Andrew Zimmerman, b41, silver gelatin print, 2010.>> Andrew Zimmerman’s large-format black and white photographs and traditional processes emphasize the texture, brightness, and dynamic nature of winter and summer in the Colorado Front Range, where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains. Contrasts opens with a reception and artist talk at Artisphere on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Free.
>> The Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair returns this Saturday to the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan for seven hours of crafts, food, entertainment, and fresh air. Now in its 8th year, Crafty Bastards offers alternative handmade arts and crafts from independent artists offering things you never new existed and, surprisingly, that you just can’t live without — like a purse with funky fabric and fancy handle made from an old economics textbook, hand-stenciled notebooks, or a hand-knit wormhole-eating-an-astronaut centerpiece for your next dinner party. Okay, so that’s my own shopping list, but you can make yours by looking through the list of vendors, set a budget, and shop wisely…HAHAHA, who are we kidding, just pull out all your cash and go buy ALL THE THINGS. 10 am to 5 p.m. Free.
>> Students in the The Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts (CDIA) program in Georgetown creates new media for non-profit organizations that would otherwise be unable to afford it. On Thursday, they present Media That Matters, a screening of 15 projects by 24 students using film, photography, multimedia, and graphic design to produce multimedia services for partner organizations in their 2011 Practicum. 7 p.m., Free.
>> Flashpoint Gallery challenged four artists to design site-specific installations that defy the traditional gallery floorplan of a white cube. Artists Margaret Boozer, Mia Feuer, Talia Greene and Mariah Anne Johnson responded with non-traditional mediums, like dirt and bed sheets, to create Site Aperture, opening Friday with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m.
>> The Corcoran Gallery of Art throws a poolside BBQ with music and performances at the Capitol Skyline Hotel from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, hosted by artist Kehinde Wiley, as a kick-off for their latest exhibit, 30 Americans, opening Saturday. Tickets are $35. This collection of work is from some of the most important African-American artists of the past 30 years, and explores their interpretation of black identity in popular culture. Preview artist profiles and visit the exhibit, on view through February 12, 2012.
>> The mixed media work created by Cuban artist Gustavo Díaz Sosa involves the state of personal faith and human existence. Honfleur Gallery presents a collection of his never-before-seen work, accompanied by a jazz performance by Butch Warren and Freddie Redd, starting at 7 p.m. on Friday. Free.
>> Also on Friday, Susan Calloway Fine Arts hosts the opening reception for ArtCode, Edurne Esponda’s post-modern interpretation of fashion and food portrayed through arrangements of narrow, vertical series of canvas resembling barcodes. 6 to 8 p.m., Free.
>> The free films playing this weekend in the National Gallery of Art’s East Building Auditorium includes Saturday’s tribute to Andy Warhol featuring his 1964 film, Soap Opera, at 12:30 p.m., followed by Warhol-collaborator Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child at 2:30 p.m, to accompany the NGA’s current exhibit, Warhol: Headlines. On Sunday, the Gallery switches gears to celebrate the 100th birthday of French arch-villian character Fantômas with Fantômas, parts one and two at 4:30 p.m.
>> National Geographic Live! launches a new season of lectures starting Monday with Not Ready to Wed: Child Brides, a photographic investigation into the increasingly-forbidden tradition of pre-arranged child marriage in the Middle East and Africa by photographer Stephanie Sinclair, who will discuss her work with Jon Sawyer from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 for non-members. Sinclair’s work is also on view in Speaking to Silence, currently on view at the FotoDC gallery in Adams Morgan.
Art Notes:
- Tonight marks the debut of Artomatic@Frederick, a varied and eclectic mix of artists of all levels in an unjuried format occupying 27,000 square feet in Frederick, Maryland. On Saturday, attend the ribbon cutting ceremony and a “Meet the Artists” night where you can try and meet the over 300 visual and 100 performance artists exhibiting at the show. 5 p.m.
- At 3 p.m. on Saturday, join curator Stefanie Fedor as she discusses the 14 emerging and unrepresented artists selected for this installment of Options at Washington Project for the Arts. Free.
- Artists aren’t always known for being great with money; the Hamiltonian Gallery understands and wants to help. Learn 10 Steps to Financial Success for Artists tonight starting at 7 p.m. Free, but please RSVP to Jackie.
- What? You had money left over after Crafty Bastards? Consider donating some of it to the Smithsonian Institution to help meet their fundraising goal of $300,000 before Friday, the close of their fiscal year. Money raised will support Smithsonian research and exhibit programs, which are free for all of us to use. While you have your wallet open, maybe you could help out the Torpedo Factory Art Center and the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, too.
- On Tuesday, head out to a free sculpture demonstration by Torpedo Factory artist Jackie Ehle at Morrison House from 6 to 8 p.m.
