Celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Dark Star Park!
Every August 1st at 9:32 am, Nancy Holt’s Dark Star Park (1984), in Arlington’s Rosslyn neighborhood, aligns with the sun. Shadows cast by the spheres and poles of this landmark outdoor sculpture align with their permanent forms on the ground, marking the moment of Rosslyn’s founding. This year, the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and Holt/Smithson Foundation join with Arlington Public Art in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Dark Star Park. Nancy Holt’s sculpture is both a regional landmark and a cornerstone of Arlington’s internationally acclaimed public art collection. Activities are scheduled at the Hirshhorn, as well as at Dark Star Park, including:
In Conversation: Time in Public Sculpture
Wednesday, July 31, 6:30 p.m. | Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn Museum (Independence Ave and 7th St, Washington, DC 20560)
Free, tickets available starting Thursday, July 11, 12 p.m. EST
Holt/Smithson Foundation’s Executive Director Lisa Le Feuvre will lead a panel discussion exploring the ever-evolving nature of sculpture in the public realm with Arlington Public Art Founding Director Angela Anderson Adams, Hirshhorn Associate Curator Anne Reeve, and the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum Director Brett Littman.
Janel and Anthony Performance
Thursday, August 1, assemble 9:00 a.m. | Dark Star Park (1655 Fort Myer Dr, Arlington, VA 22209)
Free and open to the public
The world premiere of an original site-specific composition by Cuneiform recording artists Janel and Anthony. The live performance (which will begin at approx. 9:20 a.m.) will coordinate with the 9:32 a.m. shadow alignment.
The Alignment at Dark Star Park
Thursday, August 1, 9:32 a.m. | Dark Star Park (1655 Fort Myer Dr, Arlington, VA 22209)
Free and open to the public
The community is invited to watch as the sculpture aligns with the sun and celebrate with light refreshments provided by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District.
Nancy Holt Film Screenings with an introduction by Lisa Le Feuvre
Thursday, August 1, 12:30 p.m., & Saturday, August 3, 2:00 p.m. | Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn (Independence Ave and 7th St, Washington, DC 20560)
Free, first-come, first-served seating
Screening of Nancy Holt, Sun Tunnels (1978, 26 min.) and Nancy Holt, Art in the Public Eye: The Making of Dark Star Park (1988, 33 min.). The films reveal the making of visionary land artist Nancy Holt’s earthworks, serving both as documentation of her best-known land art sculptures and as artworks in themselves.