The Torpedo Factory Art Center is the former

U.S. Naval Torpedo Station The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, a naval munitions factory on the banks of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

in Old Town,

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

which was converted into an

art center An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues fo ...

in 1974. The facility is located at 105 N. Union Street, near the eastern end of King Street. The Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to the largest number of publicly accessible working artist studios in the U.S. Each year, more than a half-million visitors interact with its community of artists. As of March 2022, it housed 82 artists' studios, 8 galleries, and workshops, with some 165 professional visual artists who work in a variety of media, including painting, ceramics, photography, jewelry, stained glass, fiber, printmaking, and sculpture. The Torpedo Factory has become a model of creative

placemaking Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Placemaking capitalizes on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that improve urban v ...

for other communities. Artists are selected as part of an annual jury and re-jury process. Once accepted, they receive a three-year lease of publicly subsidized rent.

History

After months of planning, on November 12, 1918—ironically the day after

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I a ...

marked the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

—the U.S. Navy began construction of the

. The factory built torpedoes for five years before becoming munitions storage. With the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the factory produced Mark III torpedoes for aircraft and Mark XIV torpedoes for submarines. By the war's end in 1945, the complex was converted to government storage for things such as congressional documents, artifacts from the Smithsonian, and Nazi trial records. The

City of Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

eventually bought the building in 1969. In 1974,

Marian Van Landingham Marian A. Van Landingham (born September 10, 1937) is American community leader, politician and artist. She served in the Virginia House of Delegates for 24 years and spearheaded the transformation of a decrepit former military storage building ...

, as president of

The Art League Founded in 1954, The Art League, Inc. a 501(c)(3) organization, is a multi-service organization for visual artists, as well as the founding organization of the Torpedo Factory Art Center The Torpedo Factory Art Center is the former U.S. Naval To ...

, proposed a project to renovate part of the factory into studio spaces for the Alexandria Bicentennial Project. The project was originally approved for only three years. Large-scale renovation began in May 1974 and the new center formally opened on September 15, 1974. From 1982 to 1983, the building underwent further renovation in compliance with the City's waterfront development plan and was entirely gutted and rebuilt with a new ventilation system and central heating. It formally reopened on May 20, 1983. Adjacent industrial facilities were demolished to build the Torpedo Factory Condominiums in 1985. The Torpedo Factory Artists Association created by artists and The Art League, managed the center for 12 years, from 1998 to 2010. From 2011 to 2016, it was managed by the specially created Torpedo Factory Art Center Board nonprofit. The Torpedo Factory Artists’ Association is the Torpedo Factory's professional artist community of more than 275 juried visual artists. Past presidents include

Tanya Davis Tanya Davis is a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her style is marked primarily by spoken word poetry set to music. Background Born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, she moved to Ottawa for a time after h ...

, and other artists, and the current president is artist Rachel Kerwin. In 2018, the City of Alexandria took control of all operations of the Torpedo Factory, despite opposition from some artists. In August 2019, one of the galleries was named after Marian Van Landingham. In October 2021, city authorities started to consider different options for funding renovations.

Gallery

File:U.S. Naval Torpedo Station - Alexandria, Virginia.jpg, The

in 1922 File:Alexandria Torpedo Factory3.jpg, A torpedo on display inside the Center File:2021 Torpedo Factory Art Center interior 1.jpg, A view of the Art Center's interior File:2021 Torpedo Factory Art Center interior, staircase.jpg, A staircase inside the Center

History

Gallery

References

External links