From July 10-26, 2025, New City Arts presents Birds on the Block, an installation by Spring 2025 Artist-in-Residence Lauro López.
During their Spring 2025 Research Residency, Lauro set out to create prints and a zine with research about Charlottesville’s local birds. This interactive exhibition is a culmination of their residency, inviting community members to engage in birding and outdoor spaces.
Lauro López is a mixed-media artist based in Charlottesville with roots in Texas and the Mexican-Latine diaspora. Their work explores identity and the relationship to self and culture as a Latine, transgender, and autistic person of color. The subjects of their art are varied but center lived experiences and the journey of reconnecting with aspects of identity while navigating the long arm of colonization. Lauro’s work is informed by Chicana and indigenous art theory as well as the community they are cultivating in the Charlottesville area.
New City Arts' Welcome Gallery
114 3rd St. NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
Gallery Hours
Wednesday-Saturday from 10AM-5PM
Exhibition Events
Bird Sit with Lauro at McGuffey Park | 7/10 from 7:30-9AM | Join Lauro at McGuffey Park for an accessible, free, drop-in birding session.
Extended Hours | 7/11 from 10AM-7:30PM| We’ll be open all day with refreshments.
Zine Workshop with Lauro | 7/12 from 1-3PM |Start from scratch or use a base zine created by Lauro to record your own bird observation.
Co-Working & Craft Hour | 7/16 from 10AM-5PM | Join us for a free co-working day (coffee, pastries, and WiFi provided!) and bring your own craft for a lunchtime (12-1PM) craft hour with Lauro.
Bird Sit with Lauro at McGuffey Park | 7/26 from 8-10AM | Join Lauro at McGuffey Park for an accessible, free, drop-in birding session.
Listen to the Exhibition Playlist 🎧
Exhibition statement (provided by the artist)
This exhibition focuses on birds of the everyday and how they live with and around us. During my residency, I’ve sought out birds downtown and surrounding areas, and most of my prints are derived from encounters as I walked around my neighborhood getting to New City Arts downtown. I distilled these observations and the questions they sparked into an introductory zine on noticing birds, highlighting different ways to engage and learn about them. This process is illustrated on the walls of the gallery, inviting guests to reflect on their own experiences with urban wildlife and what they might see in the spaces they move through. Historically, bird watching has been a white middle-class activity. In the past decade, there has been a great movement in reclaiming outdoor spaces for BIPOC and disabled folks. I hope to add to this movement with this project and encourage others to value their own perspectives and observations in this space and beyond.
Located at 114 3rd St. NE on Charlottesville’s downtown pedestrian mall, New City Arts’ Welcome Gallery supports artists who live in the Charlottesville area. Welcome Gallery exhibitions and programs are made possible by generous sponsors, donors, and grants. Interested in sponsoring an exhibition? Connect with us!