>> Welcome to March and another First Friday in Dupont Circle from 6 to 8 p.m. Find the gallery locations here.
>> We’ve all got our old movie favorites. If you pop in Gone with the Wind everytime you’re home sick, or channel surf for old episodes of I Dream of Jeanie on a Sunday afternoon, you’re just the person Mark Bennett is drawing for. His India ink draftings of the fictional homes used in these tales and others, like Rosemary’s Baby, are meant to put you back on the couch, when you were immersed in these stories as if they were real. Bring some popcorn to Conner Contemporary this Friday for the opening reception, 6 to 8 p.m.
>> 1515 14th Street has crammed enough pieces of art into the building this weekend to open a new Smithsonian. Start on the third floor at Hemphill Fine Arts, which is opening the show Tug of War, featuring work by a whopping 22 artists. Check out the pop-surreal pieces and meet some of the artists. After you’ve soaked it in, step down to the second floor and start with Adamson Gallery. These five artists, including newly represented Yuriko Yamaguchi, present New Editions. Finally stop in Curator’s Office, the micro-gallery next to Adamson for the crescendo: Artist Andy Moon Wilson will somehow paper the walls in the tiny space with 1000 business card size drawings. Take all these shows in Saturday night, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
>> Del Ray Artisans have a whole calendar of events for their new exhibit Southern Surge, featuring artists from Hancock County, Mississippi, displaced by Hurricane Katrina. First, drop by the opening reception tomorrow between 7 and 10 p.m. and say hello to the artists. Then, we recommend catching one of the showings of The Art of the Storm, at 4:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday until April 1. The event is free runs about an hour. Mark your calendar for March 16 for some real Southern Hospitality with an artist lecture, live blues music, and — naturally — sweet tea & cake, between 7 and 9 p.m. See a list of the other events here.
>> The Arlington Arts Center also has a few events for you. Tonight swing by for a lecture on art conservation specifically geared towards non-experts, at 7 p.m. Then tomorrow sit in on a free contemporary dance concert in the galleries, featuring the performance Found by Jane Franklin Dance in an effort to connect the art to life.
>> Irvine Contemporary is making their way through the up-and-comers they targeted during last fall’s grad-student show Introductions2. As Melissa Ichiuji’s show Nasty Nice closes, the gallery moves onto Flesh and Bone featuring Joseph McSpadden’s work. See how he turns oil paints into sculptures “of the flesh” at the opening reception this Saturday, 6 to 8 p.m.
