In a city with a changing art scene, 10-year-old organization Black Artists of D.C. fosters a community of support and inspiration.

Amber Robles-Gordon is an African American artist who teaches yoga and pilates, organizes art workshops, and writes an art blog. “[My work is] colorful, intuitive, and abstract,” Robles-Gordon said of her art, which includes three-dimensional pieces, collages and paper mosaics.

Robles-Gordon’s work was recently featured in an exhibition at the D.C. Arts Center called “Black” that focused on artists’ personal perceptions of blackness. Her work personifies a growing black art movement in the District that is often overlooked.

A Supportive Art Family

Since 2004, Robles-Gordon, 32, has been active in Black Artists of D.C., a growing art organization with about 400 members.

“I just jumped in, and at that time there was a wonderful group, but there wasn’t a whole lot of structure,” she said of the organization, which elected her president in 2009.

Robles-Gordon has been a leader in the group since she joined, curating exhibits and publicizing the organization. She cites Black Artists of D.C. as a major support system.

“My family’s not here,” she said of relatives in her native Puerto Rico, “so I was searching not only for artists; I was also searching for family, and it was like I inherited an artistic family.”

The group, which partners with other organizations and has strong ties to Howard University, provides inspiration to Robles-Gordon and other members.

“Beyond what they gave me in terms of love and support, I also learned so much,” she said.

Read more and view interviews with artists Amber Robles-Gordon and Michael Platt, Janell Blackmon,art history professor at Howard University and Norman Parish owner of the Parish Gallery in Georgetown... http://onlinejournalismworkshop.com/artists/story.html