Past Projects
A number of amazing projects have graced the walls and galleries of the NEON District over the years. Have a look at some of those works in the listing below.
Ajent of NEON
Then Norfolk State University MFA student Mensah Bey’s mural visualized the thriving NEON District in Norfolk and its commitment to beautifying a growing city by the hands of artists and creators. The surrealistic painting was influenced by the dynamic cubism style of Jacob Lawrence with references to Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam.” It was the … Ajent of NEON
View PostThe Chase
Installed in 2017, The Chase was a temporary woven installation about the reversal of predator and prey, letting the artist Ryan Lytle experiment with translating the visual language into a medium that can be displayed outdoors in a public forum. Initially, Lytle created a rabbit chasing fox and then in 2018 added a wolf, furthering … The Chase
View PostLabor of Love
The phrase “labor of love” was scrawled in artist Hannah Kirkpatrick’s handwriting across 25 feet of the west side of Glass Wheel Studio. The neon letters formed an EKG graph, or heartbeat, and expressed the energy required to sustain one’s passions. In 2024, the artwork was de-commissioned due to an expansion on the east facade … Labor of Love
View PostModern Day Hieroglyphics
Hampton artist Asa Jackson returned to the district to paint a mural live during the first NEON Festival in 2015, where he was once involved with Hampton Roads, The Canvas Project, which beautified the Zedd’s auction house in the winter of 2010. As a multidisciplinary artist, Jackson’s work explores the cross section of textile from … Modern Day Hieroglyphics
View PostNew Energy Of Norfolk
As one of the three inaugural NEON Festival mural collaborations, New Energy of Norfolk, was the introduction most visitors had when approaching the burgeoning arts district. Together, two ODU professors created a mural that was a friendly welcome to the neighborhood with Richard Nickel’s playful, smiling houses illuminated by Clay McGlamory’s solar light installations. The … New Energy Of Norfolk
View PostWild Alley
In 2015, then Chrysler Museum Glass Studio instructor Hannah Kirkpatrick led a student artist team from the Governor’s School for the Arts to create a neon piece inspired by the wilderness in a forgotten alley corner. The hidden neon artwork became the starting point for a years-long effort to beautify three blocks of Magazine Lane. … Wild Alley
View PostWith the Current
The mural’s maritime symbols represent ways Norfolk citizens create meaningful homes in what can be a transient city. It was a collaboration between local artists A. Valid and Christopher Revels that lived in Magazine Lane until it was replaced with Navid Rahman’s Jewel in 2018.
View PostNFK-Arts
Artist Elliott Addesso worked with students of Norfolk’s Emerging Leaders program to paint a large mural at the south entrance to NEON that features various text and symbols celebrating Norfolk. Painted on large boards and attached to the wall, the project was removed in 2022 due to the wood’s condition.
View PostLove
Completed in the very early days of the NEON District in 2014, Love was a collaboration between artist couple Alan Jelercic and Victoria Farr that lived on a vacant storefront on Granby Street. The mural on panel boards was a testament to their love for each other and their son and their home in Norfolk. … Love
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