Visual Voices at Zenith Gallery on Sept. 21 / Chevy Chase Pavilion

Visual Voices-  A Show of Zenith Artists – Past, Present & Future

Profiled in the New Book, “100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic” 

by Ashley Rooney

Exhibition: September 21 – October 29, 2011

 

Book Party: Meet the Author & Artists Wednesday, September 21, 6:00-8:30 PM

Exhibiting Artists: Alan Binstock, F. Lennox Campello, Joan Danziger, Julie Girardini, Margery E. Goldberg, Robert C. Jackson, Michael Janis, Joan Konkel, Anne Marchand, Donna McCullough, Davis Morton, Carol Newmyer, Marc Rubin, Barton Rubenstein, Sica, Ellen Sinel, Betsy Stewart, Cassie Taggert, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Paul Martin Wolff, Joyce Zipperer

In “100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic,” Ashley Rooney highlights more than 480 paintings, sculptures, photos, drawings and statements by 100 contemporary artists working in oil, glass, multi-media metal and other materials. Rooney has written many books on architecture, design and art in recent years, including “100 New England Artists in 2010.” She turned to writing after years in management consulting and working with adolescents. “100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic, $45, will be available at Zenith Gallery throughout the exhibition.

New Gallery, New Exhibition, and New Dialogues

After a year of renovation the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery announces its grand re-opening exhibition, and launch program of The 9/11 Arts Project, entitled  VESSEL.

September 9 thru October 17, 2011 

Opening Reception & The 9/11 Arts Project Launch Event: 
Friday, September 9, 7-9pm

 VESSEL features works by Emily Biondo, Alonzo Davis, Jenny Freestone, Ani Kasten, Madeleine Keesing, Rachel Rotenburg, Angela White, and Millicent Young.

IMAGE: Vessel by Jenny Freestone, 2008.

Since 9/11, war, fear, and terrorism have become our cultural psyche, resurrecting the divisive use of "we" and the "other" in our communities. We realize that while "curing" the wounds of 9/11 is impossible, on this 10th anniversary of 9/11 our small hope is to use art to explore greater avenues for connection in our community and to catalyze a healing discourse. VESSEL combines abstract works to evoke a sacred space of "holding," where open dialogue around the trauma of 9/11 and personal traumas may be addressed. 

Why Smith Center for Healing and the Arts? Smith Center for Healing and the Arts has served individuals dealing with illness and cancer for over 15 years, and guided them on their healing journeys. The events of 9/11 hit our nation like a cancer diagnosis, forever changing our lives and threatening our daily sense of comfort and safety. In our post 9/11-world we find ourselves asking how we may find a way to live and heal in the midst of ongoing trauma and fear. We cannot give up, forget, or wait for it to be over, but perhaps we can find greater transformation by coming together in a safe place of "holding," to share our stories and experiences.

VESSEL's selected works are not a re-telling of 9/11, but rather express an effort to move beyond and communicate that 'healing is possible' for everyone and that the arts are a powerful tool in that journey, for personal and national traumas alike.

Featuring a dance performance by Nathaniel Bond, Anthony Gongora, Tzveta Kassabova, and Giselle Ruzany of Maida Withers Dance Construction Company, based on Collision Course with live music by Steve Hilmy.

Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts
1632 U Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.483.8600
www.911artsproject.com
Regular Gallery Hours: W-F 11am-5pm, Sat 11am-3pm, and by appointment
To learn more please visit: www.smithcenter.org/gallery 

17th Street Arts Festival / Call to Artists

www.17thstreetfestival.org

Red Dots: Drawings by Shanthi Chandrasekar

Red Dots: Drawings by Shanthi Chandrasekar
September 8 – October 3, 2011

Opening Reception & Meet the Artist: Thursday, September 8, 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Self-taught artist Shanthi Chandrasekar creates intricate, multi-layered drawings in an attempt to decipher the complicated dreams that inhabit her subconscious. “Red Dots,” an exhibition of these pen and ink drawings, will be held in The Art League Gallery, September 8 – October 3, 2011.

It all began with a dream. Chandrasekar awoke from a dream filled with joy and possibility, remembering only “a series of red dots arranged purposefully on a white background.” She began drawing the many levels of the dream in order to try to understand and recapture its energy. Quickly the dream absorbed her thoughts; she became lost in the drawing, moving from one room of the dream to the next.

