City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 25, 2024
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: JAMES SPENGLER, DIRECTOR, RECREATION, PARKS & CULTURAL
ACTIVITIES
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration and Approval of Accepting a Gift of the Public Artwork Wrought, Knit, Labors, Legacies from the Artist Olalekan Jeyifous and Gifting the Artwork to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for Placement at Braddock Road Metro Station.
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ISSUE:
Consideration and approval of accepting a gift of the public artwork Wrought, Knit, Labors, Legacies from the artist Olalekan Jeyifous and gifting the artwork to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for placement at Braddock Road Metro Station.
RECOMMENDATION:
That City Council: (1) Accept the gift of Wrought, Knit, Labors, Legacies from Olalekan Jeyifous; and (2) Gift Wrought, Knit, Labors, Legacies to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for placement at Braddock Road Metro Station.
BACKGROUND:
In April 2018, the Alexandria Commission for the Arts approved Olalekan Jeyifous as the artist for the second temporary public art project in the Site See Series at Waterfront Park which opened in March 2020. Olalekan's artwork Wrought, Knit, Labors, Legacies was inspired by Alexandria's rich and complicated industrial and merchant history. In its early history, Alexandria evolved from a village of farms and plantations to a prosperous port town. Once home to one of the largest domestic slave markets in the country, Alexandria became a major center for shipping and manufacturing and is now a vibrant urban destination with historic charm.
The artwork consists of four powder-coated metal profiles embedded with iconography that pertain to four of the major commercial industrial enterprises that Alexandria was ...
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