Strathmore ReOpens Campus with Outdoor Creative ‘Monument’ Installation

This October, Strathmore is welcoming the community back — with care — to its 16-acre campus in North Bethesda, MD to experience Monuments: Creative Forces, an outdoor installation by Australian artist Craig Walsh.

The exhibition’s subjects will be artists whose work changes the shape of our community in profound ways. Expansive video portraits of these creative heroes, chosen by a diverse panel of community and arts leaders, will be projected on to towering trees, transforming them into animated sculptural monuments.

At a time when our nation questions the efficacy of effigy, Monuments: Creative Forces explores the conversation around monuments and their meaning, challenging the traditional concept of “monument” to celebrate living, contributing, members of our community, and swapping out chiseled marble for an ethereal face in the leaves of a tree.

“While an essential dialogue about the appropriateness of many monuments continues, visitors to the DC area know first-hand the power of visiting installations that reminds us of our better angels,” said Strathmore Artistic Director Joi Brown. “The exhibition allows Strathmore to leverage our entire campus to create a comfortable and socially distant environment for the community to engage with and enjoy the arts during the ongoing pandemic.”

Monuments: Creative Forces runs Thursday, October 1st through Sunday, October 25th. Timed entry tickets go on sale Wednesday, September 9. Tickets for each time slot will be very limited to allow for adequate space for each patron or family. To keep this event accessible to all, Strathmore will utilize a “pay what you can” model, with free entry available Sunday–Thursday and entry starting at $5 on Friday and Saturday. More information here.