For two months now, green fencing has blocked off an area near our LOVE sculpture and our new downtown sculpture is slowly taking shape. We wanted to update you on the progress. more
Time and time again, since mid-March when our community began to undergo significant changes, Harrisonburg has shown resilience through inspired and creative collaborations. The ten hours a week I’m putting in as an intern at Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance is nowhere near enough time for me to write about them all. There are simply too many to keep up with: Harrisonburg mobilized fast. Every single week, some fresh idea emerges not from a giant think tank or the board room of a huge, multinational corporation, but from individuals who want to patch the holes this pandemic has ripped open. As the weeks roll on and somber numbers increase, I feel at once guilty for trying to drum up some cheer during a time of global tragedy and intensely called to do just that, as a reminder to myself of the goodness around me. more
By Katie Mitchell / Photos Courtesy of Maressa Cortes: Y’all. What a long, strange few weeks we’ve had. I went from a life of being surrounded by noisy, spirited middle schoolers and taxi-ing kids to soccer practice to a life where walking to the mailbox constitutes “going out.” Where just the thought of going to the grocery store induces fear. Where I worry my face will freeze in an unattractive expression during a Zoom meeting with my colleagues. more
Bahir Al Badry’s art studio sits perched on the 2nd floor of Oasis Fine Art & Craft with a bird’s eye view of the gallery and shop below. Like any nest, it is a place of comfort and creation. Music drifted upwards as I climbed the stairs to meet Bahir, and on entering his space I found myself surrounded by color, meaning, and intensity. more
By Katie Mitchell / Photos by Philip Meador: Remember that Disney/Pixar movie Ratatouille, the one where a rat lives inside a chef’s hat and shows the chef how to cook? The idea of rodents anywhere near my food is repulsive, but somehow I found myself loving those little scoundrels by the end of the film. The best part, of course, is when the food critic Anton Ego finally relaxes and reveals a covert truth: “In the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.” He admits, at last, what renowned chef Auguste Gusteau stated at the beginning of the film, that “anyone can cook.” Those words are a distant shout to the ordinary guy who aspires to greatness, arriving only as a barely audible yet soul-stirring whisper: JUST TRY. So often a fear of failure or criticism keeps us from trying something new. But the creators of Harrisonburg’s Making Space sincerely believe anyone can create, and they invite you and everyone you know to check your fears at the door and enjoy a couple of hours of free, low-stakes art-making. more
When you see Zaharia Ford-Byrd’s painting, currently housed in the Arts Council of the Valley’s Smith House Gallery, of a Stars and Stripes wrecking ball slamming into a bright, colorful, enlivened house, you might recall artist Hugo Gellert’s image of a strapping, muscular man wielding a sledgehammer over the quaint town beneath him. Gellert’s image, however, was used in a 1946 pamphlet titled “THIS IS IT,” generated by Norfolk’s Redevelopment and Housing Authority to promote the “creative destruction” involved in urban renewal initiatives. The simultaneous resemblance and contrast of these two images highlights an urge to conveniently blur the line between progress and violence. Hearing the voices of the urban residents on the receiving end of the wrecking ball lends the balance needed to understand the consequences of urban renewal and opens a space where it’s possible for healing to begin. more
(Pictured: an artist rendering of the future Language of Love sculpture) more
We were thrilled to get a sneak peek of Massanutten Regional Library's upcoming StoryWalk project last week! Made possible by a Destination Downtown grant from HDR, StoryWalk is an interactive, kid-friendly, fun, and free new way to explore Downtown Harrisonburg— while also enjoying a diverse selection of childrens' stories with messages and lessons that you'll feel good sharing with your family. more