Crafted from plastic newspaper delivery bags and reused straws, a large art installation with an environmental message has been suspended from the ceiling in the Takoma Park Community Center.

The artwork by D.C. artist Jessica Beels critiques our careless consumption of disposable products which can cause serious environmental harms. Beels fused dozens of plastic newspaper delivery bags into 20 colorful flag-like grids which are connected by straightened metal clothes hangers and reused plastic straws.

“I am intrigued by the large destructive environmental impacts caused by our small decisions,” Beels said. “Newspaper bags and straws often aren’t recycled, and they can become microplastics in our oceans where they can disrupt entire ecosystems.”

The artwork was purchased by the City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division using public art funds.

“We’re excited to add this meaningful artwork to the City’s permanent art collection,” Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith said. “The installation illustrates the City’s commitment to public art and protecting the environment.”

The installation was previously displayed at the Takoma Park Community Center in 2019 during the Art of Evolution exhibition. It will be on display indefinitely in the atrium at the community center at 7500 Maple Avenue. The center’s operating hours are posted on the City’s website.

Beels creates sculptural work which usually addresses environmental themes. Her work has been shown at Strathmore Mansion, Black Rock Center for the Arts, and other venues. You can see more of her artwork at materialworld.studio.

Liliane Blom with her new banner at Memorial Park 

The City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division commissioned a new banner celebrating the power and diversity of women which is installed at Memorial Park.

The banner features a painting titled Late Summer by Rockville artist Liliane Blom from her Four Seasons series highlighting women of different ages and ethnicities in settings representing the different seasons. The banner includes a portrait of Baltimore R&B and gospel singer Alton Scarborough with a floral background.

“We’re proud to display this banner as a sign of the City’s commitment to racial diversity through the creation of public art that enlivens our community,” Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith said.

The new banner will be on display indefinitely at Memorial Park located across the street from the Takoma Park library at 101 Philadelphia Avenue.

The banner replaces a temporary banner of another painting from the same series titled Mid Autumn that depicted a portrait of Nepalese-born Karuna Skariah, an educator and mother who lives in Ellicott City. That banner was part of the #ArtHappensHere project which celebrated the reopening of the local creative economy after pandemic-related closures.

The women featured in the Four Seasons series “embody nature, the seasons, and the great circle of existence,” Blom said.

“Four Seasons showcases women of many ages (from 14 to 90) and ethnicities, including immigrants to our state representing nine countries on five continents. The circle is at the heart of this series with women as the champions of the environment at its center,” Blom said. “The series embodies the beauty and value of all ages and ethnic groups and is intended to combat stereotypes and ageism in  both subtle and powerful ways. It reminds us that nature and humans are intimately and eternally entwined, and we need to protect the earth.”

You can learn more about some of the City’s public art projects on the City’s website.

A new banner by Rockville artist Liliane Blom has been installed in Memorial Park to celebrate the reopening of Montgomery County’s creative economy.

The banner features Blom’s painting “Mid Autumn” with a portrait of Nepalese-born Karuna Skariah, an educator and mother in Ellicott City. Memorial Park is across the street from the Takoma Park library at 101 Philadelphia Avenue.

Murals and banners designed by local artists have been installed in multiple locations in the #ArtHappensHere project sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Public Arts Trust. The public art installations highlight the reemergence of our creative community after a difficult year of disruptions caused by pandemic lockdowns.

The City of Takoma Park was selected as one of the venues for a banner. “We’re excited to display Liliane’s banner as a sign of the city’s commitment to the arts and racial diversity,” Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith said. “We also are so glad that we are now rescheduling a wide array of arts events at the Takoma Park Community Center starting in September after the building reopens to the public.”

The Takoma Park Arts series features free concerts, plays, art exhibitions, lectures, film screenings, poetry readings and other events organized by the City’s Arts and Humanities Division. Please sign up for our weekly e-newsletter for details about all of our upcoming events.

Liliane Blom is a multi-media artist who fuses video, photography, and painting in artwork which is often interactive, immersive, and environmental in scope. Her featured piece Mid Autumn is from a series called Four Seasons which Liliane describes here.

“Four Seasons showcases women of many ages (from 14 to 90) and ethnicities, including immigrants to our state representing nine countries on five continents. The series reflects both Rockville’s and the world’s diversity. The series is meant to empower the viewer to see the beauty and value to be found at all ages and in all ethnic groups and is intended to combat stereotypes and ageism in a way that is both subtle and powerful. It is created to remind us that nature and humans are intimately and eternally entwined and that we need to protect the earth. Each of my women personifies one of the seasons  and as its “Spirit/Queen” is surrounded by the flora and fauna of that time of year. They embody nature, the seasons, and the great circle of existence.”