The imagery that appeared reflects her Indian heritage – the kolam, a ritual line drawing symbolizing prosperity and protection, and the bindi, which Chandrasekar uses to create the eponymous red dots and is said to retain energy and concentration, both featured prominently in the drawings. The unraveling threads are symbolic of weaving, the occupation of her ancestors.

Holding degrees in physics and psychology, Chandrasekar is most interested in the blurred line where science and spirituality intersect. The labyrinthine nature of her drawings helped to answer her questions about dreams, which in turn revealed new perceptions of reality. Moving through the maze with Chandrasekar, the viewer may glimpse into the artist’s subconscious, while applying his or her own interpretations and experiences to the work.


The Art League
105 North Union Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
www.theartleague.org

Sculpture on the Grounds / The Kreeger Museum

If you plan to attend the opening reception on September 15th, please RSVP to the Kreeger
202-338-3552 or visitorservices at kreegermuseum.org

Line Literacy at Georgetown University Hospital

Line Literacy: Ai-Wen Wu Kratz

'IRINA' / 26 X 40 in. / Concentrated crayon & colored pencil on paper.

During the month of September, 2011, Ai-Wen Wu Kratz's large scale works on paper are on view in a 73 linear foot space at Georgetown University Hospital on the first floor of its main building. Kratz distinguishes herself in a proficiency to create purity of forms with lines. 

In Kratz's words: "I feel the link between my senses and the execution is direct and immediate to the highest degree, so to bring forth the breath of life."  Her further ambition is to combine abstraction and representation into one.

Website /Kratz:  http://www.aiwenwukratzartstudio.com
Website /Touchstone Gallery:  http://www.touchstonegallery.com

Opening at New Gallery /Adah Rose Gallery

Adah Rose Bitterbaum is opening a contemporary art gallery in Kensington, Maryland and would love for you to come to the opening of the inaugural show on September 10! She has worked as the Director  of the Studio gallery in Dupont Circle and as an Independent curator for almost four years. Ms. Adah Rose's new gallery space is a part of a burgeoning arts community in the DC metropolitan area. Her focus will be primarily on DC, Maryland and Virginia artists and a variety of art students from area colleges and universities. The inaugural show at Adah Rose Gallery features the work of artists Lori Anne Boocks and Elizabeth Grusin-Howe.

 "Mysteries of Space and Place" 

Lori Anne Boocks and Elizabeth Grusin-Howe

Sept. 7-Oct. 9, 2011

 Opening Reception: Saturday, Sept. 10 6-9 p.m.

The Opening will be a lot of fun with music, 

excellent food and of course.....wonderful art.

 Lori Anne Boocks

Ms Boocks, a painter, is the keeper of stories. The act of remembering and sharing stories is a powerful influence for Ms Boocks. Just as the passage of time creates layers of experiencing — the remembering of an event, the misremembering of it, the distancing, the forgetting are all important pieces in her process and thinking. In her paintings, text serves as both subject matter and the basis for mark-making. Texture for each piece comes from her hands, brushwork, and a subtractive process where layers of poured washes are added to the surface, then partially removed with cloth. Ms Boocks received her BFA in Art from Old Dominion University and was awarded a recent solo show at the Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick Maryland. She has shown extensively in the Washington Metropolitan area.

Elizabeth Grusin-Howe

Ms Grusin-Howe, a print maker, also uses layering in her one of a kind prints that revel in the splendor, decay and serenity of Venice. In layers of paint, metallic pigments and waxes, she builds layer upon layer reflecting the experiences of the city itself and the intrigue and stories implicit in such a mysterious place. Ms Grusin-Howe received her BA in Art and Art History from the University of Maryland and has studied at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. She has shown extensively in the Washington Metropolitan area.

Images courtesy Adah Rose Gallery

Adah Rose Gallery
3766 Howard Ave
Kensington, Md 20895
www.adahrosegallery.weebly.com
301-922-0162
Fri-Sun 12-6 and by appointment.

