Faith Ringgold’s Who’s Bad? , courtesy the Arlington Arts Center

This week, some of the D.C. area’s best nonprofit and alternative art spaces push their boundaries in ways that commercial spaces often don’t. Get out your thinking caps and your love for interesting discussion, and mark these dates, times and locations in that day planner of yours.

>> Friday from 7 to 9 p.m., the DC Arts Center holds a reception for its newest creatively curated exhibit, Kid Mutiny, featuring the artistic creations of five artists examining mutants, playthings and the commoditization of childhood. Curator Ellen Tani will explain it all during the artist and curator’s talk at 7 p.m., so get there on time to take it all in.

>> Also on Friday, but from 6 to 9 p.m., the Arlington Art Center opens She’s So Articulate: Black Women Artists Reclaim the Narrative. Local collector Henry L. Thaggert co-curates this exhibit as a direct response to Kara Walker’s recent mid-career retrospective at the Whitney, with a desire to expand the discussion of contemporary African American women artists and “the so-called ‘black female narrative.’” Selected artists represent varying styles of story-telling, span media such as time-based installation, photography, painting, video and sound, and aim to represent the present day. The work of Faith Ringgold (pictured left), Renee Stout, Renee Cox, Djakarta, and many others are featured, and many of these artists will be at the opening. Visitors will also enjoy the sounds of violins, viola and cello, performed by the Kinara String Quartet.

>> Speaking of the Arlington Arts Center, now is the time to register for summer art classes, which begin the week of June 23. Adult classes include drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture; a variety of kids classes are also available. See the web site for registration information.

>> And, if you haven’t checked out Artomatic yet or have been wanting to get another look, Sunday is your last chance! Artomatic celebrates with several events this weekend, including another PostSecret book signing on Friday, and the full-of-fire Art in Fashion on Saturday from 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Check the web site for the weekend’s full schedule.

Also, tonight from 7 to 9 p.m., head to their 6th floor Scion Lounge for the Pink Line Project’s Art of Sound. The event features the performance art of Ding Ren (Bible Kiss Bible), Lauren Bender (Translation Day), Matt Sargent (Living in the Pulsing Light), Bonner Sale (Lonely Heavy Gunner) and David London (Imagine), as well as music by Invisible Flow.