Contact: Signe Friedrichs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

C: 703-626-1066

Email: ExecDir@HerndonArts.org

COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS OF HERNDON BOARD PRESIDENT MIKE O’REILLY SPEAKS AT MOSAIC DEDICATION 

Council for the Arts provided funding for the new Embry-Rucker Community Center Mosaic

On November 26, 2013, the Embry-Ricker Community Center staff, residents and management joined with local artists and the Council for the Arts of Herndon to dedicate a new mural for the Center’s Common Room.  The Council for the Arts of Herndon was approached several months ago by Susan Alger, Volunteer Manager of the Embry-Rucker Community Shelter, with a request to fund the completion of a mural project for the residents of the Embry-Rucker Community Shelter.  The project was appealing to the Board of Directors of the CAH because it provided the opportunity to support local underserved populations with works of public art.  

The Embry-Rucker Shelter provides services for Herndon-area residents experiencing homelessness.  Ivan Young, a mosaic artist from Herndon, volunteers at the Shelter and came up with this idea to enrich the living space of the Shelter residents. In collaboration with artist Anita Damron, and with input from other Shelter volunteers and residents of the Shelter, the mosaic was created and installed in a wooden wall divide.  The wall divide contains twenty panels installed in the main common area where residents gather for meals and meetings.  The mosaic was designed to be removable, and can be reconfigured into a large square designed by the artists as an alternative, should the homeless shelter be relocated in the future. The panels are particularly effective when viewed in the low natural light provided by the high windows.  

The president of the Council for the Arts, Mike O’Reilly, was particularly pleased to be part of this project.  Mr. O’Reilly also serves as Chairman of the Fairfax-Falls Church Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness, and was pleased when both of his nonprofit missions joined together seamlessly. The dedication of the mosaic on November was an opportunity for members of the Embry-Rucker Shelter, Cornerstones, the Council for the Arts of Herndon and the arts community to come together to see and dedicate the completed project.  

The Council for the Arts is proud to provide opportunities to local populations who would otherwise not have access to the Arts. The Council for the Arts of Herndon is the Town of Herndon’s officially designated local arts agency. CAH is a private, not-for-profit charitable organization supported by citizens, businesses and the public sector including the Town of Herndon and the Arts Council of Fairfax County.

CAH creates opportunities for local artists to showcase their talents, provides local arts programming, fosters the development of artists and audiences, and improves opportunities for people who have limited access to the arts to participate in activities.

 

More information on this topic or to schedule an interview with Signe Friedrichs, call 703-626-1066

 

The Council for the Arts of Herndon is a non-profit 501c3 organization and is the official arts agency of the Town of Herndon. CAH is responsible for promoting the arts by producing many popular Herndon events, including Arts Week and the Children’s Hands on Art at the Herndon Festival. CAH also provides scholarships for area students interested in pursuing the study of art and gives grants to art groups in Herndon.  For information about our upcoming events or membership, visit www.herndonarts.org, call the Council office at 703.689.9535, or email info@herndonarts.org.  All activities of the Council for the Arts of Herndon are made possible in part by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the Arts Council of Fairfax, the County of Fairfax and the Town of Herndon. Additional funding is provided by the Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust, the Nelson J. and Katherine Friant Post Foundation and the kind donations and volunteer work of our friends and supporters.