DCist, admittedly, was not in love with the first ArtWalk, the large installation of murals on the old convention center site at 10th St. between New York Ave. and H St., NW. The third edition of ArtWalk opened this afternoon, and while we still have many of the prior complaints about the space (Astroturf is unnecessary, and the backstops with tarps that make up the walkway are far from aesthetically pleasing), the artwork itself......

If you're a regular reader of the Arts Agenda, be sure to check out yesterday's summary of the benefits of becoming a member of one of the local arts venues in D.C. Right after we put that online, we heard that WPA is relaunching their online database ArtFile (one of the benefits of becoming a WPA member is a free artist profile on the site, where you can store images of your work). Visitors can......

>> This week, start your arts viewing with a fascinating documentary on the lives of a powerful curator/collector and his ever controversial photographer lover. Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe examines the lives of these two men through those who knew them best, such as close friend Patti Smith, and how Wagstaff's relationship with Mapplethorpe vaulted them both into careers as art world visionaries, not the least of which......

Let's see. What could possibly be going on in the arts this weekend? Hmm, oh right. DCist Exposed has been getting some love from the Post (did you check out last weekend's Sunday Source?), Washingtonian, and a whole slew of online sources. We just got back from hanging the show and, oh man, it looks great, so we hope you'll give it some love, too, tomorrow night at Warehouse, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Please forgive......

>> Show 'Em How It's Done: Remember how much we hated the Art Walk? We can't fix the mosaicked drain gutters (ugh), but you can do your part and dress up the rest. The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities is soliciting entries for the next exhibit entitled Drift. Hat tip to Lenny from Mid Atlantic Art News for this info, and who also tells us that the first exhibit may have suffered simply......

Thursday: >>We haven't heard the details of what's going on at Warehouse tonight, but you can stop by for the first evening of Freaky Art, in which "Artists Dana Ellyn and Russell U Richards set your funny bone for laughter and pain." The last day of Exchange, Baltimore @ D.C. is this Saturday, so you get a two-fer. Warehouse is open tonight from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday: >>It's Second Friday, so make your way......

Friday >>Summer Fridays are meant for free beer, long strolls and casual socializing. Which is exactly why they started the Bethesda Art Walk. We recommend catching the opening reception of the Fraser Gallery's Summer Group Exhibit. Six artists have displayed their new work in photography and painting. The oil on metal paintings by Michael Fitts look like a rougher versions of light, breezy subjects, while Lee Goodwin's gelatin silver prints of black and white landscapes......

It's going to be a beautiful weekend, folks. Don't spend it inside watching some lame soccer game (yeah, I said it). Get some sun, some exercise, and - better than that - get some art this Saturday. Go ahead, grab your roommate, your sweetie-pie, or hey, subvert the Hallmark Establishment by bonding with Dad on your own time, and set off on an art walk to our local galleries. A number of shows are closing......

FRIDAY: The Mozart Year is almost halfway over — the man's birthday was January 27 — but classical concert programming continues to celebrate it. Opera Lafayette gets in the game tonight and tomorrow (June 2 and 3, 7:30 p.m.) with a concert performance of Mozart's first important opera, Idomeneo, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park. The vocal cast promises to be excellent, including an up-and-coming young singer named Millicent Scarlett, who......

You asked us what the hell it was, but maybe the better question is: what the hell were they thinking? I took a stroll over to the old convention center site yesterday to see the new Art Walk, installed by the DC Arts Commission and hailed by Mayor Anthony Williams as "an example of how art can transform the mundane into an exciting aesthetic experience." It transforms something alright, but not the parking lot as......

I've walked by the old Convention Center site recently, and there's this weird artsy-looking walkway between H Street and New York Avenue. What the hell is it? You'd be surprised how many emails we've received with this exact question. You'd also be surprised how a staff of writers and editors as big as our own could be so easily stumped. We had no idea. Until today. According to a press release from D.C. Mayor......

>> Hometown artist and color field innovator Sam Gilliam's work is everywhere this month. A sizable inventory of pieces were hung last Friday at the Marsha Mateyka Gallery, and a retrospective is due to open at the Corcoran Gallery of Art this Saturday. >> It's your last week to catch Jason Zimmerman's video installation at Transformer Gallery, titled Fair Game. Zimmerman's looping edit of scenes from the FOX show Cops is one of those cases......

This week's art events include exhibits inspired by the Cherry Blossom Festival, the monthly Bethesda Art Walk, and much more. Keep reading for DCist's picks -- and let us know what yours are! >> "Wish You Were Here," an exhibit of paintings by Isabel Manolo and floor sculpture by Jonathan Bucci opens Thursday at Flashpoint Gallery. In this multi-media installation, the artists explore and interpret the idea of personal and collective memory. An example of......

Enjoy this spring-like weather while you can and get out to some of the new exhibits around D.C. We've picked some of the highlights to help you decide which shows to visit. >> This is the second week of the month and that means Friday is the Bethesda Art Walk, with free guided tours to 15 Bethesda art galleries beginning at 7 p.m. Attendees can meet their guide at the Bethesda Metro Center, located at......

(From DCist's Cyndi Spain) >> New at the Govinda Gallery in Georgetown is "Kate Simons. Photographs" which celebrates the intimate portraits that Simons took of Bob Marley (one example, above) until his death in 1981. The exhibition commemorates Marley's upcoming 60th anniversary and includes the new, limited edition publication "Rebel Music: Bob Marley & Roots Reggae." Each copy (available through the gallery) is signed by the photographer and weighs in at a hefty $395.......

Kayti Didriksen's notorious painting of President Bush, "Man of Leisure: King George" (which was originally part of the City Museum's "Funky Furniture" exhibition until deemed unsuitable for public display) can now be seen at Modern ARF in Clarendon. -- This evening, head to the next installment of Artful Evenings at the Phillips Collection. Elizabeth Hutton Turner, the curator of the newly opened exhibit "Calder Miró," will lead a discussion of the visual dialogue between the......

Though the weekend is going to be absolutely-freaking-gorgeous, DCist can't help but feel a twinge of bitterness. First, we've got to run 22 miles tomorrow for our seemingly never-ending Marine Corps Marathon training. And then we don't even get Monday off! The gods are against us. Anyway, no reason everyone else shouldn't have some fun! Grumble ... FRIDAY: Beastie Boys bring their show to the Patriot Center. Need a ticket? Check craigslist. Lots of last-minute......