Arts Agenda

Photo from last year's Ofrenda by Sintixerr

With Halloween arriving tomorrow (and all the events that go with it), it's a bit of a slow week in the arts world. We've got a few picks for you below, but a heads up for November: our press release inbox is overflowing with events all over town starting next week through Thanksgiving.

>> Tonight head to Arlington Arts Center for a one-time performance night as part of their ongoing Fall Solos 2008 exhibit. Audience participation is required of some of these performances, involving questionable "make-overs" (Sarada Conaway), Buddha violence (Judy Stone), and ... drunken sea turtles (Virginia Warwick)? Tonight, 7 to 9 p.m.

>> Transformer has the only exhibit opening this weekend, with Nilay Lawson's If You Didn't Know What This Was, Would You Know What This Is? Lawson presents a fascinating "inside look" at the process involved in making creative decisions to produce a piece, and wonders when an artwork is truly "finished." See her work in the project space during the reception Saturday, 7 to 9 p.m.

>> Here's a new blog to add to your RSS feeds: Hello Craft. Founded by our own DCist arts writer Kelly Rand, along with well-known crafter Tina Seamonster, and Sara Dick and Kimberly Dorn, Festival Directors of Crafty Bastards, the four aim to advance "independent crafters and the handmade movement by empowering small business owners, educating the public to the benefits of buying handmade, and teaching the joys of making."

>> Art Outlet's second annual Ofrenda: Art for the Dead arrives this weekend. Thirty-five local artists (including DCist Exposed winner Angela Kleis, who's been practicing her creepy death scenes on Flickr all week) and bands of nearly every genre will provide entertainment from 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday. Check it all out at the Almaz Ethiopian Restaurant, 1212 U St. NW. Free, and you're encouraged to come dressed "Day of the Dead style."