Olalekan Jeyifous and the City of Alexandria
The new public art installation at Waterfront Park in Old Town Alexandria is complete — but opening ceremonies for the new work have been postponed.
Wrought, Knit, Labors, Legacies by Olalekan Jeyifous is the second in the Site See: New Views in Old Town annual public art series. The art will be on display through November 2020.
The Site See series highlights Waterfront Park as a civic space, fostering community engagement and interactions with the temporary installations. The inaugural installation, Mirror Mirror by SOFTlab, drew thousands of people to Alexandria in 2019.
Jeyifous’ concept frames Alexandria’s African American history through the lens of the city’s industrial and merchant history from the 17th to 20th centuries. Once a prosperous port city that was home to one of the largest domestic slave trading firms in the country, Alexandria was a major center for shipping and manufacturing with an economy inextricably tied to the work of enslaved and free African Americans.
Opening ceremonies and events have been postponed due to coronavirus. More information will be available in the coming weeks.
Olalekan Jeyifous and the City of Alexandria
