Take a ‘Look’ at Langston Boulevard’s New Pop-up Art Space

A former Walgreens is getting a colorful makeover, thanks to the Langston Boulevard Alliance (LBA).

LOOK: An Unexpected Arts Experience will be open on weekends Feb. 20-March 8, showcasing local talent across range of genres. An Arlington Artists Alliance Gallery Wall features works by 40 artists, and a performance stage will wow audiences with a lineup of dancers, magicians and theater performances. An opening reception on Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. is free and open to the public.

“It’s not your traditional art gallery. It is installation art, it’s performance art, music, participatory art,” says Ginger Brown, executive director of LBA, a 13-year-old organization that champions this vibrant county corridor. “We decided that it would be a fun project to work on, to think outside the box…and create something that’s never been done before in Arlington.”

Scheduled performances include A Sidewalk Stroll by actors fromthe children’s theater company Encore Stage & Studio; improv by Common Magic; and Super Art Fight, a live-action performance in which two or more artists battle against one another on a giant canvas. Check the schedule to see when each will take the stage.

Make Your Mark

The pop-up also aims to help visitors to explore their own artistic inclinations. Guests can make ‘zines with Arlington artist Molly McCracken, or flavorful spice blends to stock their kitchen pantries with Eddie Gonzalez, owner of Apothecary Spices in Alexandria.

Falls Church art therapist Miki Nishida Goerdt will host a workshop on making prints using recycled juice boxes and milk cartons.

“I want people to know that you can use anything to make art: The only thing you need is your imagination,” Goerdt wrote in an email. “I believe that art is for all people, regardless of your dis/abilities, financial status, where you live or how old you are.”

Visitors to the space can also contribute to a Community Mosaic. Artist Ursula Seckel will provide discarded items such as container lids, plastic bags and even leaky garden hoses to create the final piece.

“My signature style of ‘mosaic’ [is] made from post-consumer waste—what I like to call ‘pretty trash,'” Seckel says. “I’ve long dreamed of making a very large installation like this, and the opportunity to share my passion for creative reuse by having visitors actually help make this piece just adds to my excitement.”

Food and drink are part of the experience, too. Visitors can caffeinate at the Rosanna coffee truck, and in the evenings, North Side Social will be onsite selling wine. Planning to grab dinner after visiting the pop-up? Mention Look for discounts and deals at participating restaurants along Langston Boulevard. (Siam Miyaki, Cowboy Cafe and Compass Coffee are among those offering 10% off with that keyword.) At Immigrant Food in Ballston, enjoy an espresso martini and house-made Latin flan for $12.

Finding Space

Look is made possible with funding from an Arlington Arts Creative Placemaking Grant and Rooney Properties, the Arlington-based real estate company that owns the building.

LBA has “been instrumental in…guiding us in the development process [of the former Walgreens site], but also just as a neighbor and a cheerleader along the way,” says Cassie Guy, senior director of development at Rooney. “When the time came for them to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got this event that we’re looking at holding. Any interest?’ It was a no-brainer for us to be like, ‘Yeah, we’d love to help.'”

Ultimately, Guy says, the plan is to turn the property into a 300-unit multifamily housing building.

Brown says future pop-ups could materialize if more real estate space becomes available. For now, she is focusing on Look, which Arlington Arts and the Arlington Visual Arts Studio Tour helped organize.

“This is all about joy and community,” Brown says. “The world is very chaotic right now, and this is a place to relax and have fun.”

Find Look at 3130 Langston Blvd., Arlington.