Megan Banner Sutherland interns with the Smithsonian. She recently starting working the night shift as the arts ambassador at Arlington’s brand new Artisphere in order to gain a better understanding of how each type of art facility connects with its artists and audiences.
“Artists go to cheap places, rent spaces for their shows, and create creative communities. Then they want to buy coffee, so coffee shops open up but then yuppies move in, prices shoot up, and artists move out,” said Sutherland, a recent music and anthropology double-major from William and Mary. “There needs to be a way to mediate between the two. Artists need to see what else is going on in their community.”
That is in fact, the very intent of the Artisphere. Formerly the space for the Newseum and Spectrum Theatre, the art building’s purpose has been reformatted to embody a safe and sustainable arts community within this business-oriented area of Rosslyn. The center does not have a cover charge for visitors entering the 62,000 square-foot building and unlike most public places, the Artisphere will remain open until 11 o’clock every night.
The building officially opened its doors to the public on October 10. Its website laid out the mission of the Rosslyn BID-sponsored and Arlington County-managed facility to be a “third space– a place between office and home, where the cultural experience is a multi-optioned conduit for patrons to connect with and create community, with a broader diversity of offerings than most traditional cultural centers.”
As a means of staying relevant to the younger audience its after, the Artisphere features a Wi-Fi cafe and bar for working, an outdoor terrace overlooking Wilson Blvd, nationally-known bands playing in the Ballroom on weekends and three galleries to tour.
In its bold attempt to appeal to a younger crowd, one that would typically would not prefer to dress up to walk through an exhibit and be scolded for touching the artwork, the Artisphere launched its first exhibit on Thursday, Oct. 14, Skateboarding Side Effects.
Curator of the event, Cynthia Connolly explained during the opening reception that because skateboarding is an underground sport and not totally legitimate, it has never been taken seriously but that because it is now in the space it is, it is legitimate.
The 4,000 square-foot Terrace Gallery, housed the exhibition’s reception. Connolly focused on how the art within skateboarding has evolved in its relationship with public space and architecture.
“Skateboarding is about reassessing our landscape. It’s important to apply this idea to all we see in our lives; looking at things and seeing them not just as they appear,” said Connolly, known for her work in photography and graphic design. “The Artisphere’s first show addresses this bigger topic of creativity.”
In Skateboarding Side Effects’ description by Artisphere, “artists capture the form, shape, line and gestural movements of skateboarding through photography, drawing, painting, film and sculpture.”
Connolly organized the six sections of the show, featuring the largest physical exhibit, Richard Vosseller’s massive sculpture that doubles as a mini skate park.
Professional skateboarders were invited to tear up the ramp and tested it out.
“After everyone had skated it, it was full of holes, which is what skateboarding does to surfaces. The greatest compliment is that there is a new scuff mark on the base of it, which means someone secretly jumped on the ramp with their board when no one was around,” said Vosseller, adjunct faculty at the School of Art and Design at Montgomery College and Maryland Institute, College of Art.
The concluding event of the opening festivities was the showing of “Deathbowl to Downtown,” a film that chronicles the development of the skateboarding scene in New York City. Experienced producers Rick Charnoski and Coan “Buddy” Nichols, teamed up with Jocko Weyland, who wrote the screenplay in 2002.
Upon the film’s completion, it was shown at Harvard University because of the engaging method in which it discussed the history of public design. The producers were happy that the film has been able to connect with a variety of audiences.
“It would be nice if it reached everybody but I don’t know if it can,” said Connolly, in a TBD.com story. “Older people have said, ‘I don’t like skateboarding culture because I don’t like how my children were involved in it.’ I would say it has a positive side to it. We’re seeing it in this exhibit.”