"Ten Years After 9/11" opens today at The Pepco Edison Place Gallery

"Ten Years After 9/11"
The Pepco Edison Place Gallery
702 Eighth Street, NW (entrance on 8th between G and H Streets)
August 23 - September 30, 2011
Opening Reception: September 8, 7-9 p.m.

"Ten Years After 9/11" is an exhibition featuring the work of thirty-nine international artists commemorating the tenth anniversary of the event of September 11, 2001.

Co-curators Helen Frederick and William Dunlap were determined to create a venue for artists to show work made in response to and in the wake of the cataclysmic events of 9/11. "It's not that artists were any more or less effected by the events of 9/11 than anyone else," says William Dunlap. "The difference is that they respond by making concrete objects that want to be seen."

As Frederick and Dunlap explain, they curated the artists not specific artworks. In that light, "Ten Years After 9/11" gives voice to artists from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Russia, Ireland, Greece, Germany and the United States, each bringing their personal perspectives and unique viewpoints to the cultural conversation. According to Frederick "the exhibition explores how a rupture has been recorded, filtered, transformed and translated into powerful works of art over the past ten years."

The Pepco Edison Place Gallery
702 Eighth Street, NW
Washington, DC

On September 11 at 4 p.m. Kurt Steger's Burden Boat Project will engage the public in a water-cleansing ceremony in the Kogod Courtyard between the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 750 9th Street, NW.

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities presents Blend: Recording/Responding to Loss and Recovery, a special evening of performances followed by a panel discussion with participating artists moderated by Helen Frederick, takes place at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery on Tuesday September 13, 6-9 p.m.

The artists invited to exhibit are: Saadi Al Kaabi, Ahmed Alkarkhi, Shahla Arbabi, Ken Ashton, Billy Colbert, Combat Papermakers/Drew Cameron, Brian Counihan, Frank Hallam Day, Joan Danziger, Alexander Djikia, Bill Dunlap, William Dunlap, Michael D. Fay, Helen Frederick, Chawky Frenn, Ann Glover, Alison Hall, Pinkney Herbert, Victor Juhasz, Jeffrey Kent, Bridget Sue Lambert, Adam Lister, Despina Meimaroglou, Michael Pestel, Matt Pinney, Michael B. Platt, Phyllis Plattner, Annette Polan, Raoul Middleman, David Richardson, Patrick Sargent, Brian Sentman, Peter Sowiski, Kurt Steger, Erwin Thamm, Leonid Tishkov, Sean Watkins, Sue Wrbican, and Workingman Collective.

For a full list of The 9/11 Arts Project's events, initiated by Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, visit www.911artsproject.com.  

FOTOWEEK DC'S CALL FOR ENTRIES

FotoWeek DC's fourth Annual International Awards Competition is looking for extraordinary images. The 2011 competition will be bigger, broader, and bolder than ever, honoring professional and emerging photographers from the region and around the world. Entries will be accepted in 11 main categories, with cash prizes totaling $20,000. The winners will be selected by a distinguished panel of world-renowned judges and exhibited and/or projected during FotoWeek DC, November 5-12. For details and to enter visit awards.fotodc.org.

Transformer launches 10th Exhibition Season

transformers
August 31 – October 2, 2011 at the Corcoran
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 17, 6 – 8 pm
transformers : the next generation
September 17 – October 22 at Transformer
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 1, 6 – 8 pm

Transformer launches its 10th Exhibition Season with transformers and transformers: the next generation – two expansive group exhibitions highlighting the current work of Corcoran College of Art + Design alumni who have helped to define Transformer’s exhibition program aesthetic since inception, and a new generation of artists emerging in their careers.

transformers, which will be presented at the Corcoran’s Gallery 31, features new works by artists: Reuben Bresslar, Breck Brunson, Jessica Cebra, Natalie W. Cheung, Cynthia Connolly, Jennifer De Palma, Nilay Lawson, Hatnim Lee, Marissa Long, Maki Maruyama, Solomon Sanche , Mica Scalin, Zach Storm, Tang, and Jason Zimmerman. This exhibition celebrates Transformer's mission as a catalyst & advocate for emerging expression in the visual arts and the many Corcoran College alumni they have worked with over the past ten years. As part of transformers at the Corcoran’s Gallery 31, Transformer presents Poesy/Poetry/Poetics with Casey Smith on Thursday, September 15, 6 – 8 pm.

