Adams Morgan looks even more colorful, as new banners designed by a local artist have gone up throughout the neighborhood. The Adams Morgan Partnership partnered with local creative agency
Maga Design
to create a new visual identity for the neighborhood in 2018. Then, building upon this new “look,” the Partnership commissioned artist
Rebecca Williams
for original art to update the neighborhood’s light pole banners. Rebecca is a full-time artist who works from her studio overlooking Columbia Road NW.
The street pole banners are part of a broader placemaking and community building effort. Over the last few days, more than 200 banners have been installed on 18th Street, Columbia Road, Florida Avenue, Calvert Street, and the Duke Ellington Bridge, welcoming neighbors and visitors to the community and marking this area as Adams Morgan.
The subjects of the banner artwork were adapted from local photography, as well as iconic figures that have impacted the culture of the community. For example, the “Music Is Our Language” banner features Ian MacKaye, lead singer of the 1980’s punk rock band, Fugazi and its predecessor, Minor Threat, which played its first concert in a house on Calvert Street. Full banner descriptions can be found at
admodc.org/banners
.
