While the D.C. government is still tallying up attendance numbers from September’s Art All Night, artists and city leaders say they’re pleased with this year’s turnout as the annual arts festival becomes an annual tradition for many. Now, the event’s organizers are looking at ways to build on this year’s success to continue growing the program.

The weekend-long Art All Night festival, now in its 12th year, drew more than 100,000 attendees to installations and performances across all eight wards. Some of the 20 participating Main Street programs reported a spike in popularity from previous years: Dupont Circle Main Street saw a 16% increase in attendance; and Woodley Park Main Street, which is only in its second year participating, brought out 75% more guests from last year, according to the District’s Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD).

D.C. government leaders and artists alike say the event has taken on a new life post-pandemic — the city skipped Art All Night in 2020 — assisted by new features like the inaugural Dine All Night companion festival featuring special menus and deals at local restaurants. (WAMU/DCist was a sponsor for the Van Ness/Forest Hills Art All Night event.)

“Art All Night is becoming sort of a brand,” says Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of the D.C. Public Library, which had eight participating neighborhood library activations throughout the weekend. Its largest was a “block party” at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library that drew thousands of attendees. The library director, who’s originally from New York, likened Art All Night to events there that started small but grew to become major attractions — namely, Open House New York and the New York Marathon.

“As people become more familiar with it, they start expecting it a little bit more; and the more people expect it, the greater the numbers and the greater the participation is going to be,” adds Reyes-Gavilan. “That predictability generates excitement.”

In the wake of the pandemic, Art All Night has come to serve a greater purpose, says Rosemary Suggs-Evans, interim director for DSLBD. The agency pumped close to $1 million into local Business Improvement Districts and Main Street programs to support their Art All Night-related events.

“Art All Night certainly has a significant role in the mayor’s comeback plan, bringing people together, bringing people back downtown, and supporting our local artists,” Suggs-Evans says. “Our focus is trying to make sure, as it grows, we can continue to be inclusive and make sure everyone is represented.”

Brian Bailey, a 32-year-old visual artist based in Southeast D.C., says he capitalized on the festival by hosting an art show, for which he invited 18 local artists to exhibit at the newly opened Sycamore & Oak shopping center in Congress Heights.

“I love giving people opportunities to show their work,” Bailey says. “I have a lot of people that don’t know what it’s like to show their work or to have their artwork on walls that aren’t their own at home or in their studio.”

Art All Night is a great example of the city’s potential when it comes to providing opportunities for visual artists, Bailey adds.

“We should be collaborating. There’s a lot of solo shows and stuff like that, but this is about community,” Bailey says. “I want Art All Night to be like a South by Southwest festival, where we’re educating and [hosting] seminars and panels.” (He’s referring to the annual collection of film, interactive media, and music festivals that take place mid-March in Austin, Texas.)

Reyes-Gavilan, of the public library, says he thinks there could be more investment from corporate sponsors and private foundations. “Some ambition for next year and years following is to get more private support for these events,” he says.

By some artists’ accounts, Art All Night delivers — showcasing the city’s diversity, promote local businesses, and encouraging collaboration between arts organizations.

Dietrich Williams’ Capitol Hill Boys Club, a youth arts nonprofit and gallery in Anacostia, hosted a rug tufting event, poetry readings, and a go-go performance by local teens. Anacostia-based arts organizations held joint meetings for months to create a program that included live painting, a DJ workshop, theater performances, art galleries, and more. “Intentional collaboration works,” says Williams.

And the work doesn’t stop there. Suggs-Evans’ office and the neighborhood BIDs will start again soon, picking up planning for Art All Night 2024, she says.