There are over 150 LOVEworks across the state of Virginia, including six now in Virginia Beach.
Images from Arielle Patterson
LOVE Art Comes to Atlantic Avenue
There were about 200 submissions from Virginia Beach school students to create the new LOVE art that would be displayed at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Students from kindergarten to 12th grade sent in their designs for the “LOVE! On Atlantic” art contest, presented by the Atlantic Avenue Association.
The Atlantic Avenue Association is a collective of local business owners who aim to create and promote a positive experience for Virginia Beach residents, visitors and businesses along the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, specifically Atlantic Avenue.
Click here to read more about Atlantic Avenue.
On Wednesday, May 29, the winning students, their families and Mayor Bobby Dyer unveiled the new artwork and congratulated the winners of this competition. Mayor Dyer commended the talent of the students and their creativity in portraying life in Virginia Beach.
Three winners were selected by the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art and awarded a $250 cash prize courtesy of the Atlantic Avenue Association. Five students were also recognized as honorable mentions for their submissions.
“Atlantic Avenue is the front doorstep to our city and welcomes hundreds of thousands to Virginia Beach yearly,” said George Kotarides, president of the Atlantic Avenue Association. “The goal of LOVE! On Atlantic is to spearhead artistic expression and display to the world that Virginia Beach has lots of young artistic talent.”
The winners are 11th-grader Kathryn Woliver and eighth-graders Sophia Avellaneda and Sierra Clark.
Woliver’s piece “The Soul of Virginia Beach” depicts Pungo strawberries, a guitar to symbolize the area’s music scene, surfboards with waves, and military badge rankings. This can be found on the 1700 block of Atlantic Avenue.
“Down by the Waves,” created by Avellaneda, shows several coastal themes within the letters. This work is on the 2400 block of Atlantic Avenue.
Clark’s “Sunrise on Atlantic” is on the 3300 block of Atlantic Avenue and is a beautiful sunset over the waves.
There are over 150 LOVEworks across the state of Virginia, including six now in Virginia Beach. These three new student-designed pieces will be added to Virginia Tourism Corporation’s website.
According to Kotarides, these three LOVE signs are just the beginning of a movement to add more art and culture to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
