Artisphere

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Moran, Wolf Visit Gitmo — Last Friday, Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.) visited the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, where suspected foreign terrorists are held and interrogated. Moran, who has said that keeping the facility open “is not worth the damage it continues to inflict on our international standing,” said after the trip that he hopes to work out a compromise with Wolf, who supports keeping the facility open. [Sun Gazette]

Shirlington Oktoberfest Date Set — This year’s Shirlington Oktoberfest, the largest of its kind in N. Va., will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5. Over 50 breweries will be represented. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]

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Events

Andy Warhol Piece Coming To Artisphere

By Ethan Rothstein

Silver Clouds will consist of 150 silver balloons suspended in the air after being filled with a careful mix of helium and air, according to Artisphere. Artisphere has started an IndieGogo campaign to try to raise $10,000 to offset the cost of maintaining the balloons’ delicate inflation balance.

The exhibit will open Thursday, Sept. 12 in the Terrace Gallery and will be free to the public. Silver Clouds will be on loan from The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pa., and will be open until Sunday, Oct. 20.

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Opinion

The Right Note: Is the Artisphere a Better Value Than Libraries?

By Mark Kelly

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

The question noted that it cost roughly $40 in taxpayer subsidy for every visitor to the arts center. The question was asked in context of the arts center the board had promised would be ready to turn a profit by now.

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Events

Dave Coulier to Perform in Arlington Next Week

By ARLnow.com

Coulier is perhaps best known for playing “Uncle” Joey Gladstone on the ABC series Full House in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Other entertainment credits include hosting the show America’s Funniest People, and providing voiceovers for the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. Coulier is also widely believed to the the subject of the Alanis Morissette Song “You Oughta Know.”

The Michigan native will also be performing at a comedy, improv and illusion variety show at Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike) on Thursday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. Coulier will share the stage with a master illusionist and the Porkchop Volcano improv troupe at the family-friendly (PG rated) show. Tickets are $25 and will benefit Patrick Henry Elementary School.

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News

Artisphere Over Budget for FY 2013

By ARLnow.com

Artisphere was budgeted to require only $1.6 million in net tax support for FY 2013, down from $2.3 million in FY 2012. With only about 3 months left in the fiscal year, however, Arlington County is projecting that Artisphere will require an additional $600,000 to $800,000, which would bring bring the actual net tax support to $2.2-$2.4 million.

County officials say the deficit is due to a combination of factors: a shortfall in revenue and higher-than-expected expenses.

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Around Town

Rosslyn Gets ‘Yarn Bombed’

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:15 p.m.) The work of nearly 100 volunteer knitters and crocheters, a group dubbed the “Guerrilla Stitch Brigade,” is now on display for all the world to see in Rosslyn.

A stretch of Rosslyn from the Metro station to Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd) was “yarn bombed” on Sunday, as volunteers affixed their elaborate knits to trees, fences, parking structures and even a piano. Most of the knits — more than 1,000 stitched geometric shapes, which took some 20 weeks to create, affixed to a dozen different objects — are along Wilson Boulevard. The piano, however, is in Artisphere itself.

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Events

Free Event Features Arlington Civil Rights Activist

By Katie Pyzyk

An Arlington resident lauded for her involvement in the civil rights movement during the 1960s, including a stint in jail, will be featured at a special free movie showing and panel discussion tomorrow (Wednesday).

The Arlington Public Library will host a free screening of the movie “An Ordinary Hero: The True Story of Joan Mulholland.” Following the film, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland and her son Loki, who wrote and directed the movie, will take part in a panel discussion. William Pretzer, senior curator of history at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, will also be a part of the panel.

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Events

Controversial Ugandan Play Comes to Artisphere

By Katie Pyzyk

A staged reading of “The River and the Mountain” will take place at Artisphere’s Dome Theatre this Saturday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. The dramatic comedy revolves around the life of a gay factory manager in Uganda who encounters violent reactions from family members and colleagues when he comes out at a party. The free event includes a talk back with playwright Beau Hopkins and U.S. producer/director Sarah Imes Borden.

The play made news in August 2012 when it became the first Ugandan play to have an openly gay character. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, as well as 36 other African nations, and punished with lengthy jail terms.

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News

Artisphere, Two Community Centers Could Be on Next Year’s Chopping Block

By ARLnow.com

Among those expected to be evaluated are the money-losing Artisphere, two community centers and two Department of Human Services facilities.

In her budget message to the County Board, Donnellan said “potential facilities to be evaluated” include the Madison and Woodmont community centers in north Arlington, the Edison Complex near Virginia Hospital Center, and the Fenwick Center on S. Walter Reed Drive.

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News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Park Police Seeking Hit and Run Info — The U.S. Park Police is asking for the public’s help with providing information about an early morning hit and run on Monday. Around 5:45 a.m. on December 31, a driver was involved in an accident with a motorcyclist while traveling on the Memorial Bridge. The motorcyclist is being treated for a serious leg injury and other non-life threatening injuries. Police need help finding the other driver involved. The person was said to be in a brown minivan, which may have damage along the front driver’s side. Call the U.S. Park Police tip line at 202-610-8737 or U.S. Park Police Dispatch at 202-610-7500 with any info.

Avant Bard Needs New Theater — WSC Avant Bard has spent the past two years as the resident theater company at Artisphere, but now the performance group is looking for a new home. Avant Bard has not been operating under an official lease at Artisphere, and received the news last month that it needs to find a new space before its play season begins in May. The county now wants to use the stages at Artisphere for shorter running productions. [Washington Post]

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