Image from Paper Jam, courtesy Civilian Art Projects

Today’s arts agenda comes to you from Charlottesville, Va., where the annual LOOK3: Festival of the Photograph is starting. About a two and a half hour drive from D.C., you can get a single day or Festival Pass for tons of lectures by the likes of Sylvia Plachy, workshops on software and techniques, and exhibits from James Natchway and more. The festival goes on all weekend, so come on down and say hello to your DCist arts editor — I’ll be the one drooling over everything.

>> Civilian Art Projects does what it does best by combining art and rock with Paper Jam: The Art & Grime of the East Coast Rock Poster. Featuring 27 artists, organized by local artist Anthony Dilhe, the lo-fi show “is intended to shine the spotlight on what is going on here, in our own backyard, in a world increasingly de-emphasizing local focus.” Reception Friday, 7 to 9 p.m.

>> Now this sounds like an amazing lecture. Professor Kazuo Kawasaki talks about his amazing career in design at the Japan Information and Cultural Center. Kawasaki has worked for, among others, Apple, Sony, and Canon, designing everything from knives to nuclear power systems to the rimless glasses worn by Gov. Sarah Palin to the state-of-the-art wheelchair on permanent display at MoMA. Not to mention, he’s the founder of Peace-Keeping Design, which is creating a vaccine-injection kit that could be dropped into areas normally cut off from humanitarian aid. Hear the Master of the Universe speak tonight at 6:30 p.m. RSVP required, Jiccrsvpsummer09[at]embjapan.org.

>> The “fan” perspective gets the attention in The Twelfth Man at DCAC. Artists Patrick McDonough and Kenny George play with the ideas of sports and elements of achievement; see their work at the reception Saturday Friday, 7 to 9 p.m.

>> Tonight head to Flashpoint for the second solo show by Ami Martin Wilber, whose conceptual sculpture work done over the span of 40 weeks focuses on gestation. Reception 6 to 8 p.m.

>> Hemphill opens two solo shows with Judy Pfaff and Mingering Mike with a reception Friday Saturday, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Pfaff shows off her recently published, multi-media prints, while the imaginary “cultural phenomenon” Mingering Mike uses his original album covers to take us through his life in the 60s and 70s.

>> Artomatic heads into its third week with, as usual, a ton of events to go with the eight floors of art. Friday, we recommend catching the writers from Barrelhouse Magazine from 7 to 10 p.m. on the 9th floor. Saturday is Meet the Artists Night, 7 to 9 p.m. On Sunday hear the James Renwick Alliance talk about “What Makes a Piece of Craft Art Truly Extraordinary?” in the workshop from 2 to 4 p.m. on the 4th floor. See all the other Artomatic events here.

>> Tonight at The Art League, 12 girls graduate from their SOHO (Space of Her Own) program. These 5th grade at-risk kids learn art combined with mentoring on life skills and will give a presentation and show off an exhibit at 5:30 p.m. tonight at their Duke Street Annex.