Friday, June 30, 2006

Axelle Rioult: Non sans émoi (As I Lay Myself…)

July 7 – August 19, 2006
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 6, 6-8pm

Axelle Rioult, Les Passages, digital print on duratrans, 80x100cm, 2005.

In the site-specific installation Non sans émoi (As I Lay Myself…), French artist Axelle Rioult draws on her personal experience to explore the nature of self-identity, utilizing a variety of media to create a "psychological self-portrait." Curated by Xavier Courouble, this exhibition traces Rioult’s examination of the aging process and its relation to the multiple roles she plays in her life as artist, mother and lover. Featuring photography, video, textile artwork and other sculptural pieces, the exhibition will evolve throughout the course of its presentation, with new elements being added every two weeks to further engage the conceptual interaction between its multiple facets. Non sans émoi (As I Lay Myself…) is on view in the Gallery at Flashpoint July 7 – August 19, 2006.

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 6, 6-8 pm
Exhibition: July 7 – August 19, 2006
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 pm or by appointment
Information:

Rebecca Lowery, Gallery Manager
t. 202.315.1310 | f. 202.315.1303
rebecca@culturaldc.org
www.flashpointdc.org

The Gallery at Flashpoint • 916 G Street, NW • Washington, DC 20001
A CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PROJECT

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Animalia Installation

Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th St., NW
Washington, DC 20005

Continuing through July 29

ANIMALIA
Curated by Heather Russell, Associate Director, Irvine Contemporary

Featuring work by:
Sandra Bermudez
Tricia Cline
Orly Cogan
Dalek (James Marshall)
Edward del Rosario
FAILE
Carlee Fernandez
Sean Foley
Kent Henricksen
Peregrine Honig
Susan Jamison
Josh Levine
Jiha Moon
Takashi Murakami
Beverly Ress
Ben Snead
Lisa Stefanelli
Adam Stennett
Andy Warhol
Dirk Westphal

Including many new works created specially for this exhibition.The gallery will be open July 1 and closed July 3- 4

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Continuing through July 1 at The Warehouse:

Irvine Contemporary and Warehouse Gallery Present:

Charbel Ackermann: "The New Geometry" and "Monument2"

Final Week: Continues through Sat. July 1
Martin Irvine, Director
Heather Russell, Associate Director
Thomas Powell, Gallery Manager
------------------------------------------------------------------------
email: heather@irvinecontemporary.com
phone: 202-332-8767
web: http://www.irvinecontemporary.com

 

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Capital Fringe Festival

100 performing artists/groups present more than 400 performances
in over 30 venues , mainly in Downtown’s Penn Quarter

July 20 – 30, 2006

Volunteers Needed
No Experience Required, Just Common Sense
Staff the Festival and Venue Box Offices
Work as House Managers
Facilitate HOTSPOT parties

The Capital Fringe Festival is a volunteer driven festival
Volunteer Happy Hour
Wednesday, June 28, 6:00 – 8:00pm
The Warehouse Café and Bar
1021 7th Street, NW between New York Ave and L street
202.783.3933
www.warehousetheater.com

Capital Fringe Festival
202.294.6909

Monday, June 26, 2006

The National Portrait Gallery

Inaugurates Cultures in Motion Program

Friday, July 7 – Monday, July 10
with a staged reading/concert of the prize winning play

1776: The Musical
Authors: Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone
Director: Jerry Whiddon, Round House Theatre’s artistic director emeritus
Music Director: George Fulginiti-Shakar


Friday, July 7, 7:00pm
Saturday, July 8, 2:00pm and 7:00pm
Sunday, July 9, 2:00pm
Monday, July 10, 7:00pm

In the renovated National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art museums Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium

There is no charge for this event
Reservations Preferred
202.275.0570

The National Portrait Gallery
8th and F Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Pl-Chinatown, 9th and G or Arena exits
www.npg.si.edu
www.reynoldscenter.org

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Hip Hop Culture Storms DC During Free Festival

Offerings Include Hip Hop Inspired Theatre & Dance, DJing Legends, and Poetry Jams

Washington, DC - The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities & The Hip Hop Theater Festival present the 5th Annual DC Hip Hop Theatre Festival from Monday, July 10th - Saturday, July 15th. All of the festival shows been inspired by hip hop culture or created by hip hop performers.

The festival is free and open to the public. Events will be presented at locations throughout the city with the main venues being the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts & Studio Theatre. For a complete listing of events and locations call 202-724-5613

Thursday, June 22, 2006

St. Thomas’ Second Annual Art In The Park

Art In The Park
Come celebrate the arts
St. Thomas’ Second Annual Art In The Park art show opens with a jazz concert featuring W.E.S. Group and a free wine and cheese reception on June 24th, 2006 from 7:30 - 10:00 pm. St. Thomas is located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood at 1772 Church Street, NW.

Enjoy the Exhibition of local artists on display at St. Thomas’ Parish from June 24 - July 23. On display will be painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, glass art and more.

Among the local artists are several from the John Howard Pavilion at St. Elizabeths Hospital -- photographers Brian Harvey, Ronnie Henderson, 22X (formerly Robert Smith) and Gregory English and painters Dethaw Cottman, Ronnie Crooks, Herb Settles, Howard Swann and Terry Johnson.

"Dulles Call to Artists"


Call to Artists for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's extension project to Dulles Airport. If you are interested in being considered for one of the five projects, please submit/postmark the required materials by June 30, 2006.

Artists Legal Concerns Workshop

Saturday, June 24th at 1pm

Artists’ workshop organized by Maryland Art Place and the Maryland Lawyers for the Arts. Cynthia B. Sanders Esq., of Astrachan Gunst & Thomas, will address ways artists can protect themselves when conducting online art sales and other issues relevant to artists’ legal concerns. The talk will be followed by a question and answer session.

The workshop will be held at Maryland Art Place, conveniently located at 8 Market Place in Baltimore’s Power Plant Live! complex. Seating is limited, so please call 410-962-8565 to RSVP if you are planning to attend.

VisArts Fine Arts Festival at King Farm

Call for Entries:
VisArts is currently calling for artists to become vendors at the
4th annual King Farm Arts Festival.

For the event prospectus and application, CLICK HERE
For more information about the VisArts Fine Arts Festival at King Farm, or to ask application questions, please contact

Holly J. M. Haliniewski, Public Relations Director
301-869-8623
pubrelations@rockvilleartsplace.org

Jewish Italian Cultural Night

The Italian Cultural Institute,
in collaboration with the
DC Jewish Community Center,
invites you to

Jewish Italian Cultural Night

An evening of music and discussion on Jewish culture and life in Italy throughout the ages. The event will feature talks by Rita Venturelli, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Michael Giacalone, External Relations officer at the Italian Cultural Institute, Daniel Mordechai, graduate student at American University, and David Rini, intern at the US Holocaust
Memorial Museum.

The event will be followed by an all Italian cocktail party.

Monday, June 26, 2006 at 6:30 pm
Italian Cultural Institute
2025 M Street NW, Suite 610
Washington, DC

"Constructions"

International Visions Gallery
cordially invites you to:

"Constructions"
by
Lila Snow
and

"Mainly Maine"
paintings by
Richard Myrick

Saturday, June 24, 6:30-9:00 p.m.
2629 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008

Lila Snow continues her exploration of cultural icons with mixed media construction paintings. She is known for her rich use of color and unusual materials, she has made wall sculptures from paper board supported by wood, covered in hand made Japanese papers and layered with paint - acrylics, oils and powdered pigments. An overlay of calligraphic symbols including Chinese characters, petroglyphs and Hebrew letters adds to the textural variety and thematic complexity of the sculptures. Sometimes tar paper and other materials are used as the artist explores different possibilities. Snow sometimes uses computer parts to evoke the wisdom of the written word over time. Snow has exhibited her works in Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Paris, Bologna and Japan. She is best known for her wit and her interesting combinations of colors and materials.


Richard Myrick paints landscapes during his winters in Washington based on imagery he records during his summers spent in Deer Island, Maine. Using photographs as a departure point, Myrick “tries to develop the paintings on two levels. On one level there are lines, shapes and colors which make an interesting two dimensional design. On the other is a pictorial presentation of the landscape.” The result seen in this exhibit is a series of images which are painterly compositions in light and color, with a sense of place and season, but also a feeling of timelessness. Myrick is originally from Santa Barbara, California. He studied architecture at Princeton University and received a doctorate in Social Psychology at Claremont Graduate School in Social Psychology. He taught in universities for four years then devoted himself exclusively to research in the social sciences. About twenty years ago he retired from research and has since devoted himself to painting.

a Unique Art Venue for de la Menardiere

Host: Michele de la Menardiere
Location: 1029 S Clinton Street, BALTIMORE, MD
When: Saturday, July 8, 5:00pm

Please join Michele in exciting BALTIMORE for a different kind of art show. Four artists--including Michele--will be showing their work in an awesome four story house for sale in the Canton district of town.

