Stephanie Spear 
A common experience of living in Northern Virginia is driving past a building and remarking on what it used to be. One Arlington building, which used to be a Walgreens, is becoming the site for an Arts Experience for three weekends in February and March. The Langston Boulevard Alliance is hosting LOOK: An Arts Experience at 3130 Langston Boulevard, starting on February 20th. The multi-media installation will include community events, workshops, performances, and more. It’s a pop-up gallery featuring 19 local artists, and so much more. Read on for more about LOOK: An Arts Experience and how to experience it.
The Backstory
Ginger Brown, the executive director of the Langston Boulevard Alliance, said that the idea for a pop-up arts experience came as a response to a grant opportunity from Arlington County Economic Development. “We were just thinking, well, what’s missing in Arlington? We don’t have a ton of performance space. We have a lot of space for artists to show their work — there are some great studios — but maybe not enough,” she said.
The Langston Boulevard Alliance is a community organization that supports businesses and other community organizations along Langston Boulevard in Arlington. The LBA hosts placemaking events, community events, local campaigns, and more.
The timing aligned with a unique opportunity: a building slated for demolition, also on Langston Boulevard. “This building is being torn down, and we knew the owners, so we asked if we could have the space,” Ginger says. “They were fabulous. They are letting us use this space free of charge.” Many may recognize the building at 3130 Langston Boulevard as a former Walgreens.
Read more: Arlington’s Little Free Art Gallery is a Place for Community
The LBA was approved for the grant and started soliciting art. “We got over 80 submissions,” said Amber Hayes, an Arlington-based graphic designer and an LBA team member. “We tried hard to get a good representation of the DMV area.” The team culled the selections down to the 19 artists whose work will be featured during the event.
Ginger, Amber, the LBA team and the exhibiting artists have built the space from scratch – quite literally. The space is an empty shell, with no shelves or other fixtures. The mini galleries lining the walls have all been built by the team. The pharmacist’s office is now a workshop space, with walls prepped for people’s drawings in an interactive installation.
Experiencing LOOK
Visitors can expect installations, workshops, and live performances — all under one roof. And, it’s all free. There will be local food trucks on site with snacks and books.
“Folks are able to come and see our wonderful installations and meet our artists, as well as participate in wonderful workshops,” Ginger said. Workshops range widely and are available through in-person sign-ups. Some of the selections include mosaic art, spice blending, screen printing, and needle felting, to name a few.
In addition to hands-on activities, the event features a strong performance lineup. “We’re going to have those positions and improv groups of DC and a really fun group called Super Art Fight, which is out of Baltimore,” she says. “We’re trying new things. And we hope we are able to bring in folks that maybe haven’t been here before.”
One of the goals is to intentionally blend artistic disciplines that are often siloed. “I am actually most excited about showing the breadth of arts,” Ginger said. “From the performances to the visual arts. Often they’re separated — the visual arts and the performance arts. So we’re excited to use the performance arts to bring folks in to see the visual arts.”
See more: Three NOVA Favorites Expand to Fairfax Corner
The range of work on display reflects that diversity. “We have a huge range,” she says. “Everything from photography, pottery, to just fun installations, and light installations. It’s just great stuff.”
LOOK! will be open for three weekends: Friday, February 20–Sunday, February 22; Friday, February 27–Sunday, March 1; and Friday, March 6–Sunday March 8. Fridays will be from 5PM-9PM; Saturdays from 11AM – 9PM; and Sundays from 12PM – 5PM.
Follow @thefairfaxgirl on Instagram + TikTok for the latest Northern Virginia updates, and check out our events calendar, which has over 100+ events weekly to peruse.
