Riverdale Park Public Art Initiative Announces “Great Blue Herons” Arrival, Unveils 6 New Sculptures Across Town

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2017 

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Contact:  Justin Fair, Hyattsville CDC
(301) 683-8267 jfair@hyattsvillecdc.org

Riverdale Park Public Art Initiative Announces “Great Blue Herons” Arrival

Unveils 6 New Sculptures Across Town

Print Press Release

RIVERDALE PARK, MARYLAND – On behalf of the Riverdale Park Public Art Initiative and through the generous support of the Town of Riverdale Park;  former Ward 1 Councilmember Jonathan Ebbeler; Prince George’s County Department of the Environment; Prince George’s Arts & Humanities Council’s Environmental Public Art Project, the Hyattsville Community Development Corporation is pleased to announce the arrival of “Great Blue Herons” at the intersection of East-West Highway and Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue) at the J.D. Williams Office Building. The long-awaited sculpture arrives along with a new cycle of year-long temporary sculptural placements in time for the holiday season.

“Great Blue Herons”, a sculpture meticulously designed by the late Joanna Blake, will serve as an environmental meditation for the heavily-trafficked and highly visible intersection of East-West Highway and Route One. The artwork will greet visitors and commuters – of which there are approximately 41,000 daily – to Riverdale Park and adjoining municipalities. It will also evoke the Northeast and Northwest Branches of the Anacostia River, where the sculpture’s avian subjects can be seen in their natural habitat less than a half-mile away. Herons depicts three herons joined with outstretched wings at their tips, forming the international symbol for recycling, atop a tall steel base at the office building’s south lawn.

2018 will mark the Initiative’s second placement of temporary year-long works. This year introduces two new artists’ work to the program:

1.       George Sabra’s provocative environmental jeremiad “Era Gate” at Riverdale Recreation Park

2.       Grant McFarland’s inviting artifice “Asymmetrical Equilibrium” at Riverside Neighborhood Park.

Returning artists’ works include:

3.       Craig Berube-Gray’s ode to resiliency and community outreach, “Sweet-Hearts” at Beale Circle;

4.       Alan Binstock’s aspirational “Totem” along the Rhode Island Ave. Trolley Trail; and

5.       Paul Steinkoenig’s timeless meditation, “In Harmony.”*

The Riverdale Park Public Art Initiative is a collaborative program sponsored and enabled by the Town of Riverdale Park. Great Blue Herons was created with the support of the above sponsors as well as the Riverdale Park Arts Council. The Initiative is facilitated and implemented by the Hyattsville Community Development Corporation (CDC).

Great Blue Herons’ arrival marks the second EPAP location, following its first commission at 1801 McCormick Drive, Largo, MD. The EPAP is a multi-commission opportunity for addressing environmental issues in Prince George’s County, through visual art that inspires both artists and citizens to embrace environmental sensitivities in both creative practice and lifestyle. The Project is run by the Department of the Environment and Prince George’s Arts & Humanities Council, with the support of the Art In Public Places Program, and welcomes new funding sources and community support for each commission.

For more information, please visit www.hycdc.org/rppai

*=  In Harmony will be installed mid-January 2018.

WHO: Town of Riverdale Park, Hyattsville Community Development Corporation
WHAT: Riverdale Park Public Art Initiative Announces “Great Blue Herons” Arrival, Unveils 6 New Sculptures Across Town
WHEN: 12/18/17
WHERE: Town of Riverdale Park; 6309 Baltimore Ave, Riverdale Park, MD 20737
WHY: Permanent environmentally-themed sculpture installed at East-West Highway and Route 1. Also installed are 5 year-long sculptures throughout the Town

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