Tag: Art

Monday Miscellany

Art
On the 22nd I and the Help went to Longview’s gallery opening. SPACE! would be the new theme for this place. The previous 9th St version was a nice little store front, but it was too small for events. This new puppy is huge. Huge I say. They should be able to host other events that bring in over 100 people, as opposed to the 20 in the old location. Regarding the art, the Help and I pondered “Making Up Jesus,” and some photo-realist paintings. Also while there I learned a valuable lesson about grabbing the caterer’s wait staff and getting food. The catered bites were wonderful (except the curry pear soup).

Crime
Let me get this one out of the way, shootings. Over the past week there have been a couple of shootings in the places where I walk and I have no idea what’s up with that. From this regarding 8th & R (R St exit for Shaw metro):

On Oct 23, 2009, at 9:58 PM, Kucik, George (MPD) wrote:
There were gunshots fired tonight but nobody was hit. Despite uniformed officers in the area the suspect escaped. In the area of 5th and O, 7th and O and 8th and R I have uniformed officers and about 20 tactical officers king. They have been in the areas for the past 2 nights and are there tonight. In the past 2 days they have
made more than 20 arrests to include 4 arrests for subjects carrying guns. We will continue to flood the areas.

And then last weeks shooting, around 7th and N (?), and 8th and S.

Schools
Scott Montgomery is having an auction today. Check it out at www.benefitevents.com/auctions/montgomeryes

Charity
Bread for the City’s Food for All thing got rained out. But hey read about there great gleaning program with broccoli.

Lastly my cousin, who will be helping me with the on again, off again census of Truxton 1900-1930 (or 1940 depending) project has an appeal.

GLN is competing for a $10k grant! Please support us! All we request is a minute of your time to vote for us and help us win $10k! Our scheduling costs have doubled and we need this grant to be able to offer classes in the Spring.

Click below and vote for us today to win the first sprint! (You have to create an account and sign in with your e-mail, but don’t worry, nobody will spam you. Ideablob requires that you create an account to make sure that only ‘real people’ are participating in the contest, and that there are no frauds). Help us reach the finals and remember to vote for us again next week when it really counts!
http://www.ideablob.com/ideas/6630-GLN-Building-Community-Throug

1st on First and other things

Other blogs have mentioned it and here’s a reminder that there will be an arts festival on Saturday the ‘first’ of August on First St NW, between Windows and Big Bear. See more here at the BACA Blog.

I see that Scenic Artistan is closing shop for the Bloomingdale Blog.

The DC GOP wanted me to let y’all know they brought food to the last CCCA meeting (over in the Ward 2 section of Shaw). I just wanna know did they bring something other than soda and cookies? I would have asked the Patrick Mara (who spoke at the CCCA mtg) looking guy I saw get on the Metro at Mt. Vernon Square Wednesday, but I’ve been quite pre-occuppied with some personal business that involves a lot of hurry up and wait, so I didn’t ask.

Speaking of, I’m probably going to be low key for the next week as the personal business has been taking up a lot of energy and time and thought. Anyway, have a good weekend.

Fringe Festival Item: A Tactile Dinner

Weird but good. I enjoyed it.
There was an announcement that went up on the MVSQ blog about a preview for this… thing. So I went, not really knowing what to expect except that it was about food. I like food.
Food was deconstructed and the audience was the participant. No sitting back and just observing. It was a futurist meal. We “ate” beef (or mushroom if vegetarian) air, had salad (locally grown) without the aid of forks and knives, had a sugar cube course, and ended the meal with a spray of coffee or tea. Throw in some dance, and wrap it in futurism and a good time was had.

Longview Gallery to move down the street

I’m feeling lazy and my mind is seriously preoccupied with some other things so here’s the straight press release:

