We've been hearing about ArtSpace in Shaw for some time, and on August 13 we stopped by during one of their open studios, which go on every Monday. The nonprofit offers classes and studio time to local adults. Located in the basement of the New Community Church at 614 S Street NW, ArtSpace has one full time staffer, Kristian Whipple, and is largely volunteer driven. Whipple and volunteers offer numerous classes (pottery, drawing, photography, weaving,......

Mara Vandarou's photographs will be on display at Hillyer Art Space. Arts lovers, we hope you've cleared your calendar for the next two weekends. The 2008-2009 season kicks off en masse with nearly every gallery in the region opening new exhibits. Both Dupont and the 7th Street corridor are coordinating openings this weekend, so let's see what they've got: Dupont Circle: This weekend is First Friday, and it looks like the consortium of galleries......

This month the area's museums are chock full of celebrations, openings, anniversaries and festivals. Enough to keep your dance card filled and your brain active. >> The Natural History Museum describes the ocean as "a huge, awesome realm -- sometimes mysterious but always amazing." Their interpretation of the "awesome realm" will be shown in the long awaited opening of the Sant Ocean Hall on September 27. The exhibit represents the largest renovation in the......

>> Conner Contemporary has exciting news: instead of the previously predicted December 2008 opening, their 7000 sq. ft. newly renovated space at 1358-60 Florida Avenue, NE will hold their inaugural opening on September 27. We'll bring you more about the space and the first show later next month. >> He's no Stephen Colbert, but he did win about a zillion gold medals, made Mark Spitz cry in his mustache, and had us worrying about......

Some of you may have stumbled upon a giant blue head on a crane at 9th and F Streets on your coffee run this morning. That 31 foot tall, 13,000 pound sculpture is the work of Roy Lichtenstein, the renowned American pop artist who died in 1997. Known for his bright, bold colors and old-school comic book stylings, Lichtenstein already has work all over D.C.; in fact, the National Gallery of Art has the largest......

Photograph of work by Nikolas Schiller courtesy Civilian Art Projects >> Civilian Art Projects has some entertainment for you on Friday. From 7 to 9 p.m., they open Quart Bag, an exhibit featuring 32 ounces of creativity from each of the 100 artists in this community art show. All works are $100 or less and, Civilian jokes, "FAA approved." Afterwards, head to Comet Ping Pong, which will have beer and pizza specials, while The......

Becky Alprin's High Altitude City, courtesy Irvine Contemporary Over 250 artists from across the country were evaluated for Irvine Contemporary's "MFA annual" group show, Introductions4. Each of the artists were chosen by a selection panel of collectors of early-career artists through studio and exhibit visits along with open submissions. The chosen nine, Becky Alprin, Reid Bingham, Christina Empedocles, Adam Frezza, Andrea Land, David Linneweh, Sebastian Martorana, Jimmy Joe Roche and Matthew Woodward, represent an......

>> Project 4 presents to you the childhood of Gina Tibott. She dug up the backyard of the home she grew up in, for a (gruesome?) rediscovery of her deceased pets. Using her archeology training, she carefully retrieved the bones and proceeded to photograph this lost culture. No opening reception, so see the remnants for yourself at during regular gallery hours, Wed. - Fri. 2 - 6 p.m., Sat. 12 - 6 p.m. and......

New artwork from the Hsu sisters of Exit Clov is on display at DCAC under the name "imoM." This year’s Wall Mountables at the DC Arts Center holds some true surprises. At first glance, this annual fundraising show looks like round two of Artomatic—with less walking, fewer bands, and of course, much less space. Stick around awhile though, and you start to appreciate the wealth of talent hanging side-by-side salon-style: some new faces, some......

Not many exhibit openings this week, but that doesn't stop the galleries from throwing big parties for any reason they can find. Keep reading for derby arm wrestling, two concerts from our three star alums, DJs, poetry readings, and of course, tons of (mostly) free alcohol. >> Head over to Hillyer Art Space on Friday night for the Barrelhouse Magazine Roller Derby Issue launch party, "License to Brawl". From 6 to 10 p.m. you can......

The Day I Stopped Believing by Billy Colbert With an entrance so unassuming its easy to walk right past, the Healing Arts Gallery, once you find it, is a new and welcome addition to the D.C. art scene. The venue is part of the Smith Farm Center on U Street NW, a nonprofit dedicated to using creative methods for the health and education of people suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses. For the......

There is a strong correlation between math and art that is often forgotten. The golden ratio has been studied for centuries and has helped with aesthetics and composition in all aspects of art. Its use was widely adopted during the Renaissance period for those purposes and was also discovered in nature. Conspiracy theorists even ponder the layout of our fair city is due to one of the many formulas and geometric shapes that are......

Elena del Rivero's [Swi:t] Home: A Chant, 2001–2006, installation of found papers mended, burnt, embroidered, and stitched to five rolls of muslin. Courtesy of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and the artist. (c) Elena del Rivero. If the scant number of press releases in our inbox is any indication, we have officially reached the start of summer in the art scene. Take some time to battle the tourists and see what's hanging......

Teacup by Kyoko Hamada, courtesy Randall Scott Gallery Friday marked the opening of 8 Photographers at Randall Scott, with previews of all eight artists’ work hung. Over the course of the next eight weeks, two photographers at a time will adorn the walls for two week spans, after which the walls will be refilled with the next pair of picture-takers. Gallery owner Scott did not pick these artists with a curatorial mission in mind,......

As illegal graffiti continues to appear on D.C.'s streets, the D.C. Council sought a way to do more than paint over it and send the taggers to jail, only to repeat the process again and again. Council member Jim Graham's office contacted The Midnight Forum, a non-profit with a mission to empower youth through hip-hop, through both the entertainment side as well as teaching business and life skills. These two groups, together with Columbia Heights/Shaw......

