An interstellar impact has occurred at Waterfront Park here in Old Town Alexandria. At the foot of King Street on the shore of the Potomac River, a collision that took place 35 million years ago between an asteroid and our planet has re-appeared.
Interstellar Influencer (Make an Impact) is a brand new art installation created by the Brooklyn-based architecture and design firm, StudioKCA. The structure is comprised of metal, water, and light to serve as a 1:2000 scale representation of the asteroid and the 85-kilometer-wide, 1.5-kilometer-deep crater it left behind that helped to shape the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed and the flow of water through its rivers and tributaries in the process. (Description credited to the City of Alexandria website.)
“Nature and science drive a lot of our work, as do the interesting things about a site or community we discover during the development of a piece. This installation explores the impact of an asteroid that hit the earth 35 million years ago near what is now Alexandria.”
StudioKCA, source Visit Alexandria
Visitors can explore the artwork and consider a new perspective on history, place, and the environment. Lesley Chang of StudioKCA explains, “We want this representation of the asteroid and its impact to raise awareness of the fragility of our shared existence on this planet and the extraordinary (and sometimes extraterrestrial) foundation of our modern cities and waterways.” Jason Klimoski of StudioKCA adds, “We all share this one planet and live within the history of events that shaped it. Sometimes you have to look at it from the point of view of an asteroid hurtling through space 35,000,000 years ago to appreciate just how incredible it is we’re here at all.” (Quote source, City of Alexandria website.)
Interstellar Influencer (Make an Impact) is the sixth temporary public art installation at Waterfront Park in the ongoing Site See project series organized by the Alexandria Public Art Program, an extension of the City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts. Together they act as the driving force behind various temporary and permanent public art projects throughout the city of Alexandria such as Confluent Threads by Project One Studio painted on the exterior of the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library.
Meet the Artists
StudioKCA biography source; StudioKCA website.
StudioKCA is an award-winning architecture and design firm led by Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang based in Brooklyn, New York with projects ranging in scale and complexity from lighting fixtures and interiors to public installations, sculptures, and buildings in New York, Vermont, Nevada, Wisconsin, Brazil, Taiwan, and Papua New Guinea.
StudioKCA explores how context and locality offer opportunities to design and create objects and spaces that respond directly to the demands of their programs and site-specific environmental conditions. With each project, they are focused on how materials can be crafted or purposed to solve a problem, shape a narrative, create a sense of place, and offer a unique solution that resonates with their clients and their sites.
All images above are to the credit of STUDIOKCA. View all their previous projects here.
“Materials are an important part of the story and must add to the narrative in some way.
For our Alexandria installation, we utilized metal, water and light to create a 1:1000 scale representation of the asteroid and the 85-kilometer wide, 1.5-kilometer deep crater it left behind, which helped to shape the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed and the flow of water through its rivers and tributaries in the process.
We want this representation of the asteroid and its impact to raise awareness of the fragility of our shared existence on this planet and the extraordinary (and sometimes extraterrestrial) foundation of our modern cities and waterways.”
StudioKCA, source Visit Alexandria
Interstellar Influencer (Make an Impact) made its debut on March 24th, 2024 and will remain on view through November 2024. Alexandria’s Waterfront Park is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and located at 1 Prince St, Alexandria, VA 22314. If you’d like to learn more about public art in Alexandria, review the Public Art Implementation Plan & Policy, and click here to discover more public art projects in Alexandria. If you share any photos or videos on social media but sure to use #artsALX, #interstellarALX, and tag @alexartsoffice to spread the word.
Principle Gallery 