Image courtesy of the City of Alexandria
Sound Horizons is on display at the Torpedo Factory through January 2024.
The Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech and the City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts will partner to bring Alexandria residents an unprecedented collaboration of exhibits, performances and events called Innovation & Creativity.
The new yearlong series will primarily be held at the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Target Gallery through September 2024.
“Collaborating with one of the nation’s top innovative universities provides an opportunity to put Alexandria on the cutting edge, proving how art and creativity are a thread that runs deeply through all forms of innovation, be it scientific, cultural, engineering, health, or technological,” said Brett John Johnson, MFA, CPM, City of Alexandria Curator of Artistic Advancement.
“Virginia Tech, with its Innovation Campus, is pushing the frontier of technology," said R. Benjamin Knapp, PhD, Executive Director, the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology. "Together, with the City of Alexandria Office of the Arts, we are showcasing innovation in all of its forms.”
This joint effort between the City of Alexandria and Virginia Tech is a collaboration that celebrates the beauty of diverse academic practices, artistic expressions and creative endeavors.
Innovation & Creativity kicks off with Sound Horizons, an ongoing exhibition that began August 5 and will continue through Jan. 28, 2024, featuring four sound installations:
• Dear Younger Me, a project about healing the inner Black girl, which features series of Black women reading letters to their younger selves
• Sonification of Cybersecurity Data, a music installation that turns cybersecurity data into musical harmony of sounds
• Liminal Spaces, a fixed-media composition inspired by life’s in-between moments • Musical Connection, a sound installation shedding light on the uncharted neural territories that music traverses when people living with Alzheimer’s Disease engage in music-making.
Gallery visitors will experience Sound Horizons through ICAT's Tesseract, a high-density loudspeaker array that physically immerses listeners in sound. Target Gallery is typically open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily, with occasional 5 p.m. and holiday closures. Visit www.torpedofactory.org/hours to confirm times.
To kick off this new partnership, the public is invited to Synaptic Soiree, a party and performances, on Sept. 16 (open to the public with RSVP). The event will feature three projects from ICAT's vibrant teams of researchers and artists, selected specifically for the City of Alexandria and Northern Virginia audience. Performances will explore scored data composed of music exploring infectious disease, neuroscience, including Atrium, meditation, PTSD, and more, as well as the juxtaposition of new technology and the human body. A facilitated discussion will follow the show.
The performances will ignite the stage in the Grand Hall of the Torpedo Factory Art Center from 7 – 9 p.m. Tickets are free but limited. Visit www.alexandriava.org/arts and www.icat.vt.edu for information.
Powered by advanced technology and networks of creative people, Virginia Tech’s ICAT brings together and supports teams of faculty and students from across academic disciplines to address grand challenges and creative opportunities, ranging from large societal problems to industry-specific issues to the frontiers of artistic expression.
The Office of The Arts promotes the value of arts and culture in Alexandria by nurturing, investing in, and celebrating the creative contributions of artists and arts organizations. Through engaging the community, encouraging participation, and facilitating access to the arts, the Office of the Arts works with local artists and arts organizations to build a vibrant community for all of the City's residents, workers, and visitors. The Office of the Arts is a division of the City’s department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities.