A wine and cheese reception will take place from five to eight pm.

PLUS

For those who enjoy improv and crave the true Baltimorian experience-- Michele's talented friend Steve will be performing with a comedy troope at a theater not far from this house the same night. Visit the web site below for details:

http://www.earlymondaymorningshow.com

Visit http://www.delamenardiere.com to see my artwork.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

HEMPHILL



OPENING RECEPTION
Wednesday, June 28
6:30 - 8:30 PM

BENJAMIN ABRAMOWITZ
WILLIAM CHRISTENBERRY
DON DONAGHY

June 20 - August 19, 2006

H E M P H I L L
1515 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
202.234.5601

www.hemphillfinearts.com

Monday, June 19, 2006

Charleston, S. Carolina Wedding

Life seems fresh after a wedding. What's going on in Charleston, S. Carolina? The city rebuilt after Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Here's some pictures of historic homes and other adventures.






Sunday, June 18, 2006

Coming of Age in Asia and Europe

Conformity and Rebellion in Film

June 19 – 29, 2006

The Chinese Embassy, the Japan Information and Culture Center, the Alliance Française, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, and the Goethe-Institut have combined forces to cosponsor a film series that explores the experiences of the next generation in Europe and Asia. These films capture the struggles of youth to find identities and reconcile differences with family and society in a rapidly transforming world.

Each evening will feature a group of European and Asian short films, drawing attention to variations in social change and modernity within the two great cultural realms of Europe and Asia. Each event is followed by a brief discussion led by an expert on the respective countries featured.

A new concept of “Europeanness” is emerging within the European Union, offering bonds between young people who study and live in neighboring countries, even as sharp cultural and social divides remain at home. Similarly, youth in Asia long for a universal Asian culture of modernity that transcends the contradictions of economic and political reality. Germany, France and Italy in Europe, and China, Korea and Japan in East Asia, have each established their own distinct identity as part of a larger cultural mosaic. This film series will draw attention to the similarities and divergences in that process.

The experiences of youth in these films leave us wondering whether the world is shrinking into cultural homogeneity, or whether youth have embraced new patterns of identity that defy our expectations. Is there a distinct Asian or European culture? What elements are common to both regions?

With the support of the Korea International Trade Association

All films are either in English or in their original language with English subtitles.

A discussion entitled “Coming of Age in a Shifting World: Youth Culture of Rebellion and Conformity in East Asia and Europe” will take place on the final evening (June 29, 2006) with the following participants:
- Emanuel Pastreich, Adjunct Professor, George Washington University & Editor-in-Chief, Dynamic Korea
- Hyunjun Min, Comparative Literature/Film Studies, University of Maryland
- Matteo Bosco Bortolaso, ANSA

PROGRAM OF FILMS
(Subject to change. Please inquire with the relevant venue for updates)

Monday, June 19, 6:30 pm
GERMANY AND CHINA
Goethe-Institut
812 Seventh St. NW
RSVP to (202) 289-1200 ext. 168

ESCAPE! (ABHAUN!)
Germany, 2004, 16 mm, 9 min., Director: Christoph Wermke
The backwaters of East Germany: stagnation, unemployment, rural exodus. Nico has found a job in West Germany. He is waiting for the bus.

MEINE ELTERN (MY PARENTS)
Germany, 2003, Fiction, 35mm, 18 min., Director: Neele Leana Vollmar
Marie has a problem: she has met the man of her life. And he is dying to meet her parents. All that would not be a problem, if Marie hadn’t told him that her parents are still madly in love, tolerant of everyone, and not at all frumpy.

MY DAD, MY MOM
China, 30 min. Director: Lao Bo
In a small mountain village of China's Shandong province, my parents have toiled their whole lives, working hard in the field and saving every penny for me to go to school. My parents did not have any photos taken before they were in their sixties. As they grow older, I wish to preserve their image through my camera, to capture their ordinary but remarkable lives of love and mutual support, their emotions and dreams as ordinary farmers, and their calm confidence and persistence in the face of all hardships and difficulties. And I wish to dedicate this to my parents, the inspiration for my art and my whole life.

A discussion with Yi Chen, American University student, and Olivia Schoeller, Berliner Zeitung, will accompany these screenings.


Wednesday, June 21, 6:30 pm
ITALY AND JAPAN
Italian Cultural Institute
2025 M St. NW, Washington, DC
RSVP to (202) 223-9800 ext. 1

IL SUONO DELLA MINIERA (THE SOUND OF THE MINE)
Italy, 2005, 12 min, Director: Mario Piredda
Three little girls’ daily life in the little Sardinian village of Montevecchio is interrupted by a mine accident which claims the lives of 11 people. A fiction inspired by an actual event. The story is based on a short story by Iride Peis Concas.

PIANO T (T FLOOR)
Italy, 2005, 8 min, Director: Giulio Giordano
Feeling lonely, in an elevator as well as in a city.

KENDAMA
Japan, 2002, 15 min, in Japanese with English subtitles, Director: Tetsuo Shinohara
An unsuccessful young musician’s mundane everyday life takes a turn for the better when he becomes involved in a little adventure through a kendama, a traditional Japanese toy.

TOUCH ON JAPAN
Japan, 2006, 9 min.
First-class creators of TV commercials showcase creative images of modern Japan with a cool beat, including current fashion of the youth, the world of animation, and a young kabuki actor who appeals to all generations.

Speakers: - Yutaka Taguchi, George Mason University student
- Matteo Bosco Bortolaso, ANSA


Thursday, June 22, 6:30 pm
JAPAN AND FRANCE
Japan Information and Culture Center
1155 21st St NW, Washington, DC
RSVP to jiccrsvpspring06@embjapan.org or 202-238-6901

ARITA
Japan, 2002, 15 min., in Japanese with English subtitles, Director: Shunji Iwai
A young woman realizes that ARITA, an amine-like creature that has been with her all her life, is visible only to her. When she begins to see herself as abnormal and tries to get rid of ARITA, that leads her to a search for her own identity.

TOUCH ON JAPAN
Japan, 2006, 9 min.
First-class creators of TV commercials showcase creative images of modern Japan with a cool beat, including current fashion of the youth, the world of animation, and a young kabuki actor who appeals to all generations.

THE STRAIGHT AND THE NARROW
France, 2004, 12 min., Director: Mathias Gokalp
A 25 year-old prisoner recalls the story of his life, confusing the beginning and the end.

AULNAY NEED IS LOVE
France, 2001, Fiction, 12 min., Director: Fodil Chabbi
Max, a young man from Aulnay-sous-Bois in the Paris suburbs, meets Julie, a young woman from the south of France. As always in a love story, the social differences are a real obstacle. This musical shows how they will have to deal between the fear of their difference and their love for each other.

Speaker: Hidehiro Waki, Syracuse University student


Monday, June 26, 6:30 pm
FRANCE AND KOREA
The Alliance Française
2142 Wyoming Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
RSVP to (202) 234-7911

ALICE AND I
Belgium/France, 2004, 19 min, Director: Micha Wald
Simon has to drive his old aunt Mala and two of her friends, Lydia and Colette, to the beach. While driving, he argues with his girlfriend Alice over the phone. The three women slowly but surely interfere. This, of course, does not solve anything…

THE FRENCH DEMOCRACY
France, 2005, Animation/Documentary, 13 min., Director: Koulamata
A very personal point of view on the 2005 riots in France and their origins, directed in a videogame anime style, by a young man from the Paris suburbs.

OH! BEAUTIFUL LIFE
Korea, 2003, 16 min., Director: Kim In-suk
This movie is about a girl named Eun-suk introducing her life. The movie begins at a job interview. In front of the interviewers, she raps her life out to them. In her splendid rapping, her life seems great, but the bitter reality is far from that.

SHAVE
Korea, 2003, 33 min., Director: Shin Su-won
16-year-old Hyung-jun, son of a poor, unemployed father, suffers threats from his classmates. When he finds an old 8mm camcorder his teacher used to monitor students, it’s his turn to record.

