I love holiday photos like this, warm with just a hint of sparkle, rather than the garish no-holds-barred plastic Santa light display preferred by those with the festive spirit in overdrive. DC Jeff took this postcard perfect image somewhere on the Georgetown campus. Happy holidays indeed. Have you submitted your application for DCist Exposed 2008 yet? No time like the present! The 2007 winners are all over the place: mark your calendars for 6…

It’s Third Thursdays, y’all! And 14th Street doesn’t have the monopoly on galleries quite yet, so step over to the 7th Street corridor tonight for a brisk-almost-autumn evening of gallery hopping. You can find the list and a map of participating venues here, but we’ve got some picks for you: >>Touchstone Gallery is featuring some fine photographers, including Harvey Kupferberg, winner of a Washington Post photography award, whose black and white gelatin prints showcase…

The Capital Fringe Festival gets started in earnest today, with offerings all over town. Highlights include sci-fi dating, middle school antics, Canadian exports, songs for the deaf, a day-long performance piece, and spoonbending. It could be a little overwhelming if DCist weren’t here to guide you through it, no? So before we get into it, let us first introduce OUR AWESOME FRINGE FESTIVAL MAP, which details the locations of all Fringe venues, by date. Special…

Chin up, art enthusiasts – the dismal month of August is finally coming to a close. With it are lots of closing gallery exhibits around town. Stay tuned for the barrage of shows that will be opening in area museums and galleries over the next few weeks. >> Heading back to class at The University of Maryland? Be sure to stop in the Union Gallery to see “Every Day,” featuring artwork by Barbara Bergstrom, Tracy…

This is the third week of the month and that means two more gallery crawls this week. >> The first gallery crawl is on Thursday, when the galleries and art venues around the 7th Street corridor have their openings and extended hours. As always, these events are free and open to the public (see their website for more info). Of particular interest are the new artists being showcased at Zenith Gallery and the 7th Annual…

— The Hirshhorn has kicked off its 30th anniversary with the opening of “Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance 1972–1985,” a major survey of the artist’s work, in which “art becomes the sheer, absurd impulse to impose your presence — which can include a female presence — on the world.” (Read more of Blake Gopnik’s review in the Post. Mendieta’s sculpture of black ritual candles will be lit again this Friday from 12-5 p.m….

We hope you are good with logistics because Thursday is not only DCist’s launch party/happy hour, but also the third Thursday of the month gallery walk in the Seventh Street corridor downtown. Tours depart at 6:30 p.m. from the Goethe-Institut at 812 Seventh St. NW. So if you can’t check out our party on 18th Street, be sure to check out Seventh Street. (Shown here is a painting by Dupont Circle artist Ingrid Groller, whose…