D.C. area art lovers will hate to admit it, but we secretly know there's a shred of truth to that cringeworthy criticism, "Well, it's not New York." Despite our fantastic system of museums rivaled by none and a popular contemporary gallery scene, we're still missing that...something. According to Philippa Hughes, that something is the interaction of an underground art scene -- events that exist solely for the purpose of bringing people together under one roof to experience art. Bad art, good art, whatever. It's not the point. Sending people away thinking is the real goal.

And Hughes' goal is to bring that scene to us. Another one of those enviable lawyer-turned-(insert awesome job) stories, in this case, art event planner, she's spent most of the past year cultivating her Pink Line Project, which "fosters intellectual and artistic innovation through programs and events that are fueled by the transformative power of art." You may have stopped by any number of Pink Line sponsored events, almost always a collaboration with other local art orgs, and you're bound to see her imprint on the arts scene even more in the next year.

In fact, you can catch some of her handiwork this week during Performance Week at Meat Market Gallery. The collaborative project brings together, yes, performance art of all kinds for a free-for-all "exhibit" that could involve just about anything. Hughes freely admits, "Who knows, it could be fantastic, it might even be really bad, but the point is just to go and experience it and enjoy the creativity of a type of art we don't get enough of in D.C." Performances continue tonight and Friday from 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 12 to 2 p.m., and closes that night with a big party (and more performances) from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.

DCist spoke with Hughes twice; once at the end of last year as Pink Line had just wrapped up another successful event, and again last week as Hughes came to a few new year's realizations about how she sees her projects fitting into the city's art scene.

What made you quit lawyering and take up the notion of sponsoring art events?

I was looking for a more creative outlet. Nothing against lawyers, but I was just bored, so eventually I quit and gave myself a year to figure it out. Of course, a year passed and even though I hadn't exactly figured it out yet, I just decided, I'm never going back.

What's the first thing you started doing?

I started doing a lot of writing, some freelance articles for magazines. A lot of fiction writing, too, which I'm still trying to do for a personal outlet. The art events are a good creative outlet, but the writing is a really personal thing. Of course, I haven't tried to publish anything because that would require actually putting myself out there (laughs).

And when did the events start?

I actually started doing these art events three years ago. My husband and I bought a condo and when we moved in, we sold or gave away everything, basically everything we owned -- our clothes, furniture -- and just decided to start over. Because it was this empty, pretty large space, we decided to have an art party. I became friends with this art consultant, Allison Cohen, and we called Kevin Kepple, this local artist who's really really good, and we hung his art on every single wall on our place and invited a bunch of people over. We did a couple of those but then we started getting furniture and painting the walls, so we couldn't really do that anymore, and so I started doing a series of smaller, salon style events.

How did that turn into the Pink Line Project?

Mostly just because doing all these parties and events, I realized people were starting to identify them as Philippa's parties, and I felt like that made it hard for people to take them seriously, but once I put this little structure Pink Line around it, now I'm [laughs] getting invited to panels, etc. When it was just me it was some crazy kid throwing parties. But I wanted people to take it seriously because I really am trying to promote a certain idea.

How did you come up with the name?

At the very basic level I wanted to use the idea of a really iconic D.C. thing, and what we came up with is the Metro, so we thought of the Pink Line as the line that connects everything together. The color pink was the color of the D.C. punk movement, and I wanted to embrace this idea of just going out there, questioning authority, and not waiting around for someone to make something happen. One of the punk scene's "rules" was to not charge more than $10 for anything -- concerts, CDs -- because it should be inclusive. And in D.C. we have these great museums and really wonderful galleries, but we really don't have that underground art scene that makes a city so vibrant. So with Pink Line we thought -- how do we create that thing that gives people an outlet and keeps people here in D.C. to create things?

What does Pink Line offer besides a great party?

There are so many artists out there who just don't really have the means to break out, and maybe it's just a little investment that will help them make that move to the next level. And that investing is really about a personal connection -- I believe in your art. A friend joked one time that I was trying to be a "concierge to the artists." I just sort of want to be a go-to person for artists who need some connections to help them out. Some of it is financial -- here's a couple hundred bucks to buy paintbrushes and canvases, and the rest of it is the people -- who do you need to talk to to make this happen? We're not just giving money away to anyone who asks, we're creating a community. I want Pink Line to become a resource for artists and art appreciators.

So as the rest of us were making New Year's Resolutions, what were you coming up with as new year's goals?

Well, I was traveling over the New Year, and came back to find that Kriston Capps had named 2007 "The Year of Philippa." And of course, I'm flattered and that's wonderful that the events are getting so much attention, but Kriston totally missed the point! He didn't give value to what those events were really about, but I'm glad he wrote that piece because it made me realize I need to really focus and clarify what I'm trying to do with these programs.

The events are not meant to be about the specific art involved. What they're supposed to do is open up the scene to people who may not normally go see art. It's about enjoying the experience of something different and remembering it when you leave. Even if they hated it, at least they got something out of it. They're not just "parties," they're places for sharing ideas and concepts and creating something for the people in D.C. that's more than just a reproduction of something you can buy on the Mall. The events are about the artist and the story and not so much the "thing." I like the "thing"; I collect the "thing", but I see so much more in them.

See Pink Line's collaborative performance art exhibition all week at Meat Market Gallery. You can also see Hughes' "curated" room of art at the Arlington Arts Center's exhibit Collectors Select, opening February 1.