In tandem with transformers on view at the Corcoran, Transformer will present transformers: the next generation at 1404 P Street NW project space, featuring new works by five recent graduates of the Corcoran College of Art + Design’s class of 2011: Forest Allread, Pavlos Karalis , Sarah Robbins, Aris Slater, and Victoria Shaheen.

GALLERY 31 @ THE CORCORAN EXHIBITION HOURS: Wednesday, Friday – Sunday 10 am – 5 pm, Thursday 10 am – 9 pm.

TRANSFORMER EXHIBITION HOURS: Wednesday – Saturday, 1 – 7 pm, & by appointment.

Paintings from Argentina and Elbow Cay, Bahamas @ Yellow Barn

Paintings from Argentina and Elbow Cay, Bahamas

Group art exhibition 

@

The Yellow Barn Studio

This showing is an art exhibition of paintings from a 10-day painting workshop with master painter Walter Bartman, director of the Yellow Barn Studio.

Meet the artists.

Friday, August 27th, 12 to 5pm 

and reception on Saturday, 28th 3:30 to 5pm.

Yellow Barn Studio

7300 MacArthur Blvd

Glen Echo, Maryland

Ben Tolman Solo Show: a few more drawings...

Ben Tolman

a few more drawings...

Solo show opening at The Fridge
516 8th Street, SE
REAR ALLEY
Washington, DC 20003

09.10.11

www.bentolman.com

Studio Visit Magazine Volume is online

This has been a big year for publications! The painting "Unity" was included in Studio Visit Magazine's Spring issue, Volume 14. The work was selected by juror, Beth Venn, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art and Senior Curator of the department of American Art at the Newark Museum. This painting will also be featured in my upcoming solo at Montgomery College, Of Shining Worlds: Recent Paintings by Anne Marchand with a reception planned for Sept, 22, 2011.

As a value to readers, you can download volume 14 of Studio Visit Magazine as a digital version (in PDF format) at the direct link below. Enjoy!
http://studiovisitmagazine.com/volume-fourteen

There will be two more publications featuring my work this fall with releases planned in October.  Stay tuned.

Artist Website: www.annemarchand.com

"Delusions of Grandeur: Ascension"" Parish Gallery-Georgetown

"Delusions of Grandeur: Ascension" 
Painters
Jamea Richmond-Edwards
 Amber Robles-Gordan
Shaunte Gates
  Opening Reception
Friday, August 19, 2011, 6:00 - 8 PM

 Showing through September 16, 2011

This exhibition is the result of an artistic dialog about the "delusions of grandeur" that each artist possesses in order to continue progressing in their careers and most importantly in their artwork. Ascension, the act of rising to an important position or a higher level, is the theme adapted for this current body of work. Each artist presents his individual interpretation of the act of ascending.

Artist, Shaunté Gates' work combines multiple processes and genres, by taking appropriations and gestures from pop culture and print media which are combined to create elusive narratives. His works seduce us into an imaginary world of juxtaposition and fantasy, a place where the contradictions of culture and the human psyche collide. His mixed media paintings capture the beauty in subjects that may, at first glance, appear bleak to the average eye. Gates' ideas are derived from the pain, joy, and the beautiful way everything is connected universally.

Jamea Richmond-Edwards work explores the contradictions of female and cultural identity making reference to Greek Mythology, African folklore and international fashion. She examines how mythologies from ancient times translate into today's culture and time allegorically. Her figures are empowered by their survivalist adaptation to circumstance. Their sharp features are inspired by both high fashion models and the everyday women in her community.

Amber Robles-Gordon'smixed media artworks draw upon her journey through motherhood, genealogy, healing, and being alive today. They represent her technical and scholarly growth as an artist, and are supported by her professional development in the Washington, DC area. Her two- and three-dimensional pieces fit within an expansive notion of painting and sculptural form. She uses wood or painted, stretched canvas to support an accumulation of media in low- or sharp-relief. These assemblages require a close look to interpret their individual parts. Collectively, these parts form a visual energy comprised of the previous "lives" of the objects, their former owners, and the artist's hand.

