IPAR Projects Need Artists, Consultant

in partnership with the Initiative for Public Art – Reston (IPAR), is seeking an artist to develop an interactive water feature for Dogwood Pool.

The pool, is expected to reopen sometime this summer.

This opportunity is open to established professional artists living in the Washington area.

The goals of the project include:   

• Enhance the identity of the facility by creating a visual focal point.

• Add a fun, interactive and playful element.

• Welcome people of all ages.
• Enhance an amenity that can be used by non-pool users and can be used in extended seasons.
• Fit into the pool’s location and setting.
• Foster neighborhood pride.

For more details, click here. 

IPAR is also seeking a consultant who can guice a citizen committee through the process of creating a Memorial Garden.

IPAR has charged the committee with identifying existing memorial spaces in Reston; defining the program for the memorial garden; identifying the characteristics of an appropriate site; outlining the role of an artist and other designers in designing the garden; and identifying community partners and recommending an estimated budget.

The committee envisions the Memorial Garden as a  a place for Reston residents to remember and reflect upon loved ones in a contemplative, possibly healing environment.

Reston has no real public facility of this type, as founder Robert E. Simon envisioned Reston without a cemetary. He has since said if he had to do it over again, he would have included one in his plan for Reston.

IPAR says "Reston contains miles of pathways conducive to contemplation. Within these areas there are many benches and trees memorializing loved ones.  However, as conceived, the proposed garden will become the missing centerpiece of this diffusely evolving pattern. 

It can be a concentrated memorial compressed into a vest-pocket urban oasis in an area recognized as a 'center' by all residents of Reston.  The site for this project has not yet been selected."

For more information, visit www.publicartreston.org.