Speakers to be confirmed.


Tuesday, June 27, 6:30 pm
CHINA AND ITALY
Italian Cultural Institute
2025 M St. NW, Washington, DC
RSVP to (202) 223-9800 ext. 1

A TALE OF TWO CHINESE
China, 2005, 28 min. Director: Wei Dajun
This film depicts two ordinary Chinese, living in Beijing and Ningxia Autonomous Regions. One practices the violin while peddling newspapers; the other works on successfully producing an aircraft.

N.K. - NEVER KEEP SOUVENIRS OF A MURDER
Italy, 2002, 27 min., Directors: Anna De Manincor and Anna Rispoli
Two distinct stories become intertwined. Two identical hotel rooms with two distinct guests: a journalist and an armed woman on the run. Their stories, originating from opposite paths, develop soon unattended correspondences, eventually leading to an unavoidable substitution of roles.

Speaker: Matteo Bosco Bortolaso, ANSA


Thursday, June 29, 6:30 pm
ALL COUNTRIES
Goethe-Institut
812 Seventh St. NW, Washington, DC
RSVP to (202) 289-1200 ext. 169

JAPANESE YOUTH: MY DREAM
Japan, 17 min., English, presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
A portion of this video will be screened, portraying the lifestyle of a Japanese high school student. What really moves Japanese young people? What are their dreams?

THE “WEIGHT” OF HER
Korea, 2003, 35mm, 20 min., Director: YIM Soon-rye
One episode from a special omnibus film (If You Were Me) dealing with human rights issues made by six Korean leading directors. The “Weight” of Her is a story about high school girls forced to have plastic surgery to get jobs.

A SIMPLE STEP
France, 2005, BETA, 10 min., Director: Eugenie Bourdeau
Twenty-three year old Audrey is preparing to throw herself from a large bridge into the emptiness below. She's flooded with memories of her past: her mother crying, her father leaving, her depression, her fears and then the death of a younger brother, and the circumstances surrounding his death. Freed from her emotions, Audrey takes a step into the emptiness...

DIE AUGEN VON JOHNNY DEPP (THE EYES OF JOHNNY DEPP)
Germany, 2004, Fiction, Mini DV, 12 min., Director: Alexander Hörbe
An old love, a new love, a betrayal and a win in the lottery make up this love triangle.

OLTRE S.P.A.
Directors: Lorenzo Burlando and Massimo Tiburli Marini
In an non defined future (yet a quite likely one), where the expanding technology rules over all aspects of human like, a highly innovative firm of undertakers, “Oltre S.p.A.”, is the first to market an interactive death service. By means of software, developed by dedicated researchers, “Oltre S.p.A.” is able to rebuild a virtual existence for any deceased, offering them a newfangled piece of AV perpetuity.

Film from China to be announced
Reception to follow

Thursday, June 15, 2006

On and Off again

I'm back in Washington, DC for the unveiling of Art Walk and art business at the Zenith Galley where my abstract work and cityscapes are being featured. We're off to South Carolina in the morning to a friend's wedding and art exploration in Charleston. Stay tuned for news of the DCCAH mural dedication - next Friday, June 23 at the Takoma Community Center. We'll be celebrating the unveiling of my 2nd Public Art Mural. More to come early next week.

ART WALK, DC - UNVEILING June 15, 2006 (Click here to preview slideshow)


Official Unveiling Today of Art Walk, the City's Vibrant Outdoor Exhibition Mayor Anthony A. Williams and members of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Washington Convention Center, were on hand for the official unveiling of Art Walk, a large-scale outdoor exhibition of 12 works by local artists, on the site of the Old Convention Center (10th Street between New York Avenue and H Street, NW). WHAT: The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, in cooperation with the Washington Convention Center, has completed installation of Art Walk, a large-scale outdoor exhibition of 12 works by local artists, on the site of the old convention center (10th Street between New York Avenue and H Street, NW). Tied together by the common theme of Metamorphosis (a complete or marked change in appearance, character or condition) each thought-provoking artwork is illustrative of the changing nature of this center. Washington, DC, USA

ADRIAN FENTY ANSWERS District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006

Answers from the Mayoral candidates and Council candidates about their support for the arts.

Thank you for participating in the public officials arts questionnaire. The following questions are intended to gain personal views and/or platforms of elected officials and current candidates for public office in the District of Columbia on arts-related issues. Responses will be published without comment to the general public.
 

ADRIAN FENTY’S RESPONSES

1. As Mayor I look forward to continuing to fund the DC Arts Commission to enable them to provide local arts grants and arts education programs. I believe that the greatness of a people is eventually judged by what they contribute to the arts and culture of their times. DC must continue to build on the tremendous programs we now have here and ensure that our children understand the value of the arts in their lives. One idea with merit is to develop a Black Film Festival in the District of Columbia. There are only four currently in the world and there is no better place to hold one than in the District. I would look to work with our Universities including UDC and Howard, the Kennedy Center and other institutions as we build such a festival. The eventual benefit would be to let our citizens and guests from around the world share in the wealth of black film and through that we can develop a scholarship fund to help our children who are interested in film to attend colleges and universities with great film programs. I will also work to help to promote such programs as the jazz program that now exists at UDC to make more of our citizens aware of this great local treasure.

2. I have always known that there is a great economic impact that the arts community has on the District of Columbia. From our great cultural institutions like the Smithsonian, the Kennedy Center, the Ballet and the National Orchestra and Opera, to our home grown theaters like Arena Stage, Source, Shakespeare and Studio, I will continue to support their growth and expansion. I will as Mayor promote such institutions and assist in developing new ones in each of our neighborhood. But as we do this we must develop new business/community/school partnerships to ensure that our children have viable art and music classes in their schools. We must ensure that schools like the Ellington School thrive and our DC Children’s Orchestra and school bands have the funds they need to grow and thrive. We have a diversity of cultures in many of our neighborhoods in the District and each of these cultures must be encouraged to share their own cultural history of music and art with the rest of the District. We also have the benefit of Embassy’s from around the world here in the District and I will encourage community and school partnerships with the cultural attaches of each Embassy.

3. I believe that the arts are a way to bridge the differences in cultures we see in the District. This diversity is what makes our city so great and we must use it to grow and build our communities. Thriving cultural institutions such as the newly revitalized Tivoli Theater, Lincoln Theater, and proposed revitalization of the old Howard Theater bring people into neighborhoods and increase traffic for all local businesses thereby helping to revitalize a neighborhood. They allow residents to participate together in both cultural and community building experiences. Even small projects like developing dioramas in our old fireboxes have brought neighbors together in their communities. I will also encourage the continued building of heritage trails in the District so that we may share our history with those who live here and those that come to visit.

4. I think that the efforts of the DC Office of Planning to include Arts and Culture as a separate component of the city’s overall Comprehensive Plan will help us to focus on the community and economic benefits of the arts. Every neighborhood and community should have a focus on the arts and by making this part of the comprehensive plan we will not forget an area too often overlooked. I am a proponent of never building a new government building without a budget for art such as we had for the Convention Center and I will encourage private developers to do the same.

5. I will continue to work with the arts organizations in our community to assist them as they move to expand and grow. However as I have often said I believe that any planning whether it be for housing, commercial real estate, or the arts must have community input before decisions are made. I will work with the Arts Commission and any arts organization to help them navigate through the process and assist them to make sure that community voices are heard in the planning stages of any project. I will be an advocate for the Arts as I am an advocate for including neighborhoods in planning for their own growth and revitalized economies.

6. ( This Adrian has to say—I hope he can say that he attended a play at the Shakespeare Theater- did he and Michelle takes the kids to a museum- in any event he should say he went to the City Museum and was fascinated by the map of the City- that he attended something at the Kennedy Center and spent time at a local library. He can also say one of the great cultural attractions in DC are the block parties that our neighborhoods throw from the big ones like the Adams Morgan Festival to the Pride Festival to small ones like some in ward 4..

LINDA CROPP ANSWERS District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006

Answers from the Mayoral candidates and Council candidates about their support for the arts.

Thank you for participating in the public officials arts questionnaire. The following questions are intended to gain personal views and/or platforms of elected officials and current candidates for public office in the District of Columbia on arts-related issues. Responses will be published without comment to the general public.
 

