Join us for Helios: The 6th Annual Public Arts Festival at Old Dominion University — a celebration of our campus’s remarkable research, creative talent, and synergistic collaboration taking place Friday and Saturday, November 6th and 7th, from 5-9pm. The festival serves as a platform for the intersection of art and science, while inviting attendees to engage with innovative projects and enjoy immersive experiences. At its heart is our belief in fostering community engagement and dialogue through the transformative power of art in public spaces.
For this year’s festival, we’re excited to welcome back Luke Jerram, the artist behind the Museum of the Moon and Mars artworks featured at our 1st and 2nd Public Arts Festivals in 2021 and 2022. Helios, his newest piece, is an inflatable sculpture of the Sun at a scale of 1:200 million, and it will be making its first appearance in North America at our festival. When viewed at night, Helios will be illuminated from within and its surface will appear to be animated by solar storms.
Based out of the United Kingdom, Luke Jerram is an internationally-acclaimed, multidisciplinary artist who specializes in installations and immersive public art. Helios, like Museum of the Moon and Mars before it, will tie the sciences back into our festival not only through the artwork itself, but through the campus and community partners who will help us engage attendees of all ages.
Helios: The 6th Annual Public Arts Festival will take place on 43rd Street in Norfolk, VA, between the Barry Art Museum and the Chartway Arena. As always, this festival is free and open to the public thanks to our generous sponsors and members.