Washington, D.C., July 2, 2015 — The transformation began with 200 gallons of white paint primer and an enthusiastic band of students studying hip-hip, arts and life skills with Words, Beats & Life. Today, another vacant lot in NoMa is transformed. NoMa Junction @ Storey Park has more than 14,000 SF of murals, on the walls and the ground, created by East Coast artists. 

Join NoMa BID and Words, Beats & Life for the opening celebration of the completed murals at NoMa Junction @ Storey Park. Meet the artists who transformed a vacant lot into the largest piece of public art in Washington, DC. Two breakdancing performances will take place, including a class taught by the Words, Beats & Life b-boys and b-girls, and the dance group Urban Artistry, before a free NoMa Summer Screen showing of Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo at sunset. 

“These murals are just beautiful, and so creative,” said Robin-Eve Jasper, President of the NoMa Business Improvement District. “Elements of NoMa’s industrial past, homage to residents, and new features like the Met Branch Trail are all portrayed.” 

The NoMa BID partnered with hip-hop nonprofit Words, Beats & Life to make the art happen. Rather than painting only on the walls, the artists also covered a significant portion of the ground, which is visible to the 100,000 people who pass by the site daily on the Metro Red Line, MARC, VRE and Amtrak. Master Artists Pose 2 & Cita “CheLove” Sadeli created two significant tribute murals on the history and future of NoMa. Then, 53 additional artists from DC, MD, VA, PA, NJ and NY added to the canvas with a series of smaller murals and geometric colors. 

Details:

Location: NoMa Junction @ Storey Park, 1005 First Street, NE
Date: Wednesday, July 8
6 pm: Doors Open/Music by DJ RBI/Free gelato
6:30 pm: Speaking program/dedication:

6:45 — 7:15 pm: Words, Beats & Life breakdancing class
7:30 pm: Music DJ Baronhawk
8 pm: Urban Artistry Performance
8:45 pm: Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo begins

Twitter handles:    @NoMaBID and @WordsBeatsLife 

The NoMa Business Improvement District is activating the site with a number of events, including the eighth season of the award-winning NoMa Summer Screen, the BID’s outdoor film series. Curbside Cook-off is planned for September 12. The NoMa Business Improvement District organizes and sponsors more than 50 free events a year, July 4 Bash and Family Film Nights at Sursum Corda. Learn more at nomabid.org/events. 

About Storey Park
Storey Park will be a 712,000 SF mixed-use project with office, retail, and residential in the heart of NoMa, coming in 2017. Developed by First Potomac Realty Trust and Perseus Realty. For more information on Storey Park, visit www.storeypark.com. 

About Words, Beats & Life
We are unapologetic advocates for the transformative power of hip-hop culture in all its forms, empowering artists to relentlessly create and refine systems that demonstrate this notion of positive change through creativity. We embrace the sacred nature of our work and our roles as keepers and innovators of our culture. More at www.wblinc.org. 

About NoMa
NoMa is a vibrant, growing neighborhood nestled among Union Station, the U.S. Capitol, Shaw, and the H Street, NE corridor in Washington, D.C. Already, NoMa contains more than 17.6 million SF of office, hotel, retail and residential space. Each day, 92,000 people are out in the commercial core of NoMa. More than 38 percent of NoMa’s office space is home to private sector tenants, including a concentration of media, tech and think tanks such as NPR, Google and Mathematica. Through a public-private partnership with the District government and a capital investment of $50 million, NoMa will soon have great new parks and public spaces as well. NoMa is home to 3,386 terrific new apartments, and more than 40,000 people work here each day. NoMa is the most connected neighborhood in Washington, D.C. With unparalleled transportation access on Amtrak, VRE, MARC, two Red Line Metro stops, and vehicular access to Interstate 395, visitors, workers and residents can easily travel throughout the region as well as get to New York or anywhere on the East Coast. NoMa has a WalkScore of 92 and offers stellar biking facilities, including the 8-mile Metropolitan Branch Trail. The NoMa BID organizes more than 50 free award-winning community events each year, connecting more than 20,000 friends and neighbors. For more information about NoMa, visit nomabid.wpengine.com and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter. Follow us on Twitter @NoMaBID and like us on Facebook.

 

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For immediate release

News media contact:
Rachel Davis
202-997-3846
[email protected]

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