Parish Gallery
Georgetown
1054 31st St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
www.parishgallery.com

Art Bank / Call to Artists

Art Bank

In support of visual artists and art galleries in the Washington metropolitan area, artwork is purchased each year to expand the District’s Art Bank Collection, a growing collection of moveable works funded through DC Creates Public Art! Works in this collection are owned by DCCAH under the District’s Art in Public Places Program and loaned to other District Government agencies for display in public areas of government buildings. A segment of the collection is devoted to works that visually document Washington, highlighting the beauty and charm of our residents, neighborhoods, parks, avenues, and local landmarks. Washington's collection helps preserve the city'

http://dcarts.dc.gov/DC/DCARTS/DC+Creates+Public+Art/Public+Art+Programs#0

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Call to Curators for 5×5 

http://art202.com/2011/08/03/call-to-curators-for-5x5/

Request for qualifications for local, national, and international curators to develop groundbreaking temporary public art installations in the District of Columbia during Spring of 2012

Application due by: September 16, 2011

Latin American Artists of Italian Descent

Gazette.Net: Two exhibits shine with new media and new art

Gazette.Net: Two exhibits shine with new media and new art: "Two exhibits shine with new media and new art
by Claudia Rousseau, On View"

Excerpt:
The magazine and newspaper collages of Colombian artist Félix Angel are among the most remarkable works in the Artery Plaza exhibit. From his “Paper Archaeologies Series,” they range from 40 inch squares (“Memorial Day”) to much smaller pieces, using images from printed media that he carefully folds into small strips and arranges in intricate abstract patterns.....

Zenith Gallery at Chevy Chase Pavilion Presents Visual Voices

Visual Voices
A Show of Zenith Artists – Past, Present & Future- Profiled in the New Book, “100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic” by Ashley Rooney

Book Party: Meet the Author & Artists
Wednesday, September 21, 6:00-8:30 PM

Exhibition: September 21 – October 29, 2011

Exhibiting Artists: Alan Binstock, F. Lennox Campello, Joan Danziger, Julie Girardini, Margery E. Goldberg, Robert C. Jackson, Michael Janis, Joan Konkel, Anne Marchand, Donna McCullough, Davis Morton, Carol Newmyer, Marc Rubin, Barton Rubenstein, Sica, Ellen Sinel, Betsy Stewart, Cassie Taggert, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Paul Martin Wolff, Joyce Zipperer

WASHINGTON, DC – August 15, 2011– Margery E. Goldberg has been a major player in the Washington arts community for three decades as an entrepreneur, owner of Zenith Gallery, curator, wood sculptor and activist, and in this show she shines a spotlight on artists with whom she has worked and collaborated over the years. All have recently been recognized for their talents, in a new book by Ashley Rooney, “100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic". The show at Zenith Gallery will open with a Book-signing Party with the author and artists, on Wednesday, September 21, 6:00 – 8:30pm, and remain on display through October 29, 2011.

In “100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic,” Ashley Rooney highlights more than 480 paintings, sculptures, photos, drawings and statements by 100 contemporary artists working in oil, glass, multi-media metal and other materials. Rooney has written many books on architecture, design and art in recent years, including “100 New England Artists in 2010.” She turned to writing after years in management consulting and working with adolescents. “100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic, $45, will be available at Zenith Gallery throughout the exhibition.

Chevy Chase Pavilion,
5335 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20015

Zenith’s gallery, on level 2 next to Embassy Suites Hotel, is open Wednesday-Saturday, noon-6:00 PM and by appointment. 202-783-2963 www.zenithgallery.com

Chalk4Peace 2011

CHALK4PEACE COMING AGAIN TO A PAVEMENT NEAR YOU…
2011 August-October

CHALK4PEACE Sponsors 2010-11 Pasadena (CA) Community Foundation Peggy Phelps Clown & Clown Festival, Italy Unicef Macerata, Italy Lowell Cornell, Inc. Dick Blick’s Boulder (CO) Arts Commission The Abundant Table Farm (CA) and dozens of others…

www.chalk4peace.org

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts Announces THE 9/11 ARTS PROJECT

THE
9/11 ARTS PROJECT
 

A Citywide Arts Collaboration Created to Inspire Community Engagement and Healing Discourse Washington, D.C. 

