>> Saturday, the Bobby Fisher Memorial Building, opens Girlish Ways: The Next Generation of Female Artists, a selection of twelve artists under the age of 35 who investigate how contemporary lifestyles affect and re-define the women of this generation. The exhibit explores youthful and mature concerns of the women involved, as well as how these women respond to their changing environments. See local graduates from American University, the Corcoran, and Towson graduate Lauren Bender,......

We reported last year that local arts venue Warehouse was forced to start closing down its 7th Street NW location due to skyrocketing property taxes. The bar and music venue closed last summer, but the rest of the space will continue to run through the Fringe Festival in July. In the meantime, they want to hear from you about how to improve their space when they finally move, and have set up a series of......

At this point in December, holiday concerts and Handel's Messiah have completely hijacked the classical music schedule. Here are a few other events, not all of which avoid the spirit of the season. After this post, the Classical Music Agenda will take its end-of-the-year hiatus, to return in the New Year. >> On Tuesday, the final concert sponsored by Washington Performing Arts Society this calendar year features young violist Jennifer Stumm and Finghin Collins at......

H & F Fine Arts is a relatively new art gallery, only having opened this past April, and thus far featuring a few community group shows. With Chimera, the exhibit that opened last weekend, H & F embarks into more streamlined showcasings of particular artists. If you saw the small preview of A. B. Miner’s work at Flashpoint last fall, you'll know the short trek to the Mount Rainer located gallery for the full effect......

The curtain over the Warehouse Arts Complex that we've watched being pulled down by enormous tax hikes and aggressive developers around the new Convention Center is, sadly, finally scheduled to fall, at least in part. City Desk reports today that the Warehouse Next Door, site of off-the-wall, sometimes experimental music events, as well as the Bar & Cafe will close for good on July 30. The venue takes its usual summer break over August, and......

From the tallest skyscraper in the City of Brotherly Love to Canadian tourism copywriting brilliance, here's what you should know from our -ist cities: This week, Phillyist took a gleeful listen to the White Stripes' exciting new release, watched in awe as their new tallest skyscraper was finally completed, found a cheaper way to get to Gothamist, invented a tasty new dessert, and brought back their Craigslist Round-Up feature with a bang. Bostonist watches......

Good morning, Washington. You know, it didn't seem like that much of a storm. But apparently last night's brief thunder and lightning wrought more than their fair share of havoc: lightning struck a shopping center in Maryland, badly damaging it. In fact, WJLA had footage of the shopping center's laundromat last night — it had been completely obliterated. We had no idea! Still, it at least appears that the power system wasn't too badly affected:......

Earlier this week we heard some terrible news for one of our favorite venues in the city. Warehouse Arts Complex, located on the developing 7th Street corridor near the Convention Center, was greeted with a property tax bill over 500% what they paid last year. The concert venue, art gallery, theater, screening room, and cafe/bar serves the arts community in more ways than any location outside the Kennedy Center, but this kind of work isn't......

Imagine a well-renowned D.C. glass artist, a gallery-experienced (and ColorField.remix contributor) abstract painter, and at least seven people we already know are pretty talented photographers putting their work next to mermaids made out of garage sale rejects and Tic Tac sculptures, and you'll start to get the essence of Artomatic. This chaotic jumble of an art fair where "Fire" gets its own category has infamously drawn ire from some of the city's fine art critics......

Things are a little slow this week in classical music, because of Easter and all that. There are still a few good things to be heard, but the list is shorter than normal. Besides, it's hard to tolerate being indoors when those trees are doing their whole pink thing. >> A concert we are going to have to miss is the most interesting of the week, a program by the 21st Century Consort called Games......

>> If "gorgeous weather" isn't enough of a reason to get you outside, this weekend's kick-off for the National Cherry Blossom Festival should get you to shake off that winter gloom. Head over to the National Building Museum tomorrow to kick-off the celebration with Family Day events from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the opening ceremony from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Lots of hands-on art activities, like oragami and fruit carving, will keep......

Wow. We're blown away. It was an absolutely packed house at the opening reception for DCist Exposed last night; in fact, we heard numerous comments about "possible broken fire codes" and "structural integrity of the building." An estimated 500 to 600 people filled the Warehouse Art Gallery to celebrate our first photography show, meet the photographers, and buy shiny new art for their walls. Big thanks to everyone who navigated the crowd to join us,......

With only ten short days until the opening for DCist Exposed, we wanted to give you a little taste of what awaits you inside Warehouse's art gallery — aside from forty amazing (and affordable!) photos. Crumpler Bags, makers of some seriously sweet photography bags, have donated everything you see above to raffle off during the reception. Some of the folks showing their work can already attest to how awesome these "camera homes" are, including......

This gorgeous shot by Flickr user Speedy Delivery almost makes the winter and my icy-sloped slide to work today bearable. The focus on the lonely footsteps is a great contrast against the seemingly rapid movement of the flags. You know Speedy Delivery has a photo in our upcoming DCist Exposed Photography Show, right? Be sure to mark March 9 on your calendar, so you can stop by to see it and all the other......

