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.
A Series of Fortunate Events
Local artist Tamika Bright-Stubblefield worked in yarn, paint and collage for her NEON District piece, creating views she calls “beyond this place.” Her yarn mural lived on the Zeke’s NFK fence as a long-term installation designed to weather over time.
View PostNEON Fiber Garden
The NEON Fiber Garden grew out of local crafter Danielle Shaffer’s passion for all things yarn. Over months of knitting and crocheting in 2017, a group of women spun a flowering botanical garden and then installed on a chain link fence behind the Virginia ABC store in NEON to beautify the area. The long-term installation … NEON Fiber Garden
View PostAjent 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.
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