Arlington Artists Alliance
In the spring of 2012, Arington Artists Alliance founder Jane Coonce and artist Bryan Jernigan met with the Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) (now the National Landing BID) to discuss the possibility of donated gallery space in the Crystal City Shops. Having had no luck with the Ballston BID, hopes were not high. However, the BID informed them that Vornado, the landlords of the shops, were looking to activate empty storefronts as a way to attract companies to their empty office spaces. They offered the Alliance the former Rite Aid space in the 2100 shops, a large, bright space.
Alliance volunteers were recruited to get the gallery space ready. Large moveable walls were built, the space was painted, and an area in the back was converted into a kitchenette with a donated refrigerator, microwave and cabinets. Vornado installed a sink, and shared the cost with the Alliance of installing floor to ceiling glass across the whole front and part of the side of the gallery. The Alliance Board of Directors chose the name “Northern Virginia Art Center,” hired Alliance artists Sandi Parker and Marina DiCarlo to jointly run the gallery, and juried in about 40 artists to display their work, changing out the shows each month. The gallery held an opening reception on the first Friday of every month with wine and refreshments, rarely attracting fewer than 100 guests. The Grand Opening reception in September 2012 attracted over 400 guests.
About a year later, the Crystal City BID decided to make the hallway from the gallery down to the end of the 2100 shops into “Art Underground,” providing space for Synetic Theater to rehearse and giving the Alliance 3 large spaces to rent out as art studios (“Blue Studios, “Cyan Studios” and “Red Studios.”) This provided vital income needed to pay gallery staff. At that time they asked the Alliance to change the name of the gallery from Northern Virginia Art Center to Gallery Underground, to fit with the Art Underground theme, and provided the gallery with a new, colorful logo. (The Crystal City Shops mall, while at street level, was known as the Crystal City Underground during its heyay in the 70s, 80s and 90s because of the lack of windows in the mall shops and the long windowless hallway linking the 2100 shops with the metro and 1750 shops – although the name was later changed to Crystal City Shops, the BID decided to embrace the “Underground” name for Art Underground).
In 2013, the gallery designated a portion of its space as “Focus Gallery” where solo, group and juried shows were hung each month in addition to the member show. The gallery partnered with upstairs neighbor PBS for painting demos for their employees, and worked with the Crystal City BID on events such as a “Wine Walk” (GU was one of the tasting stations), a “Sip and Salsa” event where GU staffed a wine tent, and numerous other BID events, some for children where the gallery set up painting stations. The gallery also worked with veterans, high school students and young people on the autism spectrum, hosting shows for their artists. In addition, the gallery had art classes in the space and “Painting Uncorked,” a popular sip and paint event held every month. “ARTrageous” was a silent auction fundraiser held for several years in the space with donated art from Alliance members.
Over the years, Gallery Underground would receive local awards including the “Abbie” award, Arlington Magazine “Readers Choice Best Of” award and Northern Virginia Magazine “Best of” awards for Best Art Gallery, and was written up in Washingtonian Magazine as a “jewel” in Arington.
In 2016, the Shops were taken over by JBG Smith, who announced in 2023 that all tenants would need to vacate by January of 2025. End of an era for Gallery Underground!
–Sandi Parker, Gallery Underground Director 2012-2021
