North Potomac Yard includes the new Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, a new city park, and related development. The developers of North Potomac Yard provided a cash contribution for public art to be incorporated into the park that has been recently constructed. The public art commission will be managed by the City of Alexandria's Public Art Program in accordance with the Public Art Implementation Plan. In accordance with City's approved process, the project started with the creation of a Public Art Task Force that will explore the goals and opportunities for the project.

This project has been initiated. In January 2025, the Public Art Task Force members were appointed by the Alexandria Commission for the Arts.

Project Goals

• Bring exciting new artwork to Alexandria that is informed by the context and history of the site.
• Celebrate one or more of the following themes: the relationship between our past and the future; the spirit of innovation, technology, and creativity; growth; and inspiring the future.
• Attract residents and visitors to the park to experience dramatic, visually compelling, and unique work(s) of art.
• Provide an interactive environment for people of all ages that encourages continued use, gathering, and community participation at the park.

• Provide high-quality art experiences that elevate the user experience in the park and addresses its unique physical characteristics as a linear park.

   

timeline

• January 2025: Public Art Task Force Members appointed by the Alexandria Commission for the Arts.
• April 2025: Public Art Project Plan approved by the Alexandria Commission for the Arts.
• May 2025: Staff develops a nationwide call for artists.
• June 2025: The call for artists opens.
• Summer 2025: Artist selection.
• October 2025: The Alexandria Commission for the Arts approved the selection of public art team Jim Benedict and Lily Kuonen for the project.

Jim Benedict is an award-winning public artist and grant recipient with over 20 years of sculptural experience and over a decade running a public art-focused university program as a tenured professor. His creative works can be found in private and public collections in ten states and two countries. Benedict’s extensive public art background covers fabrication, public art maintenance and repair, project organization as fabricator and design lead, large-scale commissioned sculpture projects, consultation, and advocacy for public art projects across the country. Jim Benedict received his MFA in 3D Art from the University of Arizona and his BFA in Sculpture from the University of Northern Iowa, where he started his career in public art. Currently, he owns and operates two fabrication shops in Jacksonville, FL. He is well-versed in safe and durable large-scale fabrication. He has worked in bronze, hot-dipped galvanized steel, architecturally coated aluminum, powder-coated steel, stainless steel, cast stone and concrete, contemporary and innovative materials, and many other public art projects. He regularly collaborates on large-scale projects with his spouse and partner, Lily Kuonen. Benedict fosters enlivened spaces with contemporary, timeless, and safe fabrication to align vision with placemaking.

Lily Kuonen has exhibited artwork on 3 continents, 4 countries, and in 20+ U.S. states. She has been an artist in residence at multiple venues nationally, and abroad in Lacoste, France. Her work is included in numerous private, corporate, and civic collections. Her growing collector base includes: Bard College, NY; Crisp-Ellert Art Museum, Flagler College, FL; Deutsche Bank, NY; Judge Realty Corporate Collection, Savannah, GA; Historic Arkansas Museum, AR; Iowa Print Archive at the University of Iowa; Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Jacksonville, FL; Savannah College of Art and Design; and University of Central Arkansas. She has collaborated on a dozen on large-scale public art projects with her spouse and partner, Jim Benedict. Together they have produced numerous sculpture projects for communities, working with civic, educational, and cultural organizations. Lily Kuonen holds an MFA in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Central Arkansas. She has an extensive background in collegiate art education, painting, drawing, and sculpture.

North Potomac Yard Park is a 4.5-acre park that is a new extension of Potomac Yard Park and was completed as a part of the North Potomac Yard development project. The park is a regional amenity with a mix of active, passive, and social uses and helps provide a continuous off-street trail network from Braddock Road to Four Mile Run.