NASA & D.C. Walls: A Cosmic Collaboration
Eric Dolgas, aka E$
Washington, D.C. – The D.C. Walls Festival hosted an outdoor NASA-themed art exhibition at Union Market this past month. This festival brought together 11 local, national, and international artists for an outdoor live installation and celebration for the eighth consecutive year. The new-level cosmic collaboration with NASA was expanded to District to Adams Morgan, Navy Yard, Shaw, and Union Market.
This year, the D.C. Walls / BEYOND - An International Mural Festival curated a group of artists from around the globe who were challenged to paint larger-than-life murals. The outdoor festival was originally launched in 2016. The festival, directed and curated by artist Kelly Towles, celebrates street and mural arts, showcasing a dozen artists who gathered to discuss their work during an intimate conversation with the audience.
“It’s like a dream come true. I’m like a kid again, because my stupid ideas are actually coming through reality in some way,” said Kelly Towles, the director and curator of D.C. Walls Mural Festival. ”
After three years of intense conversations with NASA, Towles was finally able to cooperate with the organization that once employed his father. An unbelievable narrative that provides Towles and his artistic collaborators with the inspiration to contemplate new projects. In addition to legitimizing the growing street art movement in D.C., this improbable collaboration with NASA offers mural artists an opportunity to explore fresh creative horizons and gain more recognition.
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They reached out to me; I didn’t reach out to them. I’m still mystified, Towles said.
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Kelly Towles seated center, sharing his story with the audience
Despite his enthusiasm, Towles made it clear this collaboration was not a formal joint project with the D.C.- based federal agency, but rather the start of a possible relationship with the NASA brand. “We're not taking money from them. It's a collaboration, not a partnership, not a sponsorship. We’re having a beautiful, open conversation about murals and exploring space”, he said. The festival, however, has an agreement with NASA to officially sell a limited amount of merchandise related to the agency, which will partially support organizational costs and the artists involved.
In the past, the D.C. Walls Festival has featured artists from all around the globe. Eric Dolgas, a local muralist who operates under the name E$ (pronounced ‘E-Money’), was among the artists who participated. The D.C. native just could not refuse such an opportunity. “When they gave me that chance, I was so excited,” Dolgas said.
During the event, he created a live painting on a box truck, exploring the theme of space. An estimated 70 attendees were present to observe the artist as he created a painting of astronauts and aliens, drawing inspiration from street art and pop culture.
Eric Dolgas, aka E$,
“I focus a lot on the crisp lines. I like to make feel good art, and if possible, get a chuckle out of the viewer. I want it to be a pleasant moment when you come across my art, Dolgas said.”
Eric Dolgas, aka E$
This pursuit of positive, non-subversive, and unifying art lies at the core of the philosophy advocated by D.C. Walls and Towles. Given NASA's solid public standing as a federal agency, any potential damage to its reputation needed to be avoided. “I try to give the artists creative freedom in the general sense of that conversation: no sex, no violence, no politics. They can’t touch that,” Towles said.
The D.C. Walls Festival aims to redefine what it means to be a community-focused art festival in Washington D.C. With the stars as his limit, Towles is exploring future collaborations. He's currently discussing an AI-themed D.C. Walls event with Google in the future.
Florian Philippe is a freelance multimedia journalist completing his master’s degree in journalism at Georgetown University. Originally from Perpignan, France, he relocated to the U.S. to earn his bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the University of South Florida. His work experience in Florida included reporting on a variety of topics, such as an investigative project examining the Tampa tourism industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as working with Flordia Focus and WUSF in Tampa. He’s fluent in English, French, and Spanish.
Sources:
Kelly Towles: kellyrustik@gmail.com
Eric Dolgas: emoneydcf@gmail.com