “Finale Performance,” Bowen McCauley Dance Company, Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, Info here.
5/22 – “Four Seasons of Vivaldi,” National Chamber Ensemble, Gunston Arts Center, Tickets here.
Calendar of Arlington Arts Organization Online Productions/Events
10/16-4/16 – “The Roost,” UrbanArias, Info here.
“Beethoven in Vienna” (available after 10/23), National Chamber Ensemble, Tickets here.
11/1-4/20 – “Dance for PD,” Bowen McCauley Dance Company, (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays), Sign up at dance@bmdc.org.
11/5-5/6 – “Signature Vinyl,” Signature Theatre, Tickets here.
“NCE Holiday Celebration” (available after 12/19), National Chamber Ensemble, Tickets here.
2/2-3/26 – “Simply Sondheim,” Signature Theatre, Tickets here.
3/12 – Play Reading, “Webster’s Bitch,” Prologue Theatre, Info here.
3/20 – “Hungarian Delicacies,” National Chamber Ensemble, Gunston Arts Center, Tickets here.
3/27-3/28 – “Japan Day,” Study Japanese Arlington, Info here.
4/5/2021-4/27 – “Light” by Jarrin Davis play reading, Signature Theatre, Watch here.
To view the entire calendar, as well as the continuously streaming events, click here.
New Black Box Theater in Arlington – Please Weigh In with County Planners
As many of our readers are aware, one of the most important long-term initiatives that Embracing Arlington Arts is working on is to get a quality, flexible performing arts venue built here in Arlington. More details on this project can be found on our website here. You can also find a power point presentation about our vision for this venue there. (NOTE: We are not envisioning “just” a performing arts venue, but much, much more.) Not only would this venue help our County remain culturally vibrant and more attractive to new patrons from both in and outside Arlington, but the loss of several theaters over the last couple of years forces residents to leave the County for many of their entertainment opportunities which also negatively impacts our important restaurant industry and other retail establishments.
While our organization has been working behind the scenes on this initiative for a couple of years, we now have taken the step to move more proactively with a more visible media outreach (see InsideNova article) and more importantly a grassroots effort to show residential support for the venue. But we need your help!
One of the potential areas where a theater can be built is in Pentagon City which is undergoing several construction projects over the next several years. A Pentagon City Planning Study Group has been established to recommend priorities for the area, which will in turn greatly impact what developers can and cannot include in the construction projects. The next three months is extremely critical for the Study Group’s work as they are scheduled to present their final report in July.
In order to help them determine the priorities, they are looking to the public for input into the priorities for the area, and the next meeting is scheduled for March 22 at 6:30 pm (https://projects.arlingtonva.us/events/pentagon-city-planning-study-community-workshop-virtual-4/. We are asking our many arts patrons and supporters to participate in this meeting and vocalize your support for a quality venue to be built. (NOTE: If you want talking points or factoids, just contact Janet Kopenhaver (janetk@embracing-arlington-arts.org) who will walk you through all the many benefits of a new venue.
If you believe that Arlington would benefit from, and that Arlingtonians deserve a state-of-the-art performing arts venue, then please take time to weigh in during this meeting. There is only one way in which we will get a theater built – if residents overwhelmingly express support for it.
Establishment of the “Tom Prewitt Fund for Theatre Arts”Embracing Arlington Arts joined with the family of W. Thompson (Tom) Prewitt to launch a memorial fund to honor the legacy and contributions of longtime DC area theater professional and former Executive and Artistic Director of Avant Bard Theatre Company Tom Prewitt. The “Tom Prewitt Fund for Theatre Arts,” which is being managed through the Arlington Community Foundation, will foster Tom’s lifelong passion for mentoring aspiring young theater artists and nurturing theater/community partnerships.
We are encouraging anyone whose life has been positively impacted by Tom – either professionally or as a patron, friend or family member – to make a donation to the Fund. For information on how you can donate either online or with a check, go to this link.
