Washington, D.C., April 20, 2009… The NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID) announces three semifinalists for its new initiative, NoMa Artscapes: Transforming Public Spaces, which aims to enhance the visual character and texture of NoMa by commissioning a distinctive and precedent-setting work that augments the vibrancy of this rapidly developing urban neighborhood and its public spaces.The NoMa BID received over 60 applications from U.S. and international artists, architects, and designers, who submitted individually and as teams for the Artscapes project. An 11-member selection named the following semifinalists:
• Stephen Glassman, Artist, Venice, CA
• Parker Rodriguez, Landscape Architecture Firm, Alexandria, VA, teamed with Chris Doyle, Artist, Brooklyn, NY
• Office dA, Architecture & Design, Boston, MA

Each semifinalist will receive a $1,500 honorarium to create a site-specific design proposal. In May, the selection committee will review the semifinalists’ proposals and select the finalist, whose work will be installed in 2010.

The project site is located in the heart of NoMa at the newly constructed Capitol Plaza Building at 1200 First Street NE (intersection of 1st Street and M Street NE), Washington, D.C. The site is highly visible and accessible to pedestrians and motorists due to its close proximity to the New York Avenue Metro Station just one block away, Union Station, and Route 50/New York Avenue. The building, owned by an affiliate of the Polinger Company, was designed by renowned architect Shalom Baranes.

The NoMa BID is managing and funding this project with matching funds provided by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities’ (DCCAH) Public Art Building Communities Program. The total project budget is $100,000, which is inclusive of all fees associated with the design, fabrication, and installation of the artwork. DCCAH is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

“We are thrilled by the tremendous response we received for our Artscapes project,” said Elizabeth Price, President of the NoMa BID. “We have selected three diverse and talented teams and are excited to see what creative concepts they develop for NoMa’s first public art installation.”

NoMa is a rapidly developing mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. In 2007-2008, private developers invested over $1 billion in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID, and have plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space over the next ten years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Web site at nomabid.wpengine.com.