District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006
LINDA W. CROPP Date: 5/8/06

1. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will make more than $7.9 million available in FY 2006 for arts grants and arts education programs. Additionally, recent funding initiatives in the District have targeted at improving arts and cultural facilities in local neighborhoods and supporting arts outreach projects and youth programs. Many of these efforts have been spearheaded by Mayor Williams and supported by the DC City Council.

Question: As Mayor would you continue to provide and increase funding to DC Arts Commission for local arts grants and arts education funding?

Yes.

2. In 2000, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington completed an economic impact study and found that arts in the District generate $1.4 billion and support more than 7,900 full-time equivalent jobs each year.

Question: Now knowing that there is a major economic return on investing in arts in DC, what plans do you have to continue revitalizing neighborhoods and commercial districts with an infusion of the arts.

I strongly support significant District government funding to the Arts Building Communities Competitive Grants program which annually allocates several million dollars to support cultural activities and facilities improvements in underserved communities; the DC Creates Public Art program which provides arts installation services for major public arts projects in geographically challenged areas of the District; the Neighborhood Public Art Projects to meet popular demand for murals and other public art; the Community Public Arts Initiatives which allow community groups to nominate sites for placement of public art in their neighborhoods; funding to support the continued revitalization of Downtown through the installation of sculptures murals in public spaces; capital dollars that support the Arts Bank program and Cultural Facilities grants, and capital funding for the Anacostia Stadium Art project to as a one-time opportunity to integrate artwork into the construction of the new ballpark.

3. Question: What benefits do you believe the arts can bring to DC residents and their neighborhoods?

The arts cultivate a vibrant, culturally diverse community; often pave the way for educational opportunities for our youth, and help revitalize our neighborhoods--breathing new life into our city and making it a better place to live, work and visit. And, the arts have a positive economic impact as well.

4. For the first time in the District’s history, the DC Office of Planning will include Arts and Culture as a separate component of the District of Columbia’s Comprehensive Plan, elevating its status in the city government alongside other essential city services and activities such as economic development, youth initiatives, affordable housing, crime prevention, education, human services, governance, and infrastructure and land usages.

Question: What is your position on the DC Office of Planning efforts to include Arts and Culture as a separate component of the city’s overall Comprehensive Plan for the future?

I support it and will urge Council adoption when the Comprehensive Plan is submitted for consideration later this year.

5. In recent years, over $140 million have been made available to arts organizations through the District’s budget for new buildings and other capital projects.

Question: Will you continue this policy to assist in the growth of citywide and neighborhood cultural facilities? What other specific steps would you take to continue improving cultural facilities in DC Neighborhoods?

Yes. I will continue and strengthen the policy to assist in the growth of citywide and neighborhood cultural facilities. I will continue to support tax increment and other District government-assisted financing for the new construction, renovation and expansion of cultural facilities throughout the District. I have supported among others, the Dance Place in Ward 5; the GALA Hispanic Theater at the Tivoli in Ward 1; and the ARC in Ward 8 that provides the finest in art instruction led by artists from The Washington Ballet, the Levine School of Music and the Corcoran School of Art where for adults and children of all ages discover, thrive and enjoy live theater.

I am committed to implementing the requirement that one percent of the capital budget for new buildings and other major capital projects be devoted to incorporating art into the public spaces of these projects.

6. Question: What arts and cultural activities have you personally attended, participated in, and/or supported in the last year.

In addition to the examples cited in previous answer, I have supported District government financial assistance during the past year to the Studio Theater, the Arena Stage, the Shakespeare Theater, the Corcoran School of Art, the Atlas Performing Arts Center, the New Sewell Music Conservatory, and the Avalon Theater. I have also supported funding to such valuable arts educational organizations targeted to residents East of the River such as the “Life Pieces to Masterpieces” program in Ward 7 as well as arts instruction, job training and career development by the ARCH Development Corporation in Ward 8.

I have supported funding for and participated in events sponsored by Cultural Tourism DC and the African American Heritage Trail, as well as the National Building Museum.

I personally attended exhibits by Peter Robinson and Russell Simmons and at the Phillips Gallery, enjoyed performances at the Arena Stage, and was warmed by performances by the DC Boy’s Choir and the Washington Performing Arts Society.

BILL RICE ANSWERS District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006

District of Columbia
Public Officials Arts Questionnaire
2006

Bill Rice for Ward 3 Date: June 9, 2006

1. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will make more than $7.9 million available in FY 2006 for art grants and arts education programs. Additionally, recent funding initiatives in the District have been targeted at improving arts and cultural facilities in local neighborhoods and supporting arts outreach projects and youth programs. Many of these efforts have been spearheaded by Mayor Williams and supported by the DC City Council.

Question: As Mayor (or City Council Member) would you continue to provide and increase funding to the DC Arts Commission for local arts grants and arts education programs?

Yes, I will continue to provide and increase funding for the DC Arts Commission. I believe it is a most worthwhile public investment.

2. In 2000, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington completed an economic impact study and found that arts in the District generate $1.4 billion and support more than 7,900 full-time equivalent jobs each year.

Question: Now knowing that there is a major economic return on investing in the arts in DC, what plans do you have to continue revitalizing neighborhoods and commercial districts with an infusion of the arts?

In addition to money for the Arts Commission, I support integrating the visual and performing arts into all of the city’s neighborhoods through direct grants from the Arts Commission and assistance from economic development agencies and organizations and promotion through DC Government land use decisions.

3. Question: What benefits do you believe the arts can bring to DC residents and neighborhoods?

Arts bring neighborhood based economic development, increased pride and sense of correction with the past. I was involved with District Department of Transportation’s program to reclaim formerly abandoned fire and police call boxes to turn them over to communities as neighborhood icons.

4. For the first time in the District's history, the DC Office of Planning will include Arts and Culture as a separate component of the District of Columbia's Comprehensive Plan elevating its status in the city government along side other essential city services and activities such as economic development, youth initiatives, affordable housing, crime prevention, education, human services, governance, and infrastructure and land usages.

Question: What is your position on the DC Office Planning efforts to include Arts and Culture as a separate component of the city's overall Comprehensive Plan for the future?

I favor the efforts. Please refer back to my answers for questions 2 and 3.

5. In recent years, over $140 million have been made available to arts organizations through the District's budget for new buildings and other capital projects.

Question: Will you continue this policy to assist in the growth of citywide and neighborhood cultural facilities? What other specific steps would you take to continue improving cultural facilities in DC Neighborhoods?

Yes, I will continue the policy to assist in the growth of citywide and neighborhood cultural facilities. Through my personal and official actions I will promote arts activities, local cultural institutions and all kinds of individual and collective arts endeavors (e.g. galleries, performances, theatre, film, fine arts, historical districts).

6. Question: What arts and cultural activities have you personally attended, participated in, and/or supported in the last year?

My wife, Myrna Sislen owns Middle C Music, the only full service music store in the District. She often has musical performances at the store, which I attend. My personal favorite from this year is Tappers with Attitude. I have also been to art galleries, local movie houses, art shows around town, community art fairs, and so on.

TOMMY WELLS ANSWERS District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006

Public Officials Arts Questionnaire
Name: Tommy Wells, Democratic Candidate for City Council, Ward 6
Date: May 23, 2006

1. As a city council member, would you continue to provide and increase funding to the DC Arts Commission for local arts grants and arts education programs?

Arts venues and programs are essential to a livable community that affords a high quality of life. Virtually all of these assets require public funding to thrive, and I fully support increasing funding?to the best of our city?s ability?for grants to local arts and arts education. I have worked to restore the arts in our public schools, and joined Superintendent Clifford Janey in seeing that arts education is part of the new master education program.

2. Knowing that there is a major economic return on investing in the arts in DC, what plans do you have to continue revitalizing neighborhoods and commercial districts with an infusion of the arts?

I am proud that Ward 6 has such a wide variety of arts venues and resources?including the North Hall of Eastern Market, H Street Playhouse, Atlas Theater, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, Arena Stage, Folger Theater, and Shakespeare Theatre rehearsal space, as well as smaller initiatives such as Michael Berman?s arts project in local alleys. These and other arts facilities throughout the city have been catalysts for neighborhood revitalization. Through public funding and incentive programs, I will work to create opportunities for arts programs to take root in economically struggling neighborhoods, and also ensure that modernized schools include arts spaces that help them become neighborhood centers for community life.

3. What benefits do you believe the arts can bring to DC residents and neighborhoods?

The arts expand our horizons, exposing us to new ideas and cultures. Local arts events also bring us together across racial, economic, and cultural lines to celebrate our community life. Arts education and programs provide activities for the young and elderly alike. And finally, the arts generate commercial activity in their neighborhoods, attracting students and patrons who in turn shop, dine, and often reside there.

