Check Out the Dope, Dope New Banners by artist Rebecca Williams coming to Adams Morgan

Pardon me, coming to AdMo, from a press release:

“Adams Morgan looks even more colorful, as new banners designed by a local artist have gone up throughout the neighborhood. The Adams Morgan Partnership partnered with local creative agency Maga Design to create a new visual identity for the neighborhood in 2018. Then, building upon this new “look,” the Partnership commissioned artist Rebecca Williams for original art to update the neighborhood’s light pole banners.

The street pole banners are part of a broader placemaking and community building effort. In the next few weeks, more than 100 banners will be installed in the neighborhood’s primary corridors, on 18th Street, Columbia Road, Florida Avenue, Calvert Street, and the Duke Ellington Bridge, welcoming neighbors and visitors to the community and marking this area as Adams Morgan.

Rebecca is a full-time artist who works from her Adams Morgan studio overlooking Columbia Road NW. Scott Williams, her husband, is CEO of Maga Design. Their unique combination of graphic design, visual creativity and artistic vision brought the new Adams Morgan Partnership identity to life in three dimensions.

“I was passionate about bringing the personality of Adams Morgan to life through layered imagery of the neighborhood and its history, while promoting the spirit of the community and its businesses,” says Williams. “I’m so excited the Partnership gave us the opportunity to adorn Adams Morgan with my art.”

The subjects of the banner artwork were adapted from local photography, as well as iconic figures that have impacted the culture of the community. For example, the “Music Is Our Language” banner features Ian MacKaye, lead singer of the 80’s punk rock band, Fugazi and its predecessor, Minor Threat, which played its first concert in a house on Calvert Street. Five additional banners represent the essence of this unique place, exploring themes such as diversity, social justice and activism (featuring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), the arts, and family. Full banner descriptions can be found at admodc.org/banners.

“These street light banners represent just one component of a larger place branding program underway,” said Kristen Barden, executive director of the Adams Morgan Partnership. “Additional public art, murals, and signage throughout the neighborhood and at our gateways are in the works in the near future.”

Additional new graphics are visible now in bus shelters, event signage, and print materials, also designed by local firms Maga Design and Alley Squash, Co. The Partnership is implementing a a gateway beautification project at four key entry points to the neighborhood; and a photography exhibit in spring 2019 featuring photos of basketball courts around the world taken by local high school students. Adams Morgan Movie Nights this summer and Adams Morgan PorchFest in October will also promote the creative community of local musicians, filmmakers and artists. For more, visit admodc.org.”