A splash of neon and inspiration has hit the corner of Gibbon and South Washington Streets. The Linder Academy is home to Old Town’s newest murals painted by Jo Edwards! 

As a popular Old Town intersection connecting the GW Parkway to Route 1 and access to I-459, the corner of Gibbon and South Washington Streets is no longer a blank canvas (and empty building). 601 S Washington Street now hosts playful depictions of former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, former Representative and activist John Lewis, and poet Amanda Gorman on the walls of the newly opened Old Town campus of K-8 school, The Linder Academy.

Jo Edwards, Arlington resident and long-time Alexandria lover is impacting our community through color and quotes. While working on the project, Jo was able to interact with Alexandrians walking by who were curious about the project or wave at those who honked as they drove by. 

The Linder Academy’s Head of School, Kristin Carpenter, was inspired by a drawing Jo had made of Amanda Gorman from The Inauguration and wanted to memorialize and celebrate iconic and inspirational Americans to encourage and provoke curiosity from Linder students. Styling the portraits as youth was a creative choice that makes this mural different. By using lesser recognizable images of these leaders as children, Jo hopes to inspire students and show them that these impactful leaders were once just like them! The chosen quotes are below:

“For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” - Amanda Gorman

“Where there are nine.” - Ruth Bader Ginsberg

“Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble. Necessary trouble.” - John Lewis

Jo Edwards is a talented watercolorist and fine artist. Although her murals show she is clearly skilled on a large canvas, Jo’s most recent projects have been on a smaller scale. Jo is the illustrator of a recently published children’s book called Kalamata’s Kitchen, written by Sarah Thomas. The story encourages children to keep an open mind and explore new foods and cultures. Kalamata’s Kitchen is not the only book Jo has worked on; Jo also designed book covers for Glennon Doyle’s Love Warrior and Abby Wamback’s Wolfpack. Explore Jo’s Instagram page, @thejosho, to see more of her artwork!

Next time you’re driving through Old Town on Washington Street, make sure to drive past Gibbon Street and notice the youthful depictions of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Lewis, and Amanda Gorman! We hope to see more public art added to Alexandria, continuing to make our hometown #extraordinaryALX! We’d love to keep you updated on everything, Alexandria, as well as connect you with local real estate. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay up to date on new listings, open houses, community, and real estate news.