4. What is your position on the DC Office of Planning efforts to include arts and culture as a separate component of the city?s overall comprehensive plan for the future?

This elevation of arts and culture is a great victory for supporters of the arts, and an acknowledgement that our city must look beyond short-term needs to the long-term vitality of our community. Arts and culture deserve high priority not only for the amenities and enrichment they provide to our residents, but also because they strengthen our economy by making our city attractive to workers and the businesses that are competing to employ them.

5. Will you continue this policy to assist in the growth of citywide and neighborhood cultural facilities? What other specific steps would you take to continue improving cultural facilities in DC neighborhoods?

I support funding for DC?s cultural facilities to help sustain arts and arts education, especially in a time of rapidly rising property values and property taxes. In addition, our school modernization plans should include creating arts space in public school facilities. And the arts should be considered among the most valuable uses for excess public school space that is being made available through consolidation.

6. What arts and cultural activities have you personally attended, participated in, and/or supported in the last year?

One of my favorite arts organizations is the DC Youth Orchestra, which makes musical instruction available throughout the city to students who may have no other opportunity to learn about music. I serve on the orchestra?s board and attend its performances. I also had the privilege of throwing out the first pitch at a recent performance of Damn Yankees at Arena Stage. As the husband of an avid theater patron and Shakespeare Theatre usher, I see several performances at various theaters each year. I also participate in the annual fundraiser for the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop and support Arts Enables, a program for disabled artists.

LEO PINSON ANSWERS District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006

Candidate Questionnaire

1. Arts and Humanities programs and activities take place in many areas of Ward 6, and many residents take advantage of them. Having been nurtured in the arts from an early age, I support the arts and would be in favor of providing adequate funding for area programs.

2. D.C. lacks an incubator that encourages artistic expression as does the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria. As we consolidate unused city owned space, for example, I would like to see some of the space reused in whole or in part for arts and humanities related purposes. Also, public art with different themes, such as the cows, allows for the public to experience different forms of expression. I would encourage the private sector to sponsor artistic commissions throughout
the city so that we see more than statutes and memorials.

3. The arts in their various forms can provide a means for people to participate in the work itself. For example, a dance company performance on a street or public park can draw in curious passersby to participate and learn about the dance. On holidays, a dramatic performance and/or reading can inform and uplift the listener, and provide a broader context for the observance of the holiday itself. Lastly, in neighborhoods that lack artistic outlets, outreach in those neighborhoods could inspire a future singer, writer, or philosopher, and make arts and culture more inclusionary.

4. I think the Office of Planning is on the right track in recognizing the role of arts and culture in everyday life. It is important that D.C. not only have clean, safe, and viable places for people to live and work, we must also insist on making those places stimulating and rich with activity. Unlike New York City, which utilizes Central Park as a location to serve the masses, the District should ensure that current neighborhoods, and those being created by new development, are not distanced from the civilizing effects of arts and culture. Ideally we should bring arts and culture to the people where they live. It's a quality of life improvement.

5. I see no reason not to support the continuation of the budget for new buildings and capital projects. An idea that that I would like to see happen in the District is to increase the ability for a mobile performance and/or exhibit space to visit various parts of the city. I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and every summer a mobile stage would visit the neighborhood several times and musical performances would take place. The Department of Recreation could be involved in making this happen.

6. In the past year I recall attending musical performances at Wolf Trap, and theatrical performances the Kennedy Center. I am regular attendee of "Jazz Night" in Southwest D.C., I attended events at the Museum of Women in the Arts, and as a steering committee member of the Stanton Park Neighborhood Association, we co-sponsored a local production of "Seussical."

Best Regards, Leo Pinson


Pinson 2006 Committee
P.O. Box 15497
Washington, D.C. 20003
www.pinson2006.com

ERIK S. GAULL ANSWERS District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006

Response of Erik S. Gaull, Candidate for D.C. Council (Ward 3) to the
District of Columbia Arts Forum Public Officials’ Arts Questionnaire

1. Question: As a City Council Member would you continue to provide and increase funding for the DC Arts Commission for local arts grants and arts education programs?

Answer: Yes!

2. Question: Now knowing that there is a major economic return on investing in the arts in DC, what plans do you have to continue revitalizing neighborhoods and commercial districts with an infusion of the arts?

Answer: In 2000, the League of Washington Theatres published a study of theatre-going in the D.C. area. Most (75%) local theatre-goers are from Maryland or Virginia. More than half of theatre-goers will eat dinner as a part of the evening, and a third will pay for parking. This means that locating arts and cultural events in the District brings revenues into the D.C. from the suburbs. Arts and cultural facilities (especially those that are Metro-accessible) provide much-needed anchors for neighborhood revitalization as demonstrated in the Penn Quarter by the Shakespeare and Woolly Mammoth Theatres, 14th Street by the Studio Theatre, the U Street Corridor by the Lincoln Theatre, Columbia Heights by the Tivoli Theatre, and the H Street Corridor by the Atlas Arts Center.

I will promote policies and investment in such neighborhood-based arts and cultural facilities and programs. I will favor mixed-use development projects that have an arts/cultural component, and will seek to have such a component be a requirement when public funds/space or zoning concessions are sought.

3. Question: What benefits do you believe the arts can bring to DC residents and neighborhoods?

Answer: In 1963, paying a posthumous tribute to Robert Frost, President John F. Kennedy said,
“Art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment. The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state.”
Nothing more succinctly captures why I believe that supporting arts and culture is an important role for government in an open society. In addition to providing social commentary and criticism, the arts provide D.C. residents material benefits in form of economic development and aesthetic enhancement (for example, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities initiatives such as the Arts in Public Places Program and the panda, donkey, and police call box programs). The arts also provide educational opportunities and outlets for D.C. residents.

4. Question: What is your position on the DC Office of Planning’s efforts to include Arts and Culture as a separate component of the city’s overall Comprehensive Plan for the future?

Answer: The elevation of the status of Arts and Culture within the pending D.C. Comprehensive Plan is long overdue. The new status that Arts and Culture will enjoy in the Comprehensive Plan only underscores the importance of arts and culture in making Washington, D.C. the vibrant, cosmopolitan center that the nation’s capital should be. I firmly believe that people choose to live in a city because cities offer a concentration of services, amenities, and cultural offerings that are not available in more suburban and rural settings. If the Mayor and the City Council are to make the District of Columbia an attractive place for people to live, then the city must have a wealth of artistic and cultural offerings. The recognition of this fact is embodied in the Office of Planning’s action, and I wholeheartedly support it.

5. Question: Will you continue this policy to assist in the growth of citywide and neighborhood cultural facilities? What other specific steps would you take to continue improving cultural facilities in DC Neighborhoods?

Answer: Absolutely, I will support policies to ensure the continued growth and stability of cultural facilities on a citywide and a neighborhood basis.

Many people are unaware that Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area are home to over 80 theatre companies, making it second only to New York City as a “theatre town.” Many of the smaller theatre companies in the District have no permanent “home” or dedicated performance space. For example, the highly acclaimed Rorschach Theatre Company stages its performances at the Casa Del Pueblo Methodist Church in Columbia Heights.

I would like to see artistic and cultural uses co-located with renovated libraries, public schools, and recreation/community centers. Creating a system of neighborhood-based public-access arts facilities would ensure that arts groups, such as Rorschach Theatre Company, can obtain much-needed professional venues at which they can exhibit and perform while facilitating access to such exhibits and performances by D.C. residents.

6. Question: What arts and cultural activities have you personally attended, participated in, and/or supported in the last year?

Answer: I am extremely proud of my long-term active attendance at, participation in, and support for arts/cultural activities in the District of Columbia. My interest in and commitment to theatre and the arts extends back to the mid-1970s, when as a seventh-grader I became involved in a highly professional theatre arts program in my high school. I remained active in theatre throughout high school and into college, even working one summer in a New York City theatre. Within a week of moving to Washington, D.C. in January 1986, I was availing myself of cultural events at the Kennedy Center. Since then, I have attended performances at Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, National Theatre, Studio Theatre, and Folger Theatre on an occasional basis. I became a subscriber to Shakespeare Theatre Company, Arena Stage, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company during the 1995-1996 season.

