​Public Art Reston Presents Three Films

From Public Art Reston: Public Art Reston, as part of its Public Art Film Series, will present three films by film director and Peabody Award recipient Rebekah Wingert-Jabi. The short films will be screened Tuesday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m. at CenterStage, Reston Community Center Hunters Woods in collaboration with and supported by Reston Community Center.

The documentary films are titled Emerge: The Making of a Community Public Art Project (2010), Fun, Beauty, Fantasy: Reston’s Public Art (2012), and A Bird in the Hand – Patrick Dougherty’s Sculptural Installation in Reston, VA (2015). All celebrate the tradition of public art in Reston. Wingert-Jabi will attend the screenings and discuss how her films explore the legacy of public art in Reston since its founding and how Public Art Reston is advancing that tradition.

“Since Reston was established over 50 years ago, public art has played a central role in defining the unique character of our community,” Wingert-Jabi said. “As Public Art Reston celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2017,” it is a particularly important time to have a discussion of what public art has meant to our community and how we would like to see it advanced here over the next 10 years.”

The first film, Emerge: The Making of a Community Public Art Project (2010), follows the journey of one of Public Art Reston’s first commissioned public artworks. Emerge, a mosaic by internationally known artist Valerie Theberge, is installed at the Glade Drive Underpass. It was created in collaboration with students from Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Science. It activated a previously forgotten space.

The second film, Fun, Beauty, Fantasy: Reston’s Public Art (2012), is a short documentary that was created to accompany an exhibition about Reston’s public art called Reston: The Art of Community. It contains archival footage and offers information about the original public sculptures and fountains at Reston’s historic Lake Anne Village Center and Reston Town Center. It also features interviews with Reston’s late founder, Robert E. Simon Jr. and artists Saint Clair Cemin, Caio Fonseca (son of Gonzalo Fonseca), and Valerie Theberge, as well as others in the community.

The final film, A Bird in the Hand – Patrick Dougherty’s Sculptural Installation in Reston, VA (2015), tracks the creation of the site-specific, temporary sculptural installation, A Bird in the Hand, by internationally renowned artist Patrick Dougherty. It follows the project, located in Reston Town Center, from inception to completion and illustrates its impact on the Reston community.

Public Art Reston was founded in 2007 by Reston civic and community organizations and leaders. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to inspire an ongoing commitment for public art and create a new generation of artworks in Reston. It imagines public art throughout Reston that inspires the community and engages the mind and senses. For more information about Public Art Reston, visit www.publicartreston.org

Photo courtesy of Public Art Reston