Loading Dock Door Damaged. New Public Art to Come.

Torpedo Factory Art Center is saying farewell to the bright spotted mural that has adorned its loading dock door since 2016. Beaded Curtain, Erin Curtis’s playful mural, was irreparably damaged in a collision earlier this year. The door will be replaced in August. The City’s Public Art Program will commission a new mural for this space with a call expected to be issued in late 2021.

The mural was always intended to be temporary and even exceeded its original three-year timeline. It was a cheerful interpretation of a beaded curtain, a beloved, though kitschy decoration for doorways. With some intended irony, Beaded Curtain on the loading dock doorway lightened its presence. It transformed the modest aluminum exterior into one of Alexandria’s favorite photo backdrops.

To honor this beloved mural, the Art Center will celebrate it on Friday, August 13, at 7 p.m. during The Late Shift: REFRESH. Visitors can participate in a hands-on project focused on the mural, with formal remarks beginning at 9 p.m., after the close of the 7:30 p.m. artist talk in Target Gallery. The building will be open until 10 p.m. with three floors of open artist studios to explore.

Throughout the month of August, the public is encouraged to share their own photos of the mural on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with #torpedofactory and #artsALX to help memorialize its deinstallation across the wider community.

The new loading dock door will feature a new photo-worthy mural in spring 2022. The Call for Artists will be posted to torpedofactory.org/artopps.

Torpedo Factory Art Center is located at 105 N. Union Street. More information can be found at torpedofactory.org, or via 703.746.4570, or torpedofactory@alexandriava.gov.

Credit Geoff Livingston

About the Torpedo Factory Art Center

Founded in 1974 in a former navy munitions plant, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to the nation’s largest number of publicly accessible working artist studios under one roof. The Art Center is part of the City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts, a division of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities. Just south of Washington, D.C., the Torpedo Factory Art Center overlooks the Potomac River in the Old-Town section of Alexandria, Virginia. Each year, more than a half million national and international visitors meet and interact with more than 165 resident artists in 82 studios and seven galleries. The Torpedo Factory Art Center is also home to The Art League headquarters and gallery, and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. For more information, visit torpedofactory.org or follow the Torpedo Factory on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest via @torpedofactory.