My involvement in the arts has not been limited to the theatre. I have been a member of NSOvation, the young patrons’ society of the National Symphony Orchestra, since 1995. For the past year, I have been a member of the Executive Committee of NSOvation, recruiting new members to NSOvation, helping to plan and execute events, selecting performances, and setting overall strategic direction for the group. Additionally, I have subscribed to the ballet at the Kennedy Center for four seasons and have attended opera performances there on an occasional basis since 1993. I have also subscribed to the Washington Bach Consort for the better part of 10 years.

I have actively provided financial support to the arts in the District of Columbia for a number of years. In the last 12 months, I have donated over $8,000 to support various arts groups in Washington, D.C. I am a Circles-level supporter of the Kennedy Center, a Fellows-level supporter of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and a member of the Corcoran’s 1869 Society. Other arts groups I supported last year (and this) include the Georgetown Symphony Orchestra (now called the Capital City Symphony) and the Washington Conservatory of Music. I also contributed to the initial effort to save the Avalon Theatre on upper Connecticut Avenue, and I continue to donate to the non-profit corporation that runs the Avalon Theatre presently.

My most significant participation in the District’s arts and culture community has been my involvement with the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Benefit Committee. Last year I was a member of the Benefit Committee and helped to raise over $175,000 in one evening at the Woolly Mammoth Annual Gala Benefit. This year, I am a Co-Chair of the Committee. We hope to raise approximately $200,000 at this year’s benefit, which will be held April 29th.

ROBERT VINSON BRANNUM ANSWERS District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006

DC Public Officials Arts Questionnaire - Response

Q1 - Yes.

Q2 - I feel some of the District of Columbia Public Schools which are under utilized or excessed could be made available and or transferred for community public arts purposes.

Q3 - Increasing arts in the community and supporting local artists will help to build bridges across cultures and help all people to respect others, overcome negative stereotypes, and to accept cultural diversity.

Q4 - I support this effort.

Q5a - Yes
Q5b - I would encourage DCPS officials to make available excessed space for local community arts programs. I also feel the DC Main Streets program could assist local arts programs to secure abandoned properties to house community arts programs.

Q6 - I have attended several arts programs presented by DCPS students.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your questions.

Robert Vinson Brannum
Commissioner 5C04
Demorcatic Candidate for Chair, DC City Council

MARY CHEN ANSWERS District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006

In reply to your questions:

1. Yes I would support continued funding. As with all funding, however, the specific amounts must be determined in light of the revenues and expenditures.

2. I'm very pleased to know that the economic impact is significant, but I would support investment in the arts even if the "return" were less dramatic. I do not have any specific plan, but, as a Member of the Council, I would simply be alert to opportunities to enhance the the revitalization of our communities with art.

3. The arts lift our spirits, allow us to dream, enhance the quality of life and provoke reflection.

4. I like the idea.

5. I would like to see more street art and a greater presentation of art accessible to people where they live and work.

6. I go to Kennedy Center performances from time to time and visit the museums. I probably stop in to see exhibits (e.g., the Frank Gehry exhibition and the Nature Conservancy's "Wild Places" exhibit) at the Corcoran more than any other since it is very near where I work.

Thanks for asking,
Mary M. Cheh, Ward 3 Council candidate

MARIE JOHNS ANSWERS District of Columbia Public Officials Arts Questionnaire 2006

As Mayor would you continue to provide and increase funding to the DC Arts Commission for local arts grants and arts education programs?

Marie Johns’ Answer: I have been a supporter of the arts and humanities for the majority of my life, have continually found ways to support the arts both in my personal and professional life and will continue to be an avid supporter. I support the Commission’s promotion of cultural enrichment for our City through grants and arts education; as Mayor I will sustain my position and I will continue my support of the arts community by providing increased funding. Additionally, under the Johns’ Administration I would like to have the DC Arts and Humanities Commission lead the effort, in partnership with all of the major arts and humanities institutions, to ensure that there is a quality mandatory arts and culture curriculum within all of our DC Public Schools.

Now knowing that there is a major economic return on investing in the arts in DC, what plans do you have to continue revitalizing neighborhoods and commercial districts with an infusion of the arts?

Marie Johns’ Answer: There is no doubt that our neighborhoods that invest in the arts are on the receiving end of an economic upside. As Mayor, I will work with local cultural groups and institutions that play key roles in using art to revitalize neighborhoods. I will also consider various ways of offering financial assistance to not-for-profit arts organizations that seek to invest their time and resources into imagining new ways of infusing the arts into commercial districts and neighborhoods. The DC Department of Parks and Recreation and the DC Commission of Arts will be linked to support my vision for more Art and Culture spaces and arts education exposure for children in our City. A Johns’ Administration will review best practice models, like the HIP Artist Housing Program, and identify ways to implement similar affordable and workforce housing strategies for DC artists.

As Mayor I will serve as a catalyst for encouraging more development of facilities, programs and systems which support the Arts across our City. I will bring the DC Arts funding community together to form a comprehensive strategy to develop a matching program that ensures the maximum amount of resources reach our neighborhoods.

What benefits do you believe the arts can bring to DC residents and neighborhoods?

Marie Johns’ Answer: Art is vitally important as a means of expression and its appreciation helps foster creativity, conversation and a sensitivity that can be applied to almost all facets of life. Arts revitalize neighborhoods, renew aspirations, inspire creativity, promote community awareness, and motivate and prompt community action. Additionally, access to art and cultural programs prove to be very instrumental in helping young people of all social and economic backgrounds climb to the pinnacle of their potential. As Mayor I will utilize every resource available to get more young people to channel their energy into creative arts and cultural programs. Engaging our young people in healthy productive programs will clearly have enormous economic and social benefits to our society. As Mayor I will tap one of the most creative resources of our City – the local arts and cultural organizations, for innovative ideas that can add value to our neighborhoods and at the same time reduce neighborhood blight that has come as result of abandoned buildings and underutilized public facilities.

What is your position on the DC Office of Planning’s efforts to include Arts and Culture as a separate component of the city’s overall Comprehensive Plan for the future?

Marie Johns’ Answer: I support the Arts and Culture element as a separate component of the City’s overall Comprehensive Plan. Arts and Culture are a driving economic and social force in creating a “livable community”- a centerpiece of the policy agenda I will seek to implement as Mayor of the District. As Mayor, I will continue to support and assist cultural facilities by making certain that funding is made readily available to those facilities in need. In order to make funding possible, I will target private and corporate giving so that DC can make an even greater public investment in our cultural facilities; finally, having arts and culture as a separate “element” within the plan allows community-based artists and arts and cultural organizations to implement a holistic approach to promoting and supporting arts and culture in every community in our great City.


What arts and cultural activities have you personally attended, participated in, and/or supported in the last year?

Marie Johns’ Answer: I am a very active supporter of the arts and humanities community of Washington, DC and I have served on the boards of the Helen Hayes Awards, Washington Performing Arts Society, and Cultural Tourism DC. I have been a long-time contributor to the Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, Studio Theatre, The Choral Arts Society of Washington, and The African Continuum Theatre Company. Additionally, I am truly proud of the fact that I was instrumental in the development of the “Hopscotch Bridge” on H Street, NE. Finally, I often attend gallery shows and exhibits for local artist, and I am an avid collector of art by local artist Stevens Jay Carter, Eleanor Drabo, and Willie Leftwich.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

A Day Trip to the 17th Street Canal Area in New Orleans.

I am briefly back in DC for a day, heading to S. Carolina on Friday. Here's an update on what I saw in an affected New Orleans neighborhood. I also spoke to several Gallery directors who told of artists who have lost everything; slides, inventory, work. I am told that I can go to any gallery in town and will find artists represented who have been severely affected by the hurricane disaster. In reality, everyone with whom I spoke has been affected on some level.

I can only say that much sadness fills my heart as the visual weight of the devastation in New Orleans sinks in. I saw only a small area which goes for miles and miles with ruined homes in Lakeview and Gentilly. On the flight down, I spoke with a woman who is doing a documentary on survivors in St. Bernard Parish who lost everything. She spoke of the spirit of these people who lost everything and the vitality in their hearts. Although I know in my own heart that New Orleans will survive in its art and people, it is a hard long road given the present state of destruction and the slowness of action from our government. The doom and gloom stage may be over for our fellowmen but the hard work of rebuilding is a staggering reality. And there is more stress with global warming and hurricane season. Here are a few pictures I took near the 17th Street Canal flood area. This was a really nice neighborhood before the storm and break in the canal. I didn't make it to the worst area in St. Bernard Parish and I hear it is leveled.
Please sign in and see the Lakeview neighborhood pictures here.

