By CHARLOTTE KANNER
Courtesy of College Park City-University Partnership
Five giant, wooden goldfish swim alongside blue bubbles and green leaves on the side of the building that houses Chase Bank, Stripe 3 Adidas, Blaze Pizza and Popeyes on Baltimore Avenue.
The lighted installation, called “The Last Goldfish,” was installed on the brick wall next to Popeyes in December as a nod to the University of Maryland’s (UMD) history as an agricultural college.
“I hope that this installation sparks curiosity, not only on the subject matter but also on the media type and the style,” Kendra McAbee, communication coordinator for the College Park City-University Partnership, which commissioned the piece, said. “It’s something that’s slightly unconventional for College Park, which can … inspire people to be more creative.”
The artwork, created by Baltimore-based multimedia artist Andy Dahl, is the first of its kind in Prince George’s County, featuring LED lighting that mimics the glow of an aquarium, McAbee said.
Dahl got his inspiration for the design from the university’s history.
“I think it does have a meaning in terms of its history of the area,” Dahl said. “So it relates to a real story and a real connection to the area.”
UMD began as the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856, and leased some of its flat, flood-prone land and man-made lakes to businesses, including a pet store owned by Henry Bishop, known as “the goldfish king.” Bishop bred and sold goldfish from the area’s aquatic lakelands, distributing them nationwide, McAbee said.
“The Last Goldfish” got its funding from two grants: the Redevelopment Authority of Prince George’s County Community Impact Grant and the College Park Department of Economic Development Facade Improvement Grant, McAbee said. The city’s economic development director, Michael Williams, collaborated with property owners to select the mural site, McAbee added.
The partnership chose Dahl, known for his vibrant depictions of birds, fish and natural life, for the project, which Mcabee said enhances downtown College Park. At the building owners’ request, the artist mounted the pieces on the wall with metal pins to make them easy to remove.
That method posed challenges, McAbee said, noting that most of the artists who applied for the project could not come up with a solution to make the installation temporary. She called Dahl’s solution “clever.”
“I had to figure out a way to design something very carefully that would fit within the sort of complex dimensions of that wall,” Dahl said. “There’s columns and things that stick out.”
The installation’s components are made from marine-grade plywood and painted with high-quality mural paint, Dahl said. LED lights above the artwork illuminate the mural at night, making it one of the few art installations visible at night in Prince George’s County, McAbee said.
Most murals are painted on a wall and become dormant at night, Dahl said. “I’m working to really transform a wall that’s otherwise not noticed. … It completely changes the experiences of the space.”
Dahl emphasized that goldfish hold symbolic meaning across cultures, representing prosperity and everyday simplicity. The installation invites viewers to interpret its significance and meaning in their own way, he said.
Gaithersburg resident Nicole Laplante, who lived in College Park from 2013 to 2015, said she found the mural optimistic.
“I think it’s cute [and] … colorful,” Laplante said. “I like [it] when people get to do art. I used to live here and there wasn’t much artwork like this.”
Dahl said he hopes community members find their own interpretation of the piece.
“It’s a mural that’s meant to be sort of fun and whimsical and enjoyed just by looking at it without needing to know any other information,” Dahl said. “I hope people bring their own meaning to it.”
