Sponsors and Partners:
"The River and the Town”
Spring 2025 - Riverine Flooding
“The River and the Town” (8'x14'diameter) is a temporary art installation by Andrea Limauro, Artist in Residence at Georgetown University’s Earth Commons Institute. It tells stories - past, present and future - of life, flood risk and resilience in the vast Potomac River floodplain that affects Georgetown and Washington, DC. "The River and the Town" is the spring artwork and the first of the four public artworks that together create the "The Climate of Future Past" project. The “Climate of Future Past” project creates 4 public artworks, one per season, about seasonal risks in four vulnerable communities around D.C. This ongoing project is my response to a Washington The Post commission of four artworks in its 2025 “Four Seasons” collaboration with the artist.
The artwork will be painted live throughout March and unveiled in April, where it will remain on display at the waterfront before permanently moving to Georgetown University’s campus in October 2025.
“The River and the Town” was built with the assistance of To Be Done Studio, commissioned by the Washington Post Opinions, sponsored by Georgetown University’s Earth Commons Institute, and supported by the Georgetown Business Improvement District and Georgetown Heritage.
Spring 2025 - Riverine Flooding
“The River and the Town” (8'x14'diameter) is a temporary art installation by Andrea Limauro, Artist in Residence at Georgetown University’s Earth Commons Institute. It tells stories - past, present and future - of life, flood risk and resilience in the vast Potomac River floodplain that affects Georgetown and Washington, DC. "The River and the Town" is the spring artwork and the first of the four public artworks that together create the "The Climate of Future Past" project. The “Climate of Future Past” project creates 4 public artworks, one per season, about seasonal risks in four vulnerable communities around D.C. This ongoing project is my response to a Washington The Post commission of four artworks in its 2025 “Four Seasons” collaboration with the artist.
The artwork will be painted live throughout March and unveiled in April, where it will remain on display at the waterfront before permanently moving to Georgetown University’s campus in October 2025.
“The River and the Town” was built with the assistance of To Be Done Studio, commissioned by the Washington Post Opinions, sponsored by Georgetown University’s Earth Commons Institute, and supported by the Georgetown Business Improvement District and Georgetown Heritage.
Read the Opinion column I wrote for the Washington Post by clicking on the photo above.
Read the Georgetown University Earth Commons Institute article on this project by clicking on the photo above.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Artist's model for "The River and Town" artwork
The final artwork will be inspired by a 2018 painting by the artist titled “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats” that depicts a biblical flood of the DC metropolitan region.
1918 Georgetown Flood
Structure design by To Be Done Studio
|
2011 Georgetown Harbor Flood
|
The sculpture “The River and the Town” is a commission by the Washington Post, sponsored by Georgetown University, created and designed by local artist Andrea Limauro with assistance and fabrication by local DC-based design firm To Be Done Studio. The Georgetown Business Improvement District is the local project partner while the sculpture is on the riverfront.
"The River and the Town" initial temporary riverfront location through the summer of 2025
The wood used to create the frame for the ring structure is salvaged and milled from storm-downed trees from a private forest in Poolesville, MD just a 20 miles north of the Georgetown waterfront.
|
|
We used the traditional Japanese wood-burning technique of Shou sugi ban to charr the surface of wood to protect it from fire, pests, and weathering, creating a durable and aesthetically striking finish.