Working quickly and often in the early morning hours, artist Christopher Revels spent years chalking the sidewalks of Norfolk with his signature “Walking Houses.” The funny houses on stilts, walking over water, began as a way to spread ideas about society’s relationship with rising sea levels.
In 2017, Revels found a vacant wall in NEON to spread his message, next to a low-lying area of the neighborhood prone to flooding. His large-scale houses remained until the property owner commissioned a new mural, Great America XVII.
Walking Houses
Working quickly and often in the early morning hours, artist Christopher Revels spent years chalking the sidewalks of Norfolk with his signature “Walking Houses.” The funny houses on stilts, walking over water, began as a way to spread ideas about society’s relationship with rising sea levels. In 2017, Revels found a vacant wall in NEON … Walking Houses
View PostHave Heart
The result of a wheatpaste workshop led by artist Alan Jelercic and The Governor’s School for the Arts, the collaborative temporary mural Have Heart was the work of Lisa Beckman, Heather Bryant, Elizabeth Cooke, Kyler Davis, Alex Drewry, Caitlin Edwards, Devyn Hoshour, Jeannine Owens, Jesse Scaccia, Will Sprueill and Heather Thurston. The participants created many … Have Heart
View PostCampfire Frenz
Featured on the garage door of Glass Wheel Studio facing Wilson Avenue, Heidi Peelen’s wheatpaste couple was one of the many projects to come out of the former artist studio space and gallery. Home to 13 working artists, Glass Wheel Studio incubated artworks of all media and was a proving ground for many Hampton Roads … Campfire Frenz
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 PostPilot Art Outside the Box
In 2015, Norfolk newspaper The Virginian-Pilot held a contest for readers to create artwork out of newspaper boxes. The winners’ boxes were on display at the first NEON Festival at the Plot.
View PostArrivals and Departures
Local photographer Hen Cho created a wheatpaste graphic image from Norfolk International Airport on a Granby Street façade for the first NEON Festival in 2015. As a reminder for viewers of take offs and landings home, the temporary project lived up to its ephemeral theme of transience and movement between places.
View PostOut of the Chrysler into the NEON
Out of the Chrysler into the NEON was selected and installed by Old Dominion University professor Manuela Mourão for the first NEON Festival in 2015. The piece was part of the Outings Project, a global art project that brought images out of local museums into the streets. These figures, wheat-pasted on a vacant warehouse in … Out of the Chrysler into the NEON
View PostOctopus Girl
Using techniques inspired by paper and collage artists, Victoria Weiss, aka Butterpop Studio, created an image of a heroine rising from the sea in 2015. The wheatpaste project was located on the rear side of Bob’s Gun Shop’s billboard, generously donated by the owner. After several years of gracefully swimming on the billboard, Octopus Girl … Octopus Girl
View Post9th Annual NEON Festival
The 9th annual NEON Festival returned to NFK October 18 & 19, 2024. The nights were lit with performances, music, murals, art and more! Stay tuned for 2025's tenth anniversary celebration!
Learn MoreCall For Artists
Hundreds of artists have passed through NEON walls over the years. Big or small, international or your next door neighbor, high school student or college professor - artists of all kinds and skill levels are welcome to contribute to the NEON District's public art collection. Apply for project-based open calls throughout the year to join the club.
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