Pandamania DC
Pandamania DC was a citywide urban art exhibition presented by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Local artists decorated, painted, and accessorized 150 pandas that went on display at street corners, outside Metro stations, and at various other locations throughout the city. The exhibition ran throughout the summer of 2004, from May to September. The exhibition ended with an auction in October, with proceeds going to benefit the DC Commission on the Arts grant and arts education programs.
On my various visits to Washington DC, as I went traipsing through the city, I managed to photograph 28 out of the 150 pandas, or roughly 19% of the total. So come with me as we go by foot and by Metro all around Washington, to explore what is known as Pandamania DC…
Biographical information for these pandas came from the Pandamania DC website.
Sightseeing-DC Style
by Beth Baldwin
Sponsored by Fleishman Hillard
Located at Political Americana at 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (across the street from Freedom Plaza)
Near Metro Center Station
I particularly like this panda, since it somewhat reminds me of me. Camera around the neck, Metro farecard in hand, standing over the Metro System Map. And then the “FBI” shirt is the universal tourist designator. You cannot be a tourist in Washington DC without buying or wearing a T-shirt or sweatshirt that says either “FBI” or “CIA” on it.
Coin Panda
by Dakota Warren
Sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank Cultural Center
Located at the Inter-American Development Bank Cultural Center, at 1300 New York Avenue, NW
Near Dupont Circle Station
This panda was later removed to a more protected location at The Shops at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW due to numerous missing coins. This photo was taken in June, when it was mostly intact. If you look closely, though, there is a small bare patch consisting of two missing coins on the panda’s left arm.
Shang Bear
by Dorothy Fix
Located at McPherson Square Station at 800 Vermont Avenue NW
Panda Zoodiac
by Rosemary Luckett
Sponsored by Comcast
Located at Van Ness-UDC Station at Connecticut Avenue and Veazey Street NW
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
by Nina Fuerth
Located at Barnes and Noble at 555 12th Street NW
Near Metro Center Station
This photo was taken on the day that Bill Clinton did a book signing at this Barnes and Noble location. This panda was later moved to a more protected location at The Shops at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW due to the sculpture’s left arm’s having lost a number of mosaic pieces.
Mike’s Carpet Shop
by Katerina Barry
Located at Eastern Market Station at Pennsylvania Avenue & 7th Street SE
The Garden Variety Panda
by Patricia Leith
Located at Benning Road Station at 4400 Benning Road NE
Panda-Monet-um
by Cindi Berry
Sponsored by Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy LLP
Located at 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Near Federal Triangle Station
Cherry Blossom
by Bridget Parris
Sponsored by Crabtree and Company
Located at the Old Post Office Pavilion at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Near Federal Triangle Station
DC’s Choo-Choo
by Claude Andaloro
Located at the Metro Center Station at 12th and G Streets NW
PANAMmania
by Olivier Dupeyron
Located at Farragut North Station at Connecticut Avenue
Bearra Cotta Warrior
by Melissa Shatto
Sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company
Located at Rizik’s at 1100 Connecticut Avenue NW
Near Farragut North Station
This panda was later moved to a more protected location at The Shops at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW due to the loss of the sculpture’s right ear.
Ti-bet Your Life
by Catherine Hillis
Sponsored by Golden Triangle BID, Corp.
Located at Dupont Circle Station at Connecticut Avenue and 19th Street NW
As we expected, this panda depicts a panda version of Groucho Marx. This panda originally wore glasses, though. Take a look (Pandamania DC photo). It is unknown whether nature or vandals caused the panda to lose its glasses, but however it lost them, it did. You can see marks on the panda’s nose showing where the glasses once were.
Carefree Panda
by Bob Wilder
Located at the Mazza Gallerie Mall at 5300 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Near Friendship Heights Station
Peanut Butter and Raspbearry
by Marygrace Antkowski
Located at the Mazza Gallerie Mall at 5300 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Near Friendship Heights Station
Stars and Stripes
by Christine Miller
Sponsored by Interstate Worldwide Relocation
Located at the US Navy Memorial at 701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Near Archives-Navy Memorial Station
East-West
by Byron Peck
Located at the Washington Convention Center at 801 Mount Vernon Place NW
Near Mt. Vernon Square/7th Street-Convention Center Station
Pandominium, The Bird Sanctuary
by Maribeth Blonski
Sponsored by the City Museum of Washington DC
Located at 801 K Street NW
Near Mt. Vernon Square/7th Street-Convention Center Station
I loved this panda, but I think it would have been really neat if it actually did house birds. The areas that look like birdhouses are actually covered by Plexiglas, and have fake birds inside.
DC Tree Panda
by Margery Goldberg
Sponsored by the City Museum of Washington DC
Located at 801 K Street NW
Near Mt. Vernon Square/7th Street-Convention Center and Gallery Place-Chinatown Stations
Is this panda the work of a Virginia Tech fan? It just so happens that this panda is painted in Hokie colors.
Home Rules
by Anne Marchand
Sponsored by the Washington DC Convention and Tourism Corporation
Located at 901 7th Street NW
Near Gallery Place-Chinatown Station
World Wide Panda
by Tyrone “Tipy” Taylor
Sponsored by America Online
Located at Gallery Place-Chinatown Station at 7th and F Streets NW
E Pluribus Pandum
by Ferebee Streett Thulman
Originally located at The World Bank at 1818 H Street NW
This panda was later moved to the DC Arts Commission at 410 8th Street NW
Near Archives-Navy Memorial Station
This photo was taken at the original World Bank location, where a security guard was keeping an eye on me the whole time. You know the attitude. Anyone with a camera is a terrorist and up to no good.
Kung Pao Panda
by Barbara and William Gordon
Located at Farragut West Station at 18th and Eye Streets NW
Phosphorescent Panda
by Johannah Sloop
Located at the Presidential Building at 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Near Metro Center and Federal Triangle Stations
Imagining Landscape Panda
by Kimberly Thorpe
Sponsored by The Washington Times
Located at the Evening Star Building at 1101 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Near Metro Center and Federal Triangle Stations
China Doll
by Amy Goodstine and Brandon Bloch
Located at the Warner Theatre at 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Near Metro Center Station
Hide ‘n’ Seek
by Victoria Palley
Sponsored by FedSpell
Located at Starbucks Coffee at 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (across the street from Freedom Plaza)
Near Metro Center Station
Monumental Reflections
by Marsha Stein
Located at the DC Visitors Center at the Reagan Building at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Near Federal Triangle Station
This is really just a gorgeous panda, in my opinion. I don’t know which side is more striking – the Capitol side, or the Washington Monument side.
And lastly, a quick look at a past bit of DC urban art. This is an elephant depicting Metro’s system map, placed in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library outside the Gallery Place-Chinatown station. This was from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities’s 2002 “Party Animals” exhibition, where local artists decorated elephants and donkeys, representing Republicans and Democrats.
As you can see, Pandamania was not the first urban art exhibition that Washington DC has had, and it hopefully won’t be the last…