Dark Star Park Day 2024
Date and Time
- Thursday, Aug 1, 2024 9am - 9:45am
Location
Dark Star Park (1984) - Nancy Holt
1655 N Fort Myer Dr
Don't miss the Rosslyn favorite tradition that only comes around once a year! Every Aug. 1, at approximately 9:32 a.m., Nancy Holt’s Dark Star Park (1979-84) performs a special effect. 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. Cross your fingers for a sunny day!
In honor of the year-long celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Arlington’s internationally acclaimed collection of contemporary public art, this year’s event will be augmented by an official County proclamation and the debut of a new poem by Courtney LeBlanc, the third Poet Laureate of Arlington County, commissioned to honor Dark Star Park and the work of artist Nancy Holt. Light refreshments will also be provided by the Rosslyn BID.
Limited-edition commemorative posters (pictured below) by Globe Posters at MICA, rendered in the venerable company’s signature style of bright and bold showcards, will be given away free to attendees, while supplies last.
ARLINGTON'S FIRST PUBLIC ART PIECE
Arlington’s history of commissioning public art grounded in County planning objectives began in 1984 with the dedication of Nancy Holt’s Dark Star Park in Rosslyn. Dark Star Park is emblematic of Nancy Holt’s commitment to temporal and site-responsive sculpture. Located within a busy traffic intersection on a once-overlooked pocket of land, it features large, gunite spheres resembling fallen, extinguished stars alongside tunnels and vertical poles. Learn more about Nancy Holt and Dark Star Park with this article from Angela Anderson Adams for the Holt/Smithson Foundation.
