Alexandria, VA – Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation’s executive director, Evan Kaufman, considers the latest outdoor mural in Mount Vernon “a beacon of the community’s identity.”
He invites residents and visitors alike to admire it on the side of Zips Dry Cleaning at 6216 North Kings Highway as a reflection of our area’s multifaceted character, particularly along the Richmond Highway corridor.
The mural, called “Fabric of the Community,” was commissioned by the SFDC from muralist Nico Cathcart, who strove to celebrate the “confluence of history, nature, and the diverse threads that weave the community together,” according to the SFDC.
The quilt pattern that interlocks the colored squares is significant, points out Kaufman, because it references the work of Carmen Torruella Quander, a local artist, which “in turn honors the courage and resourcefulness of those who escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad.”
The pair of eagles, which immediately catch the eye, was inspired by a real-life pair that nest along the George Washington Memorial Parkway. They represent a symbol of America’s origins, just like the historic sites throughout this area, such as George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Woodlawn Plantation.
The two women pictured represent an El Salvadorian immigrant, directly connected to the Zips Dry Cleaning family, symbolizing the area’s sizable Hispanic community and a local African American nurse representing that community’s contributions to this area.