>>Seriously, Just Don't Hit Send Next Time: If you missed the gallery-style cage match and possible legal battle between artist Doug Sanford and his ex-girlfriend caused by the Fraser Gallery's last exhibit, stop by the space anyway and see what drama their new exhibit will cause. Though the 6th Annual International Photography Competition probably won't spur the hatred of a woman scorned, it'll at least feature some ridiculously talented artists. The opening reception is tomorrow......

We're totally pleased (and just a little bit tingly) to announce the first ever DCist Exposed Photography Show. You know those amazing photographers we feature here everyday, not just for Photo of the Day, but on so many of our posts? Well, as you may know, we get those images from photographers who upload their work to Flickr and tag it with "DCist." Each day we're more and more impressed by the level of talent......

Whether you've ever walked into an art gallery and seriously thought, "Hmm, I could do that," or you're just looking for a way to stretch your creative muscles, the city is overflowing with art classes and easels with your name on them. Practice something you've always loved, or try something new and unusual. Whatever you do, don't sit in front of the TiVo waiting for inspiration to strike. At the very least, you'll make out......

An artist's worst nightmare. Not a bad review or lack of sales, but accidental destruction of their work by careless gallery-goers. Art writer Kriston Capps tipped us off to the notice on the Flashpoint Web site, which tells us that Axelle Rioult's exhibit Non Sans Emoi (As I Lay Myself...) is temporarily closed. Gallery Manager Rebecca Lowery told DCist that a private party held in the Flashpoint theater this past Saturday night escalated from a......

When Fusebox closed its doors last winter, we lost a truly significant art gallery in this city. Lucky for us contemporary art lovers, a local hub of talent, Irvine Contemporary, took over the 14th Street space in Fusebox’s absence. After a few months of tweaking the lights, adding some comfy furniture, and installing the new signage, Irvine officially opened its doors on May 12 with a bangin’ reception and fascinating new exhibit – Ju-Yeon Kim’s......

If you've yet to succumb to Butterstick madness, succumb to Mark Jenkins' matured version of our feisty panda. His futuristic revision proposes a more rebellious future, sculpted with a tape gun including red flashing tits, a short skirt, and a permanent stance on 14th st. NW. D.C. resident miscreant Jenkins is part of a fluid four-man street art installation called itsy bitsy bollocks, with Mr. Eggs, Travis Millard, and local Kelly Towles (last seen curating......

Saturday marked the grand opening of Project 4, a new art gallery on U Street. The site promises to showcase a wide variety of media and artist’s visions by opening the venue to guest curators, rather than following the lead of a single gallerist. Like most D.C. galleries, the space is quite small, but Project 4 has worked smartly with what they have. The gallery has two levels in a loft-like presentation, so that the......

It wasn't long ago that D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and police chief Charles Ramsey were celebrating a murder rate that looked to be falling relative to years past. Oh, how they must be pining for those optimistic days now. Yesterday marked the unceremonious day during which the District's murder rate came to match that of the same time last year -- 156 dead. And it came after a spate of killings that left four dead......

>> New York artist Faith Ringgold's latest series, Jazz Stories 2004: Mama Can Sing, Papa Can Blow, will be at the University of Maryland's The Art Gallery starting Wed. through Dec. 10. If you were inspired by last weekend's Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, try to make it there by 5 p.m. tomorrow for the artist talk, then stick around for the opening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. >> Hemphill Fine Arts is hosting a......

>> You better act fast to see "Bringing It All Together: The Art of Joyce Lomax" at Ramee Art Gallery -- the show will only be up this Friday and Saturday. The exhibit, the last to be on view at the gallery's 14th Street space, features works on paper, paintings and ceramics by Atlanta-based artist Joyce Lomax. On August 20, Ramee Art Gallery will relocate to 606C Rhode Island Avenue, NE. The reception for......

Back in the days when this DCist was a lowly art history grad student at American University, we were relegated to a few rooms in a dank basement with a couple of antiquated slide projectors. But now there is a fabulous, 130,000-square-foot facility that sits atop Ward Circle. Art history can come out from underground. The new Katzen Arts Center, which encompasses all the arts, opens this Saturday. Performing arts events will begin this......

(Review by DCist contributor J.T. Kirkland of Thinking About Art) "I shoot things that interest me. Over the past several years, that has been, mostly, my family." Now that the cherry blossoms have bloomed and signified the start of the spring season, D.C. residents cannot help but take notice of all of the camera-toting tourists that abound in our city. Photography is a significant part of all of our lives. Who reading this has NOT......

>> Photographer Prescott Moore Lassman's first solo exhibit in the D.C. area opened recently at the Fisher Art Gallery in the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center, at the Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria. "Domesticated Animals" includes approximately 20 black and white photographs that explore life in the modern American family -- including the benefits and significant drawbacks (one work is shown at right). Lassman recently was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship......

It seems that digital photography is the wave of the future. Countless photobloggers depend on digital cameras to rapidly export their work to their Web-based viewership. And DCist couldn't bring you on-the-scene photos without a digital camera or handy camera phone. But is the art form associated with traditional photography -- dark rooms, rolls of film, noxious chemicals and all -- being lost? James W. Bailey says yes. Bailey's new exhibition, "The Death of Film,"......