On a good note...on the flight home, I sat next to a woman who was in N.O. with the AFL-CIO to invest in economic development in New Orleans Read story here.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

A Perspective On New Orleans

New Orleans 2006: music, hope and love in the ruins
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
New Orleans, Louisiana
April 28-30 and May 5-7


REVIEW BY BILL NEVINS AND PRISCILLA BACA Y CANDALARIA

....."Visual artists, too, are working in defence of their city and their fellow citizens. The Arts Council of New Orleans and the Cultural Economy initiative are focused on rebuilding the NOLA artistic culture. The surreal reality that is post-Katrina New Orleans can be seen in the extraordinary slow-exposure night-time photographs being shot by Cultural Economy activist photography artist Frank Relle and posted on his site, http://www.frankrelle.com. Relle himself a cheerfully die-hard champion of the people and culture of New Orleans, defied curfew and National Guard-Blackwater armed patrols to get his eerily beautiful Lower Ninth Ward photos."

Friday, June 09, 2006

Off to New Orleans


I'm fying to New Orleans this morning to visit family who has now returned to the city. Don't know if I'll be posting until I return in a week. Be back soon.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Pics from tonight's opening at the Zenith Gallery.

Our Town" is a hit. There's lots to see of our DC. My abstract paintings are on view in the adjacent gallery.
www.zenithgallery.com
www.annemarchand.com







"Our Town"

June 8- July 16, 2006
East Coast Artists

Receptions:
Thurs, June 8th, 6-9pm
Sat, June 10th, 2-5pm

Bradley Stevens "Cherry Blossoms"

Scenes of Washington, DC & Our Neighboring Communities
A Selection of East Coast Artists

John Malmstrom -Joey Manlapaz - Anne Marchand - Glenn Moreton
David Stainbeck - Bradley Stevens - Colin Winterbottom
Joey Manlapaz "Propped"

Anne Marchand "Seventeenth Street Mansion"

From hard edge cityscapes to romantic, serene pastoral landscapes, this group of artists captures it all. Zenith Gallery invites you to view the Washington DC and surrounding areas through the eyes of seven thoughtful, talented and creative artists.

The fragrance of Washington springtime is captured in "Cherry Blossoms" by Bradley Stevens. Anne Marchand’s vibrant, almost electric scenes whether in her murals or paintings, creatively enhance what already exists in her 17th St. Mansion paintings. Joey Manlapaz continues with her well-known reflection series, examining how one building reflects off of another.
Colin Winterbottom’s black & white photography presents the viewer with the majesty of this Capitol City. David Stainback’s draftsman like structures sometimes stay true to their content and other times are viewed purely from his artistic side.

John Malmstrom seems to find eerie strangeness and beauty wherever he lives; his images capture the spirit of their locale, this time reflecting on Richmond, Virginia. Glenn Moreton's works are often compared to photo realist Richard Estes, when in fact the artist began developing his detailed cityscapes quite independently of the photo realist movement.

ZENITH GALLERY est. 1978
413 7th Street NW • Washington DC 20004 • 202-783-2963 • art@zenithgallery.com • www.zenithgallery.com

Gallery Hours: Tues – Fri, 11am-6pm Sat, 11am-7pm Sun, 12-5pm

Cannes Film Festival - Entries

by Patrick Z. McGavin

With new films by Pedro Almodóvar and Sofia Coppola and extremely well-received work by lesser-known directors such as Nuri Bilge Ceylan, this year’s Cannes Film Festival once again grandly signaled the beginning of film’s summer season. For the second straight year, NYFA Current asked film critic Patrick Z. McGavin to chronicle the movies, mayhem, and martinis at Cannes. Read it here.

Kandinsky at the Tate Modern

Kandinsky: The Path to Abstraction 1908–1922
I love this work!

22 June – 1 October 2006
Kandinsky, a jump into abstraction

LONDON-One of the pioneers of abstraction, Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) is the subject of an exhibition at the Tate Modern, which has just proceeded to change the hanging of its collections. The retrospective is focused on the first two decades of the XXth century, a very creative and cosmopolitan era: the artist lived succesfully in Munich and Murnau (where he played an essential part in the movement of the Blue Cavalier), returned to Russia to take up certain responsibilities at the beginning of the Revolution, then left again to Berlin and Weimar, to teach at the Bauhaus. The loans from the Russian museums represent a large part of the fifty paintings and 35 works on paper exhibited a the Tate. They illustrate the evolution of the language from figurative to abstract, done on a stable framework: the game of color.
Brief Description of the exhibition

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Introducing the latest commissioned artwork by Craig Kraft.




Helicoid 2006
Dye Washed Rolled Aluminum, Neon Glass Tubing
3'H x 9'W x 2.5'D

Commissioned by private collectors in Towson, MD. The work took approximately three months to complete and has both classic colored glass and hand coated phosphor tubing. The aluminum surface is brushed in a random circular motion, hand dye washed and powder coated with a clear matte finish. Over 50 feet of neon glass tubing is incorporated into the sculpture.

Kraft Studio
Located at Historic Firehouse Studio
931 R Street NW
Washington DC 20001
202-588-9655
studiomanager@craigkraftstudio.com
http://www.craigkraftstudio.com

Jan Sherfy Parallels and Other Marks/Nancy Novick As You Dream It

Main Gallery
Touchstone Gallery
Opening Reception
Friday, June 9, 6:00 – 8:30pm

The Annex
Lucy and Dirk Herrman
Journey to Center: Paintings from the Heart

On Exhibit
June 7 – July 9
Wednesday – Friday, 11:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday & Sunday, 12:00 – 5:00pm

Third Thursday
June 15, 6:00 – 8:00pm

Programs
Second Sunday Play Readings
June 11, 2:00pm
wRighting Women: A Venus Theatre staged reading

Touchstone Gallery
406 7th Street, NW, 2nd floor
202.347.2787
www.touchstonegallery.com
Metro: Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter or Gallery Place

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

TAKOMA COMMUNITY CENTER - MURAL DEDICATION CEREMONY

“Building Blocks, High Up Close to Heaven” © 2006 Anne Marchand

WHERE: TAKOMA COMMUNITY CENTER
300 Van Buren Street NW
Washington, DC 20012

WHEN: June 23, 2006 at 5:00pm

WHO: DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Department of Parks and Recreation
Takoma Community Center
Anne Marchand, Artist and Muralist

WHAT: MURAL DEDICATION CEREMONY:
DC Creates Public Art - Interior Mural
“Building Blocks, High Up Close to Heaven”
7’ x 18’
Acrylic on ten 3½’ square aluminum panels

ADMISSION: Free

For more information contact
Rachel Dickerson,
Art in Public Places Manager
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
rachel.dickerson@dc.gov
202-724-5613

RAUL MASCARENHAS - BRAZILIAN SAXOPHONE AND FLUTE SUPERSTAR & TRIO

The Brazilian-American Cultural Institute is Proud to Present
RAUL MASCARENHAS
BRAZILIAN SAXOPHONE AND FLUTE SUPERSTAR & TRIO
Live at the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute

On Saturday, September 9, 2006

Two shows:
First at 7:00 p.m. and a second one at 9:00 p.m.

A Patricia Secco production

Raul Mascarenhas is a composer, saxophone and flute player from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, currently residing in Paris, France. He has recorded and played with many of Brazil's foremost recording artists, such as: Johnny Alf, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Moraes Moreira, Maria Bethânia, Virgínia Rodrigues, Hermeto Pascoal, Toninho Horta, and many others. With Gilberto Gil, he's been working in tours around the world and recording since 1984. He has released 3 CDs: "Raul Mascarenhas", "Sabor Carioca" and "Coisa Feita", this last one, with the compositions of the great Brazilian composer João Bosco, came out in Brazil in 2005. He has co-released the CD "Pressão Alta" with great saxophone/flute player from Brazil, Mauro Senise. Living in France since 1998, has been a member of the Sporting Club of Monaco Orchestra, performing with artists like George Benson, James Brown and others. Raul has been recording and playing as well with great French bass player Jean Marc Jafet. At the moment, Raul is recording and touring with the greatest Brazilian singer in France, Catia Werneck. Raul Mascarenhas is working on his new CD that will come out in 2007.

