+ 16 arches (two groups of 8 arches), each group 17’ x 7’ x various heights, 8’-2” maximum, 3’-2” minimum
+ Installed at Jefferson Middle School Academy, Washington DC
+ Commissioned by the Washington DC Government, Department of General Services Percent for Art
Engineering: Mathew Daw & Shahab Torabian of SGH
Fabrication + Installation: Elemental Metalworks
Thanks to Sandy Bellamy, Doug Dorner, Zayd Sharif of MCN Build, Studios Architecture, Fanni Somogyi and Elemental Metalworks, Jefferson Middle School staff including Michelle Mays and Melissa Winters
PORTAL is a site-specific permanent public artwork installed at the front entrance of Jefferson Middle School. This pair of two constellations of 16 vibrantly colored steel arches are enwrapped with empowering quotations. PORTAL pays homage to the building’s historical legacy as a DC public library through this curated selection of quotes from important literary and cultural figures of color. PORTAL invites students, teachers, community members and passersby to observe, to participate, to dialogue.
WEST ARCHES
“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim… I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously towards better self." - Michelle Obama
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” - Barack Obama
“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” - John Lewis
“Love isn't about what we did yesterday; it's about what we do today and tomorrow and the day after.” - Grace Lee Boggs
"All that you touch you Change.All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change." - Octavia Butler
“You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend, or not.” - Isabel Allende
“If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it." - Toni Morrison
"When you learn, teach. When you get, give." - Maya Angelou
EAST ARCHES
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
“Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals.” - Dorothy Height
“Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves - and be free.” - Cesar Chavez
“And still I urge you to struggle. Struggle for the memory of your ancestors. Struggle for wisdom." - Ta Nehisi-Coates
"The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in." - James Baldwin
“When you believe you have a future, you think in terms of generations and years.” - Iris Chang
“We Strive for Excellence!” “...When we say Jefferson, that says it all!" - Vera M. White
”Education must be the cornerstone of our progress....” - Malcolm X