Long View Gallery Acquires New Space in Currently Vacant Shaw Building

Renovation Will Quadruple Exhibition Space and Enhance Framing, Events Services

Washington, D.C. – [June 1, 2009] – As part of its continuing efforts to support the regional arts community and to contribute to the Shaw Neighborhood’s renaissance, the Long View Gallery will relocate to a currently vacant building directly across from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center at 1234 Ninth Street, NW. The gallery’s new space will undergo major renovation, more than quadrupling the gallery’s exhibition capacity, enhancing its custom framing and special event offerings, and making it one of the area’s largest art collectives.
“With many other businesses closing, we have been able to swim against the economic tide, demonstrating that art is indeed a great investment. After three successful years in Shaw, Long View Gallery simply outgrew its current location,” said gallery director Drew Porterfield. “Thanks to Douglas Development, we were able to secure a building with great potential in a location that is impossible to beat—half a block south on Ninth Street from our current location, directly across from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and closer to existing and planned fine restaurants,” Porterfield said. “Shaw has been a wonderful home, and we are thrilled to contribute to its renaissance.”
The building was previously used as an auto showroom and, most recently, as a vending machine warehouse, but it has sat empty for several years. Although the building’s architecture is stunning, with soaring ceilings and concrete floors, it requires a significant renovation before the gallery takes occupancy later this year. The gallery’s renovation, designed by local architect Will Couch, will maintain the raw feel of the building while transforming it into a premier gallery space. The new gallery will occupy the southern portion of the building, comprised of nearly 5,000 square feet, more than quadrupling the square footage of the Long View Gallery’s current location.
In its new venue, Long View Gallery will continue to show and support regional, contemporary artists as well as offer fine art custom framing. Joining Long View Gallery is Special Events Director, Suzi Molak, whose expertise in the events industry will be a great asset to the company. Porterfield said the gallery is finalizing a more frequent exhibition schedule and is preparing to announce several major new artists whose works will join the gallery in time for a planned grand opening after Labor Day.
Long View Gallery was founded in 2000 by Andrew Haley and Suzanne Zylonis in Sperryville, Virginia (about 75 miles west of Washington). The gallery quickly built a loyal following with local art patrons, including William Waybourn and Craig Spaulding, who partnered with Haley and Zylonis in 2006 to open a second location of Long View Gallery in the District. The Sperryville gallery showcases many Virginia artists and the surrounding countryside’s bucolic or pastoral settings.
Long View Gallery will remain open at its current location until the end of July, with an expected grand opening in the new space in September. The gallery will post updates and images of the renovation in progress on their blog at www.longviewgallery.blogspot.com.

How quick can you grant write?

May 1st is the deadline for the DC Community Heritage Project grant. Taking a look at past recipients of the $2000 or less, grants, there is a wide range, from community arts groups, garden clubs, civic associations, and main streets. The kind of humanities projects the Humanities Council is looking to provide grants for are:

Book Discussion
Conference
Curriculum Development
Debate
Discussion Guide
Exhibit
Film Discussion
Film/Video Production
Historical Dramatization
Humanist-in-Residence
Oral Histories/Interviews
Panel Discussion
Historic Preservation guides
Radio Production
Research
Scholarly Editing/Publishing
Seminars
Site Interpretation/Tour
Teacher’s Institute/Seminar
Workshop

Friday Misc


Not far from the S Street exit of the Shaw/Howard U metro station exit is this event at the New Community Art Space. The graphic I was given has been a bit hard for me to read but there is a web site artspacedc.org.

Well the Bates Area Civic Association (BACA), which covers the northern portion of the Truxton Circle area, has a new blog. Jim Berry, who sent me the notice about it also informed me about a knitting crocheting group forming:

HAVE YOU WANTED TO LEARN TO KNIT OR CROCHET? HERE’S YOUR CHANCE!!! A group is being formed at St. George’s Episcopal Church and you are invited to sign-up. The purpose of this group is to meet and fellowship while learning and sharing the crafts of knitting and crocheting. The group is open to the community; both female and male, adults and children (9 years of age and older) are welcome. The first meeting will be held in St. George’s Parish Hall, 160 U Street, N.W., on Saturday, March 21, 2009, between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00p.m. Bring your needles

And speaking of yarn, last week I wandered into the neatest little yarn store evah! Not in DC but along Route 1, Rhode Island Ave/ Baltimore Ave, across the street from Franklin’s in what I’m generally going to call Hyattsville. It’s called a Tangled Skein. I’ve always passed by it, and after subduing my driver with Franklin’s food I talked him into joining me across the street to check out this place. If you are allergic to wool, do not enter because you will die. They have alpaca wool, cashmere wool, plain old wool, wool blends, and silk yarns. The shop gave me the same thrill as fabric stores as I went around feeling the different yarns. I bought, for my mom, a couple of acrylic wool blend skeins.

Mural- Or more paint on houses

Multi-mural 2This mural is at the corner of 12th and W. Though interesting it does not come close to the great Watermelon mural of Q and 11th Sts NW.
I’m trying to talk one of my neighbors into slapping a mural on the side of his house. He’s an artist and has done murals before, so if the desire is there it can be done. However, his wife, who’ve I haven’t spoken to about a mural, might not be too keen on the idea.

