In November 2023, the Alexandria Commission for the Arts (ACA) approved the Public Art Project Plan for the Torpedo Factory Art Center Loading Door Mural, which outlined the goals and process to commission an original work for the loading dock door. In December 2023, the City of Alexandria Office of the Arts issued a regional Request for Qualifications for artists/muralists in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. After a competitive application process, Hampton, Virginia-based artist, Silas Baker, was selected for the project, as recommended by the project's Task Force and approved by the ACA.

The Alexandria Public Art Program is pleased to announce that it has commissioned Silas Baker to design and execute a mural on the exterior door of the Torpedo Factory Art Center loading dock.

The program goals of the projects are to:

• Inspire, engage, and delight the community and visitors to Old Town Alexandria.
• Spark curiosity and draw interest to the space that further welcomes the public to experience the artists’ studios, galleries, and museum space (Alexandria Archaeology Museum) inside the Art Center.
• Improve the pedestrian experience by bringing light, color, and public interaction (photos!) to a shadier side of the building.
• Bring a vibrant and contemporary presence to the Union Street frontage of the building that is reflective of a modern Art Center.

The mural installation was completed in June 2024. For more information about the project location, parameters, and timeline, review the approved project plan. 

Founded in 1974 in an old munitions plant, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to the nation’s largest collection of working-artists’ open studios under one roof. The mission of the Torpedo Factory Art Center is to foster connections among artists and the public that ignite the creative spirit. Within the Torpedo Factory Art Center, artists create works in a wide variety of media including painting, ceramics, photography, jewelry, stained glass, fiber, printmaking, and sculpture in 71 artists’ studios. As an Alexandria landmark for nearly 50 years, it’s a highlight of the City’s waterfront, attracting approximately 500,000 visitors annually.

Hampton, Virginia-based artist Silas Baker is a painter and muralist who has been heavily influenced by street art and traditional graffiti. He has been an artist since an early age and grew up watching his father paint motorcycles and sign paint. He was influenced by the skateboard culture in the 80’s and 90’s and from there began to notice the art that went along with it. He began painting abstract art heavily in the early 90’s and it has been a large part and passion of his art career ever since. Silas tattooed professionally for 16 years and built an extensive clientele. In early 2020 he began to follow a different path and focus more on his abstract art. He is often commissioned for large wall murals, furniture painting, and illustration.

In 2015, a mural was commissioned to be placed on the loading door of the Torpedo Factory Art Center along its busy Union Street frontage. Artist Erin Curtis created Beaded Curtain for the site and the mural quickly became a colorful and welcome landmark for locals and visitors. Unfortunately, the loading door was irreparably damaged in a collision and needed to be replaced. The mural was deinstalled in August 2021.

After the mural was deinstalled, the City committed to commission a new mural at this location to bring back artistic vibrancy to the Union Street frontage of the Torpedo Factory Art Center building.