Starting in April of this year, artists Kristina Bilonick, Michael Matason, Jillian Pichocki, and Bryan Whitson, came together twice a week to discuss and develop new work as part of Transformer's The Exercises for Emerging Artists program. As a continuation of the program, Transformer has opened up the process to the public for comment and feedback in E5: Rangefinder. Launched in March 2004, The Exercises for Emerging Artists was created to support artists at......

With so many museums in D.C., it's easy to overlook the wealth of fun and interesting events that are happening at them. Here's a round-up of some of the notable events and exhibits going on in July, including a look at baseball in D.C., a hip-hop happy hour and a chance to finally see what's living in your refrigerator. >> As we noted last week, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival is running through July 6; this......

With all the love our readers show for the annual DCist Exposed Photography Show, we figured this was right up your alley. FotoWeek DC is a new photography festival with the backing of just about every single photography related person and organization in the metro area. Founded by National Geographic and local fave photo shop Chrome Imaging, the week-long event will feature exhibits in nearly every gallery and museum throughout the city, countless lectures and......

Martin Puryear's C.F.A.O., 2006-2007, painted and unpainted pine and found wheelbarrow. Courtesy the artist and Donald Young Gallery, Chicago. © 2008 Martin Puryear. Photo Richard P. Goodbody When Martin Puryear visited the National Gallery of Art last week for the press opening of his retrospective show, he spoke about how he grew up in Washington, and as a child would often visit the gallery. He didn’t imagine that one day the museum would host......

Home to guerrilla art exhibits as well as the city's most famous art guerrilla, the Bobby Fisher Memorial Building at 1644 North Capitol Street NW is coming to a close, after tenants and landlord failed to renegotiate a lease. The dozen-member collective known as the Borf Brigade that runs the DIY community arts center, as well as their regent, John Tsombikos (aka Borf), have been unable to negotiate a lease renewal with Joe Scheve, the......

The Harlem Renaissance comes alive in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s newest show, Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist. The exhibit consists of eighty works including paintings, murals, prints and book illustrations that are a testament to Douglas’s range of talent and his contributions to modern American art. Douglas was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1899 and taught and studied in Kansas and Nebraska before moving to New York in 1925. His arrival in New York......

Just in time for D.C.'s hot, humid weather, Randall Scott Gallery presents photographs by Sarah Wilmer, who's work offers a cool, dewy refuge from the heat and humidity found on the city's streets. Wilmer's work consists of ethereal photographs of mystical characters that transport you to another time and place. To say they are fantastical storybook settings would be stating the obvious, but they are clearly enchanted. Her photographs consist of vivid greens and......

Upon seeing the work of the Art Enables’ artists at Artomatic both last year and this year, our curiosity was piqued. The nonprofit art space labels their work “outsider art inside the beltway,” and they insist that they are not a school for disabled artists, but part outsider art studio and part employment program. The 27 artists work full days at the studio one to four times per week—honing their skills, experimenting with new ideas,......

If you want to get away from the warm weather this weekend, this week’s Arts Agenda is full of art happenings all over town for your indoor enjoyment. >> This Friday is the monthly Dupont Circle First Friday, with gallery openings across the neighborhood from 5 to 8 p.m. Washington Printmakers opens at 5 p.m. to present recent monotype and printed relief constructions by Bill Harris. A Bachelors and Masters graduate of Howard and instructor......

For 25 years, the Dupont-Kalorama Museums Consortium has been holding its annual Museum Walk Weekend to celebrate the two neighborhoods' abundance of cultural centers. This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., they celebrate the event's 25th anniversary by providing free entrance to eight museums, as well as live music, food, demonstrations, walking tours, and other activities to encourage us all to indulge in our city's excellent......

We're continuing to bring you a monthly round-up of the most interesting events and exhibits at area museums, and this month, there's something to please photography fans, animation addicts, ocean lovers and more. At the Natural History Museum, check out Ocean Views, where a collection of photographers have captured their vision of the sea (June 11). Forget Q and Basil: Check out what the real life spies of the CIA have come up with in......

Yesterday we showed you how someone had added a spoof image on a Metro rail car suggesting that "Rapture" is a behavior that's banned on the transit system. Today, WMATA's director of public relations, Lisa Farbstein, sent us the agency's response to the mystery culprit. "We may be a big agency, but we have a sense of humor too!" Farbstein wrote in an email. Tragically, the sign above won't be added to any rail......

Photo by Jeffrey Lewis from ArmsControlWonk, snapped on the Red line this morning around 9:30 a.m. while traveling between the Woodley Park and Dupont Circle stations. Used by permission. National security and nuclear arms control blogger Jeffrey Lewis of ArmsControlWonk was on the Red line this morning when he noticed a rather odd new sign prohibiting certain behavior on Metro. Next to the usual diagrams picturing how you must not block, crowd around or......

>> At Randall Scott, see the new photographic exhibit by Sarah Wilmer. The young Brooklyn artist was named as one of the 30 under 30 to watch by PDN Magazine last year; in the accompanying profile she describes her work as "dark and weird." Wilmer creates worlds -- often faiery, dream-like worlds, populated with pale, beautiful people doing mysterious tasks (pictured right). See them at the reception on Saturday, 7 to 9 p.m. >> Transformer......

It would be impossible to review Artomatic’s ten floors of art in its entirety. The show is scatterbrained, and intentionally. First come, first serve is no jury; Artomatic treats all artists and crafters the same, and puts them all smack next to each other. In an art setting where it can be difficult to determine if a participant is old or young, joking or serious, novice, student, or seasoned, some work stood out to the......