Crystal City BID & local artists brighten National Landing storefronts

ARLINGTON, Va. (WDVM) — The Crystal City Business Improvement District, or the BID, has launched an art campaign to brighten local streetscapes and to highlight local artists. Dubbed #LoveNationalLanding, local artists are painting facade designs on storefronts in Crystal City, Pentagon City, and Potomac Yard. The BID was inspired by Andy Shallal’s #PaintTheStorefronts program and communities across the country that have used art to lift spirits during COVID-19. 

The artists include watercolorist and ink illustrator Cris Clapp Logan, Jeff Huntington, aka JAHRU, whose colorful murals can be found across the DC area, muralist and illustrator Patrick Owens, muralist and sculptor Erik Ricks, and Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, a public artist and community-focused arts organizer.

Visual artist Juan Pineda painted an empty storefront on Crystal Drive on Friday; one of three he’s painted for the project. 

“The guiding framework was to work around the positive expressions that we wanted to bring to the community,” Crystal City BID President and Executive Director Tracy Sayegh Gabriel. “They were able to design a creative approach to how to convey that with bold and colorful designs and [worked] with our small businesses to ensure the designs also resonated with the businesses that served as the canvases.” 

Local muralist team Brocoloco is creating 100 sidewalk decals with positive messages to be scattered throughout National Landing. 

The BID is a public-private partnership tasked with transforming Crystal City through public art installations, transportation, economic development, and events. The BID expects nearly $4 billion to be invested in public infrastructure over the next 10 years.

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