Inauguration Musings- Inaugural Stuff in Shaw

A- I’m not going anywhere. I’ve told the Aunt and the 1/2 sister that I will be home to receive them and their people should they need a warm safe house between the Mall and Hyattsville. Besides that, I hate cold and crowds.

As I mentioned before with the Aunt, there are several things Shiloh Baptist is doing for Inauguration weekend, and there is a website up regarding that.

For the artistically minded there is the Art of Change at the Warehouse, here’s the press release:

From the press release:

Artomatic, Inc. and Playa del Fuego, Inc. – institutions of the mid-Atlantic arts community – have joined together to create this year’s most distinctive inaugural celebration, The Art of Change (www.artists-ball.org), on Jan. 20, 2009 at 8 pm. With the generous support of Corporate Sponsor Scion (www.scion.com) and location sponsors The Warehouse Arts Complex (www.warehousetheater.com) and Douglas Development (www.douglasdevelopment.com), this event brings Washington, D.C., a unique opportunity to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as President. Tickets are available immediately for $50 at www.artists-ball.org

Occupying three separate venues on the 1000 block of 7th Street, NW in downtown Washington D.C., The Art of Change will feature visual and performing arts, multiple dance floors, fire dancing and live music. DJs from across the mid-Atlantic region will be spinning an eclectic mix of musical styles on two dance floors, and in The Art of Change Galleries, displaying artworks created for this celebration. The Variety Stage will showcase performances all night long, including live music, comedy, belly dancing and spoken word poetry. And outside, attendees will enjoy fire-dance performances while dancing to up-and-coming DJs in the heated White Tent.
…
In the spirit of community organizing and collaboration that President-elect Obama has come to represent, The Art of Change is being planned in collaboration with a number of supporting organizations. These include DC Burners, Dance Afire, Bethesda Theatre, Cultural Attaché, Washington Project for the Arts, 4&9 Productions LLC, Brightest Young Things, The Pink Line Project, Pecha Kucha , Creative DC, Hungry for Music, Capitol Riverfront BID, and NoMa BID.

This collaborative ethic also facilitates social engagement by making us all responsible for the creation and maintenance of our shared culture. We encourage all attendees to contribute by performing, displaying art, volunteering, or donating to make this event a success. For more information visit www.artists-ball.org.

And there are some dining specials in Shaw celebrating the inauguration. Acadiana Restaurant on 9th and New York Ave is having a 4-course menu for $44. A bottle wine for $44 to honor the 44th President. Two Inaugural Cocktails: The Dream and The Spirit ($9), and the regular menu also available. Corduroy plans to be open, and I don’t think they are doing anything special. Same for Vegetate, open with the regular menu. Since these are close to the Secret Service Lockdown, I’m going to suggest if you reserve through OpenTable, bring a printout confirming your reservation, should you get stopped by some out of town constable, to prove (you shouldn’t have to but be on the safe side) you indeed have business in the area.

KIPP and the arts

I want to thank Neda for cc’ing me in an email inquiring about KIPP and FLUX, as it got me to get around to asking KIPP’s Mr. Alex Shawe about more informationwhich he provided (PDF). It’s the executive summary, there is a more detailed paper with diagrams and good stuff but it’s a big file. Anyway in the diagrams you would see where a proposed arts space would be in relation to the school part.
Yes, I know it is cruel to talk about a picture you can see and I’m not providing. But when I first heard of the arts/ school combo I was thinking of a shared building like it would be a duplex, or townhouse with English basement, where each party has separate space in the same structure. After looking at the drawings it is more like roommates but where one roommate dominates. Shared space really looks shared. There are separate rooms, but it looks like shared hallways, entrances, exits and the artists and kids would not be able to avoid each other. This sparks a list of concerns in my head.
Like I mentioned before charter schools get first dibs on public school buildings. So if KIPP were to get Cook/Cooke it would be the primary roommate in this scenario who would set the tone. This may limit what an arts roommie can and cannot do or leave up/ lying around or perform during nap time. However, if the two parties can work something out in a way that the relationship is beneficial and enriching, the community will be changed for the better.
With the arts traditionally being on the bottom of public schools’ agendas (probably because you can’t put it on a standardized test), I think and active arts space would be great for kids. It is good for kids and adults to interact causally and formally with artists to make it more real.
What are your thoughts? (remember to ID your comments, anons will be eliminated).