Ticket prices (In advance):

BACI Member: $25.00 | Non-Member: $30.00
Ticket prices (At the door):

BACI Member: $30.00 | Non-Member: $35.00

buy ticket

Drawing Back: Cartoon Critiques of America

June 9 - September 23, 2006
Opening Reception, June 9 2006, 6 pm!
Press Preview, June 9 2006, 12-5 pm

An exhibition in two parts:

Why Do They Hate US?
Views from the international media. A survey exhibition of recent editorial cartoons from around the world. Organized by the Cartoon Art Museum

Protest Posters by Mike Flugennock
Views from the street. Political resistance cartoon posters from DC's own maverick artist.

Cartoon Film Series, Fridays from July 7 2006, 7 pm

Check www.provisionslibrary.org/ for additional programs, updated schedule and the press release.

Just Film: A Teach-In
Saturday, June 24 2006, 10 am - 4 pm
Explore the poetics, politics and practice of films for change!

THIS WEEK‚S THEME: POLITICAL CARTOONS
As forms of graphic social protest, political cartoons include at least two elements: caricature, which parodies the individual, and allusion, which creates the situation or the context into which the individual is placed. While the origins of caricature can be traced back to the early Renaissance, political cartoons of a more editorial nature developed with the Protestant Reformation (and its use of visual propaganda) and flourished with the rise of 19th C. print media. But whether they deal with the corruption of Boss Tweed in the Tammany Hall scandal, the turmoil of the Great Depression and World War I, or the Vietnam (and now the Iraq) war -- social upheaval has always provided the best ink for the political cartoonist‚s pen. In turn, cartoons themselves (as the recent Danish controversy showed) often serve as lightning rods for burning political controversies and ethnic conflicts of the day. This week‚s selections point to some (illustrated) moments in the social history of this important art genre.

Monday, June 05, 2006

AFRO-MEX

A new meaning to "Computer Crash"






Oh man! How about coming home to this baby and seeing all your information in a fragile condition. After removing the load of books today off my iMac, I will try to crank her up tomorrow and slowly remove all my "pertinent" info - that's everything - onto backup disks. No, I haven't done a backup in a while so I will have to do some praying tonight and tomorrow. Wish me luck and hey, I have some files backed up so all is not lost. SHEESH!!!
Time to upgrade and redesign.

COME TO WASHINGTON at LOVE CAFE

Washington, DC - On Thursday, June 1 the "Come to Washington: A Song for the City" painting exhibition tour will kick off at Love Cafe at 1501 U Street, NW, and the celebrity-filled painting will remain at the lounge until June 29. "Come to Washington" friends will be at Love Cafe's weekly "Chocolate Happy Hour" on Wednesday, June 7 at 6:30 PM for scrumptious cakes, drinks, and live DJ music. Everyone is invited to attend the free event, which will offer dessert discounts.

On March 24, 2006, Sonnig Records hosted the launch event for "Come to Washington: A Song for the City", a campaign to name Lincoln Ross' "Come to Washington" as DC's unofficial song. During the event, artist J. Anthony (www.jamesdesigns.net) installed a canvas onsite for guests to sign, draw, and doodle on. He painted the campaign title in an elegant, gold script and added a street sign of a Southeast intersection that has Washington's most breathtaking view. March 24th guests filled the canvas with color, sayings, and objects.

After the campaign launch event, Washington notables added their mark to the "Come to Washington: A Song for the City" painting. Visit the tour to see contributions made by sports anchor Glenn Harris, celebrity chef Warren Brown, news reporter Pat Collins, LOVE nightclub owner Marc Barnes, organic chef Nora Pouillon, Chuck Brown, news anchor Maureen Bunyan, 9:30 Club co-owner Rich Heincke, radio personality Al Santos, Artistic Director for Arena Stage Molly Smith, WPFW-89.3 FM General Manager Ron Pinchback, radio personality Jeannie Jones, Black Cat owner and manager Dante Ferrando and G. Bernard Wandel, news anchor Gordon Peterson, and music mogul Marcus Johnson.

After Love Cafe, the painting travels to Southeast with Mr. Henry's displaying it from July 1 - 30 at 601 Pennsylvania Avenue. In Southwest, it will be hung in the Market Inn at 200 E Street from August 1 - 30. The tour ends at Colonel Brooks Tavern in Northeast at 901 Monroe Street, exhibiting the piece between September 1 - 30.

In the fall, the painting will be auctioned at the Come to Washington: A Song for the City gala. Sonnig Records is donating 25% of the winning bid to the DC Music Center, a non-profit organization that provides affordable music lessons for inner city, low income and minority youths and adults. Details on the gala will be released mid-summer.

The "Come to Washington: A Song for the City" painting exhibition tour is sponsored in part by Mickelson's Fine Art Framing and the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington. Supporters include Ben's Chili Bowl, Velatis, Caramels, the Anacostia Museum, and the Embassy of Japan. Join Sonnig Records in this effort to bring the four sections of Washington together through song. Go to www.lincolnross.com for more information on the campaign and to purchase the catchy "Come to Washington" anthem, or call Sonnig Records at (202) 210-2427.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Acrylic Snobs

I switched from oils to acrylics for health reasons in the 1990'S. I find the versatility of acrylic paint amazing . I still love oils and use them in stick form for the cityscape paintings but the new acrylics....I'm mesmerized and excited with the possibilities. "Sacré Bleu," by Anne Marchand, acrylic and mixed media, 36" x 36"

You are invited to see my new work this weekend at the Zenith Gallery. It's the last weekend of the "Ellipsis" Exhibition. I'll be there from 1-3pm on Saturday, June 3 to answer your questions. I hope to see you there.

Zenith Gallery, 413 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 202.783.2963
Click for Map

THIS FROM CANADIAN ARTIST ROBERT GENN......

"Most of the bad attitude you hear about acrylics comes not from collectors, but from other artists. This is unfortunate because the same narrow views can work against other media--watercolour for one. As an acrylic painter myself, I get around the problem by praising oils. I'm on solid ground here--I worked in oils for thirty years. I tell folks that nothing will ever beat them for texture and workability. Only occasionally do I mention oil-based problems: darkening, yellowing, oxidizing and sinking in, etc. It's not the pigments, it's the medium--traditional thinners, drying oils--particularly linseed oil. Also, because of technical ignorance and creeping amateurism, oils can require early restoration--some after only a few years. Interestingly, decaying oils these days are restored with acrylic. If you're in the mood sometime, you can check out a few of the oil painters whose work has ended up as restorer's hell: Rothko, Ryder, Pollock, etc.

Back in high school I made some early skirmishes in acrylics. We called them co-polymers in those days. Years later I noticed
that they still looked fresh and bright. Working juicy, I had discovered that in acrylic you are okay using lots of medium. As well as being a big strong molecule, as far as we know the molecule stays big, strong and clear--almost indefinitely. Of
course, being a relatively new medium (about 70 years), the jury is still out, but most experts think that the future looks
great for acrylic.

What's not to love about acrylic? Let me count the ways. Apart from apparent permanence and strength, there's flexibility,
controllable opacity, colour fastness, resistance to pollutants, opportunity for variety of creative methodology,
adaptability to mixed media, as well as speedy drying and cleanup. Used knowledgably, there's less toxicity with acrylic.
More than anything, glazing and scumbling in acrylic are a piece of cake."

PS: "Today, very little serious oil or fresco restoration is undertaken in anything other than acrylics." (Ian Hebblewhite--Artists' Materials)

Esoterica: I switched from oils to acrylics in 1974. I did it for health reasons. My price structure stayed the same. Oils/acrylics--same prices, same increases. Resistance to the medium has been infrequent and generally from the ignorant. Collectors, I've found, have to like what they see, and by and large they trust the artists to know what they're doing. Medium is not such an issue. I still love oils. I delight in cruising the surfaces of the masterful ones. But I tell people: "In acrylic, what you lose on the corners, you make up for on the straights."

Robert Genn, www.painterskeys.com

Anne Marchand, www.annemarchand.com

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the "Silver Pass" Public Artwork

You are cordially invited to attend the unveiling of some of the most thrilling public art in all of Downtown Silver Spring
 
Come meet the creative team, the sponsors and supporters, and especially, the wonderful young men and women who created the spectacular mosaics you see below

June 9, 2006 6:00PM
Georgia Ave. at Blair Mill Road



http://www.montgmeryyouthworks.com

Marilou Donahue at artisticallyspeaking.tv

June arts web site is up and ready for viewing. Michael Kahn is the
Personality of the month.

http://artisticallyspeaking.tv