When assigned this intersection by the DC Department of Transportation, our collaborator Thomas Pipkin of Pipkin Creative pointed out that sitting diagonally across the street is the lifelong home of venerable DC-based visual artist Alma Thomas. Our team was not familiar with her work, but once we were introduced, we became enamored. Obsessed. Infatuated. Not only was her work itself groundbreaking (no pun intended), she was a trailblazer for women in the arts and more specifically, Black women. Her family no longer lives in that house, but we had a great time keeping her story alive in the neighborhood. The mosaic stripe design is inspired by her signature staccato painting style, and the zipper is a metaphorical nod to “unzipping history” while serving as a literal symbol of her lesser known fashion and costume design background.