Anyone who is at all familiar with the goings on in D.C. is well aware of the drastic changes taking place along 14th Street NW. To reflect and comment on this change, the Washington Project for the ArtsCorcoran is mounting SiteProjects DC, a collection of thirteen installations, performances, and projections examining the fluidity of the surrounding urban landscape. As can be expected from an exhibition of a diverse group of artists, the results are varied.

WPAC first mounted a SiteProject exhibit in 1999 and chose independent curator Welmoed Laanstra to organize this collection. Laanstra was tapped, in part, because her prior experience with public outdoor collections has given her some expertise in dealing with the permitting and outreach requirements of such a show. Laanstra’s vision was to display art that could be integrated into the neighborhood. Her hope is that passers-by will take the time to pause and absorb pieces they admire, or walk away from pieces they don’t, and in doing so become collaborators in the artistic expression. Many of the local artists were either hand selected by Laanstra or chosen from an open call for submissions. All but three of the selected pieces, two performances and one installation, are currently on display along 14th Street between P and V Streets.

Photo by James Calder