Alexandria, VA – On an idyllic summer finale Saturday, September 20, the American Horticultural Society (AHS) celebrated an evening of surprise, delight, and joy in the garden. Turns out there was more than one surprise in store for gala goers. AHS announced that they had entered into a conservation easement with the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT).
The easement will forever protect River Farm from development on the 28 enchanting acres overlooking the Potomac. The NVCT is extremely proud to have worked with AHS to complete the conservation journey for River Farm.
To further delight the avid supporters of River Farm and AHS, gala guests were greeted by 12 diversely eclectic artworks among the sculptural installation pieces brought to River Farm by Nepenthe Gallery. Nepenthe owner Carrie Garland traveled far and wide, all the way to LA, last stop of the Great Elephant Migration Project, for the calf Li Doo Mooh.
Garland curated the pop-up sculpture garden in partnership with AHS. “It has been such a joy to create this special exhibit,” she explained. “Sculpture is such a dynamic medium and brings boundless energy to a space. Honestly, this experience has been exhilarating!”
The breadth of the sculptural curation is truly impressive. Best known for her whimsically kinetic, aluminum large-scale sculpture, the late Roanoke-born Dorothy Gillespie’s Multi-Colored Totem has been exhibited at Rockefeller Center and extensively across the country, as well as nearby Nepenthe.
Destined to be a showstopper among the local community aficionados and visitors making the pilgrimage from across the DMV is Li Doo Mooh, created from Lantana camara (a toxic weed that invades animal habitats) by villagers in India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve for the Great Elephant Migration Project. Beginning in Newport, RI, 100 life-sized elephants travelled north and south, east to west around the USA to their journey’s end in Los Angeles.
“The sculpture garden at this year’s AHS Gala offered a wonderful complement to the event’s theme: ‘Surprise-Delight-Joy,’” said AHS Board Chair Scott C. Plein. “We appreciate the opportunity to partner with Nepenthe, a local gallery that shares our appreciation for creativity and community.”
The guest reception for the surprise pop-up sculpture proved to be so extremely popular that AHS and Nepenthe have extended the installation on exhibit at River Farm until October 20.
River Farm and the exhibit at 7931 East Boulevard Drive in Alexandria are admission free. Hours are Mon.-Thurs., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