Although Tom is missed so much, this memorial fund will ensure that his work helping students and young theater professionals that he stressed during his entire career will continue through generations to come.
Corporate Sponsor(s) of the Month:
This month we are honoring two of our generous sponsors. The first is Natalie Roy/Bicycling Realty. With more than 30 years of professional environmental experience and local civic activism, Natalie is a strong advocate and works tirelessly for her clients. As a longtime member of the Arlington community, she specializes in Arlington, particularly the neighborhoods of Lyon Park & Ashton Heights, and the Ballston/Clarendon/Rosslyn Orange Line corridor. In addition to VA, she is also licensed in MD and DC. Natalie has her Military Relocation Professional certification and designation as a Seller Representative and Senior Real Estate Specialist. She has been voted the top 2018 residential real estate agent by Arlington Sun Gazette readers and has been recognized as a top 2018 agent in Northern VA Magazine, Arlington Magazine and the Washingtonian. As a biking enthusiast, Natalie offers a new unique service – bicycling house hunting. If biking is not an option, she is happy to help you house hunt by car, foot or metro too!
Our second honored corporate sponsor is the Ballston BID. Ballston is a 25-block neighborhood of commercial and residential properties known as an epicenter for scientific research and discovery. With over 8.3 million square feet of office space, 1 million square feet of retail space and 8,000 residential units, Ballston offers a range of exciting options for both working and living. It is our blend of urban sophistication and neighborhood charm that is unique to this region. Ballston is home to top universities, Fortune 500 companies, the Washington Capitals ice rink and practice facility, upscale hotels, green space and over 60 restaurants – all accessible via metro and a host of other transportation choices.
“Embracing Arlington Arts Talks” Podcast:
In February, we delved into many art genres for our podcasts. First, we hit the music world and welcomed the duo Valeria Stewart and Kathleen Huber who founded the band “Luna.” They discussed the origins of their band, how they ended up focusing on performing folk (with a touch of jazz) music, details on their recently released EP “The Alchemist’s Journey” and future songs coming soon.
We stayed on the music genre, and added in theater with a very heartwarming chat with Pianist and Music Conductor Leigh Delano and her husband Actor Wyn Delano. Hear their absolutely delightful courtship story and how they ended up together as a DC Theater couple. Truly a story worthy of being a play or movie.
We then transitioned to the visual arts world with our two-part podcast featuring the duo artists exhibiting at the Schnider Gallery of Art. Jenny Wu enlightened us about her unique style of artwork – sculptured painting. Learn about her process, what final products look like and how she evolved into this style as a professional artist. The following week we welcomed the second artist – Sherry Trachtman – who chatted about her unique form of artwork called “collage assemblage” which is wall-hung sculptures using obsolete materials that are mostly headed for the garbage.
To listen to any of our interviews, follow this link.
Media Hits:
InsideNova included a story after receiving our Press Release about the establishment of the Tom Prewitt Fund for Theatre Arts that Embracing Arlington Arts set up with the Arlington Community Foundation and the Prewitt family.
Following the release of the Embracing Arlington Arts 3-year strategic plan, InsideNova researched a story on our efforts to have a quality black box theater built in Arlington.
Arlington arts organizations continued to publish Community Post columns in ArlNow that Embracing Arlington Arts underwrites. The Gallery Underground used the opportunity to talk about their exhibition “Dreams and Nightmares” in their column. Synetic Theater expounded on their many new and exciting digital events coming up this season.
If you would like to support the work Embracing Arlington Arts by making a donation, here’s how:
* Make tax-deductible contributions online.
* Tax-deductible contributions by check: check made out to Embracing Arlington Arts and sent to Embracing Arlington Arts, 754 North Vermont Street, Arlington, VA 22203
* Make Embracing Arlington Arts your AmazonSmile charity and shop with this link.
Every dollar helps us help the arts organizations in so many ways. Thank you in advance!
Embracing Arlington Arts 