This Oct. 13-14, a new artistic vibe will grace the Wayne Theatre campus in Downtown Waynesboro, as street artists bring color and celebration to the City’s expanding artistic center.
As part of a two-day event that will run concurrently with the Fall Foliage Art Show, the Virginia Street Arts Festival will feature artists Nils Westergard and Julia Chon, inviting them to reimagine the Wayne Theatre owned building at 531 West Main Street, in Waynesboro.
In addition to the two muralists, interactive art installations will be available to the public, inviting children and adults to chalk sidewalks and paint plywood sections, blending the many artistic visions and voices of the local community.
Westergard is an internationally renowned artist, whose work has been featured worldwide in spaces as diverse as London, Prague, Berlin, the Hague, Belgium and the Czech Republic.
About his upcoming installation in Waynesboro, he shares the following: “A duality is present in that which we put forth and that which is communicated unconsciously through our bodies. In my work I suspend these moments of tension to find the awkward edges of composure and plumb the shadows of warmth and unrest. The power in an ostensibly vulnerable figure is found in the minute, unconscious gestures and subliminal messages we send in flashes. Transcribing these to a monumental scale allows the viewer to closer analyze what peeks from beneath the surface through a shift in gaze, the angle of a head, or the posturing of fingers. I strive less to form a narrative than to create a mood comprised of a thousand subtle perceptions. It will a pleasure and technical challenge to bring so much color to my canvas downtown.”
Chon will likewise join this year’s lineup as an emerging artists, having recently been recognized as a Teen Entrepreneur by Instagram. An 18-year-old artist working in the DC Metro area, she has a 132 foot long mural in POW! WOW! DC on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Having entered the art world at age 16, she takes inspiration from traditional Korean cultural symbols and seeks to unite the traditions of her grandparents with a contemporary aesthetic in her art.
“We are excited to host internationally renowned artistic talent on The Wayne Theatre campus, allowing us to expand our mission into the community in a diverse and inclusive manner,” says Tracy Straight, executive director of the Wayne Theatre.
Piper Groves, director of both the Shenandoah Valley Art Center and the concurrent Fall Foliage Festival Art Show, which will feature more than 150 fine art vendors in the neighboring block that weekend, says that she is thrilled by the synergies of the two events. “We believe that art is for everyone,” she says. “Art asks us to be surprised, to think and to reflect. I’m excited both by the mural design and the location, which I think will bring a fresh energy and perspective to downtown Waynesboro.”
The Virginia Street Arts Festival is sponsored by E&N Computers and Conservation Services Inc. In prior years the festival has painted murals in on the E&N Computers building in Basic City as well as on walls at Basic City Beer Co. This will be is first year of bringing the artistic festivities into the heart of Downtown Waynesboro.
In addition to the art on display at both the Virginia Street Arts Festival and the Fall Foliage Art Show, live music, food and beer will be served throughout the weekend in Lumos Plaza.
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