The Smith Center for Healing and the Arts (formerly the Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts) announces the kickoff of The 9/11 Arts Project, a citywide initiative to engage creative, social, interfaith and activist communities through the visual and performing arts to explore healing and recovery in response to the events of September 11th.

Launching this September Smith Center for Healing and the Arts  is catalyzing a full year of events and programs spanning creative genres from performing arts like dance and literary readings, facilitated dialogues, concerts and film screenings, to interfaith services, art exhibitions and more, at venues across the city. Project performances and fine arts events will focus on such themes as multiculturalism, religious tolerance, and community engagement, with creativity and healing at the center of it all.

Project collaborators, partners and venues include the National Portrait Gallery, Phillips Collection, National Cathedral, Goethe Institut, Carroll Square Gallery, Washington Printmakers Gallery, Hillyer Arts Space, Center for Green Urbanism, 9/11 Unity Walk, and The Pepco Edison Place Gallery, among others.

Officially kicking off the arts project are  

4-days of inspiring events, September 8-11: 

9/8 | 7-9pm - 10 Years After 9/11  Opening Reception at The Pepco Edison Place Gallery

9/9 | 7-9pm - Vessel   Opening Reception at The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery 

9/10 | 11am – 7pm - CREATE Arts Center’s Interactive Arts as Healing at Arts on Foot 

9/11 | all day 
1pm - World Peace Interfaith Service at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts
4pm - Kurt Steger’s Burden Boat Project Ceremony at National Portrait Gallery’s Kogod Courtyard
6pm - Rebirth Documentary at National Portrait Gallery’s Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium

For a full list of up-to-date project events, partners, and launch event details please visit – 911artsproject.com.

The 9/11 arts project is supported by an Honorary Committee of local Washington, D.C. arts and interfaith leaders, social activists, and grief experts, including: Tara Brach, Ph.D., Councilmember Jack Evans, Judy A. Greenberg, George Halasz, M.D., Imam Yahya Hendi, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Philippa Hughes, Micheline Klagsburn, Reverend Dr. Clark Lobenstine, Jack Rasmussen, Siddharth Ashvin Shah, M.D., Andy Shallal, Manjit Singh, and Brigadier General Wilma Vaught.

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Smith Center for Healing and the Arts is a Washington DC-based, non-denominational, 501(c)3 nonprofit grounded in the profound belief that each person has tremendous innate abilities to heal in the face of life’s challenges. For over 15 years, they have provided healing and creative resources to the local community and individuals living with cancer and other serious illnesses. The Smith Center is located at 1632 U Street, NW. For more information about the work of Smith Center, The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery and community programs, visit smithcenter.org.

Wilson Arts and Craft Fair / Call for artists

In October, Wilson High School - Washington, DC’s largest and most diverse public high school in the city - will be celebrating its 75th Birthday, and the opening of its recent $85M modernization. The community will be hosting several events to celebrate the birthday and legacy of the school including the creative and artistic talent in the neighborhood.

Painters, potters, jewelers, photographers, glassblowers, and artisans, can sell wares at Wilson’s 75th Anniversary Music and Arts Festival. They are renting out spaces and tables and are also looking for donations of individual pieces to be displayed and sold in the Wilson Art Exhibition and Sale. All will take place inside the newly renovated Woodrow Wilson High School building on October 15, 2011, from 10 to 5. All proceeds go to support Wilson’s 75th Anniversary Capital Campaign and outfit the new Wilson with 21st Century technology and media.

Check out the Artist’s Information page at www.75wilsonhighdc.org for more information!

SW ArtsFest 2011 news

 (e)merge art fair Friday–Sunday The (e)merge art fair (www.emergeartfair.com) will take place at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, 10 I St., SW. (e)merge starts with a private preview on Thursday. The Fair will feature vetted exhibitions of art by DC-Baltimore area and international emerging galleries, nonprofits, and unrepresented artists, as well as panel discussions and performances, all for a public admission fee of $10.

 

This September, DC’s smallest quadrant will hold its first annual SW ArtsFest. SW ArtsFest 2011 will bring together nine different organizations to present a cross-section of Southwest’s cultural community through a three-day festival with the theme “Discover Southwest.” The collaboration will include the (e)merge art fair and the Marcātus Creative Art Market, performances and children’s activities at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, the 10th Annual DC Jazz Preservation Festival, the Amnesty International Human Rights Film Festival, an outdoor art studio for children, and much more.

