A local artist’s exhibit examining the impacts of gentrification in historically Black neighborhoods is on display at the Arlington Historical Museum.
The exhibition, titled “A Different Look from a Different View,” explores local Black residents’ challenges coming to grips with changing realities in once tight-knit communities in places like Halls Hill, Green Valley and D.C. neighborhoods including Adams Morgan, Logan Circle and Navy Yard.
The communities all have connection to artist Zane Killgo’s large family on both his father’s and mother’s sides.
“They aren’t just random. They have a real connection with me,” Killgo said during a presentation at the Arlington Historical Museum. “During my childhood, I was always around all these places.”
Killgo — a graduate of Yorktown High School and Norfolk State University — comes from a line of Halls Hill residents dating back five generations. The neighborhood has seen significant change over the past few decades, with older houses being replaced with larger, much pricier homes.
Killgo’s presentation drew a standing-room crowd to the museum’s upper floor, which had been used for storage prior to renovations last year.
“The vision for this was to make the museum a living, breathing space,” said former Historical Society president David Pearson.
“It was a perfect chance to feature his work,” Pearson said of Killgo. “I can’t imagine a better use of this space.”
The six portraits on display aim to showcase “identity crisis through neighborhood change — a more introspective and more personal view of gentrification,” said Killgo.
Killgo said his own view, and the views of his subjects, can be complicated when it came to gentrification. He said his artwork aimed to “weigh the good with the bad” that had come with it.
“It’s only bad when people are left out and pushed out,” Killgo said.
Recently, Killgo has been spending time in Philadelphia, learning about specific neighborhoods and their residents during periods of change. As with his work locally, it is something of a race against time, he said.
“A lot of these stories, they aren’t going to get told and they’re going to disappear,” Killgo said. “If I don’t, who will?”
Killgo earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in 2021 and a master of fine arts degree in visual arts in 2024. According to the historical society:
“He honed a multimedia approach that blends traditional and digital techniques. His vibrant landscapes and cityscapes reflect a folk-inspired aesthetic grounded in rich color, layered storytelling and multimedia process.”
The Arlington Historical Museum is located at 1805 S. Arlington Ridge Road and open on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1-4 p.m. A closing reception for the exhibition is slated for Saturday, March 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
