Dance concerts in church, skate parks in alleyways and caricatures in the courtyard — the NEON Festival will use every inch of the NEON District Thursday and Friday to showcase the area’s artistic, culinary and historic diversity.
For the 10th anniversary of the district and festival, attendees can learn about the history of the area, which stretches from St. Paul’s Boulevard to Yarmouth Street. It will have some surprise peeks at what’s to come for the neighborhood and more art and activities than before.
“It’s a giant, fun art party,” said Corinna Sayward, muralist, tattoo artist and tour operator with the Norfolk Tour Company. “It’s a really inclusive environment.”
Last year’s festival featured more than 500 artists and performers and almost 8,000 attendees. This year’s programming includes a flea market, improv shows, writing workshops, a fashion show, community projects, live music, dancing and painting
The Chrysler Museum of Art, Push Comedy Theater and The Plot Park are among the host locations.
Ten new murals will be unveiled, as well as the "NEON at Ten: A History of Public Art in Norfolk’s Arts District," a 244-page hardcover book chronicling the neighborhood’s evolution. The Norfolk Tour Company Art Tour will offer walking art tours.
“The artists and people in general … allow NEON to be what it is and continue to make it great,” Sayward said, and this book is “a celebration and acknowledgement of that.”
She added, “There’s just a lot of passion and dedication that goes into keeping this district alive.”
Paul Rice, director of Marketing and Communications for the Downtown Norfolk Council, said the NEON District has come a long way in a decade, with hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in public art, including murals and sculptures. The neighborhood connects downtown Norfolk to Ghent in a way that is “crucial” for the flow of the city.
Rice said more businesses and artists are participating, which contributes to the “community-owned” feeling of the event.
Rowena Finn is participating for the first time, bringing a community art project, “Crowd Control.”
She will have flat, circular capiz shells and ask people to put a fingerprint on a shell. The shells are a signature in Finn’s work; she will eventually string them in a grid pattern with a " 'Matrix' kind of look to it.”
She called the project a meditation on privacy. Finn doesn't know the people who participate and she said some people love the idea and offer up fingerprints of everyone in their family; others, however, are skeptical and decline and take her information to verify that she’s even an artist.
This, she said, is the paradox she’s been wrestling with.
“We’re living in this digital age and it’s interesting to me how some people are willing to give their identity away,” for a coupon or access to content. “We’re all guilty of it.”
She has about 300 fingerprints that she’s collected at other events and she aims to get several hundred more. She will then add 24 karat gold to each shell.
“When I use gold in my work, I use it to draw attention to the things we value,” and she calls this slow process of community-based gathering and creation “an act of resistance” in today’s fast-paced world.
Finn will enjoy the festival’s “family-friendly party vibes” on Granby, which will be partially closed to traffic to make more room for pedestrians and activities.
“Norfolk is great," Finn said, "the NEON District is great.”
Visit the NEON Festival’s website for schedules and parking information.
Rowena Finn is a member of WHRO's Community Advisory Board, which does not participate in editorial decisions.