Location: Various Venues in Southwest, DC
Schedule: Friday September 23 to Sunday September 25, 2011For complete up-to-date info visit: http://www.swdcartsfest.org.
For general info email: info@swdcartsfest.org and swartsfest@gmail.com.
For sponsorship info email: sponsorships@swdcartsfest.org.
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A version of this article will run in the August issue of the neighborhood newspaper, The Southwester.
from David Sobelsohn
SW ArtsFest 2011
**************************
SW ARTSFEST PREVIEW

This fall, from Friday-Sunday September 23-25, The Southwest Neighborhood will hold its first annual SW ArtsFest.

The first annual arts festival will take place this September. Its theme: “Discover Southwest.”  At SWNA’s July meeting, SW ArtsFest 2011’s producers previewed their offerings.

• TR SW’s John Viglianti described the (e)merge art fair.  In the Capitol Skyline, from 12 noon Friday the 23d to 5 p.m. Sunday the 25th, (e)merge will showcase art from regional and international emerging artists and galleries, and include panel discussions with artists, collectors, and curators.  Among SW ArtsFest events only (e)merge will charge admission ($15/$10 for students and seniors). Partly for Skyline’s hosting of (e)merge, the Washington City Paper recently named hotelier Mera Rubell DC’s “Art Messiah.”

• At the other end of Southwest from the Skyline, redevelopment promises a wonderful new waterfront.  As Bob Rubenkonig reported, from 6 p.m. Friday to 4 p.m. Sunday, as part of SW ArtsFest 2011, PN Hoffman/Madison Waterfront will provide music, food, and a sock-monkey art studio at Water and 7th Streets.  The music and art are free, but you must provide your own socks.

• 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of Arena Stage’s move to its current home, across Maine Avenue from the waterfront.  Desirée Urquhart, Arena’s Director of Government and Community Relations, described Arena’s plans for hand-dance (DC swing) performances, tours of its new facilities, and family-oriented theater activities, all 12-6 p.m. Saturday.

• ArtsFest 2011 also brings together events Southwest has hosted before. Across M Street from Arena Stage, St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church holds an annual End-of-Summer fair.  As Virginia Mathis described, from 9-5 Saturday, this year’s End-of-Summer fair will feature face painting, raffles, jewelry, St. A’s famous fried-fish sandwiches, home-baked desserts, music and more.  That same day, from 12-8, Westminster Presbyterian Church, at 4th and I Streets, will hold its 10th annual DC Jazz Preservation Festival.  Reverend Ruth Hamilton described Westminster’s offerings of paintings, crafts, clothing, and food.

• Westminster shares the 4th and I intersection with Christ United Methodist Church.  Michael Mack described Christ UMC’s Saturday plans to present a concert by folk-music legend Donal Leace; art from Art Enables, a gallery for artists with mental or developmental disabilities; and--at the Southwest Library--dramatic readings highlighting Southwest history.  From 1-8 Sunday, at Westminster Church, Christ UMC will co-sponsor a documentary festival, including films about Martin Luther King, Jr., the Palestinians, the death penalty, and a real-life African prince sold into slavery in the antebellum South.

• Adding to ArtsFest’s musical offerings, Carrie Dorsey described the Second Baptist Church Southwest’s plans for Saturday performances on Canal Street by choirs, dancers, and bands from 14 neighborhood churches.

• Finally, for a decade Southwest residents have enjoyed Cultural Tourism DC’s neighborhood walking tours.  At July’s SWNA meeting, Washington Walks founder Carolyn Crouch described the four free 90-minute walking tours she’ll lead around Southwest Saturday and Sunday September 24 and 25.

• SW ArtsFest 2011 also hopes to include the Marcātus Creative Art Market, with arts, crafts, and food; and a Second Union Baptist Church flea market.

SW ArtsFest 2011 needs volunteers!  Volunteers can fill a variety of needs, from public relations to litter patrol.  Former SWNA president Carolyn Mitchell is heading up SW ArtsFest’s volunteer effort.  Become part of SW ArtsFest 2011!  Email volunteerswartsfest@yahoo.com or call 202-320-3123.