Beyond the Big Chair New galleries and community spaces pop up east of the river

Washington’s newest arts enclave isn’t tucked away in Georgetown, or even on burgeoning H Street. It’s east of the river, in Anacostia. The area — once known as Nacotchtank, after the first Native American settlers of the region — has a long history of creative expression. Go-go music was born here; graffiti by street artists such as BK Adams (the man behind all those I AM ART wheatpasted posters around the city) dot the walls of buildings. But unlike Shaw, with its recently reopened Howard Theatre, or H Street, anchored by the refurbished , Anacostia has lacked the arts infrastructure to draw visitors.

That is changing. In the past five years or so, a handful of small-but-vibrant galleries have sprung up, complemented by a smattering of new public art pieces and festivals celebrating a homegrown arts scene. LUMEN8Anacostia, a wide-ranging fest that ran over three months this spring, brought dozens of artists, performers and temporary arts spaces together and received encouraging media coverage.

“Anacostia is emerging as a cultural hub,” says Josef Palermo, who works with the Pink Line Project, a group that organizes events promoting local arts across D.C. Palermo moved to Anacostia in 2008. “At the time, there were not a lot of restaurants, really no nightlife to speak of,” he recalls. “Now, a revitalization is taking place.”

That energy comes, in part, from a flurry of investment by groups such as the ARCH Development Corporation. The organization, founded in 1991 to help the area’s homeless, has increasingly put resources into local arts to infuse new life into the neighborhood. It sponsors three closely clustered galleries — Honfleur Gallery, Vivid Solutions and Blank Space SE — along with HIVE, a shared workspace for freelancers. “We want to draw on local and international resources,” says Phil Hutinet, chief operating officer of ARCH. “We want to showcase what will really become the future arts district of the city.”

That means highlighting works by artists such as Amber Robles-Gordon, a sculptor and mixed-media artist. Robles-Gordon has lived in Anacostia for 15 years. “For me, there’s an energy that I get from the area,” she says. When she paints on her porch, children scurry up and ask what she’s doing. Every once in awhile, she scours her neighborhood for old fliers and scrap paper, pieces she recycles into her own work.

Not long ago, Robles-Gordon — who’s shown at several international galleries — had to travel to Northwest or even into Maryland to show her work locally and connect with other artists. With galleries such as Honfleur as an anchor, that’s shifting. “Now, more of us know about each other,” she says. “You have a working-class group of people more like a creative class. It’s about us coming together and finding each other.”

Behind the Scenes at the Anacostia Community Museum Though the Anacostia Community Museum is undergoing renovations until July 29, it is still offering public programs — such as a behind-the-scenes tour. Guides will focus on the 45-year-old museum’s evolving role in the community.

Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum

1901 Fort Place SE;

July 13, 10 a.m.,

free; 202-633-4820

(Anacostia)

Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River The creative history of Anacostia gets spotlighted at this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival with a full schedule of events. African dancers and drummers, church choirs, hip-hop artists and go-go bands will perform, and storytellers will tell neighborhood tales. Tattoo artists will demonstrate their craft, as will members of a multigenerational quilting guild. National Mall; through July 8, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., free; 202-633-1000, Festival.si.edu. (Smithsonian)

Public Art East of the River Walking Tour Explore the history of Anacostia’s public and street art with Deidra Bell, as she leads a walking tour of neighborhood gems includ-ing Martha Jackson-Jarvis’ river-themed mosaics and Uzikee Nelson’s quirky metal sculptures, left. Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Place, SE; July 10, 10 a.m., free; 202-633-4820. (Anacostia)

Inside Outside The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with more than 5 million Americans in prison. In Washington, the numbers are even more stark: Three out of four young black men will serve time in prison. Artist Gabriela Bulisova, whose work is pictured below, chronicles the experience of the incarcerated through photography. The Gallery at Vivid Solutions, 2208 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE; July 13-Sept. 28, free; 202-365-8392. (Anacostia)

East of the River Exhibit From July 13 through Sept. 8, Honfleur Gallery will host its sixth annual local juried show, a great primer to the neighborhood’s hottest artists — with key pieces that explore the neighborhood’s social, environmental and historical challenges.

Honfleur Gallery

1241 Good Hope Road SE

Washington, DC 20020

July 13-Sept. 8,

free; 202-365-8392.

(Anacostia)

A Group Exhibition of Recent Works by BADC and WPA Member Artists opens at Hillyer Art Space in Washington, D.C.

A GROUP EXHIBITION, titled "Process: Reaffirmation," presenting recent works by Black Artists of D.C. (BADC) and Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) member artists opened at Hillyer Art Space on Friday evening, April 1.

The exhibition, which is curated by Gina Marie Lewis, focuses on and reaffirms the processes of artists within their studios, honors the personal philosophies, practices, and vocabularies of eight artists and attempts to explore a visual dialogue between their works.

Read the full article: www.swedishscene.com/2011/04/a-group-exhibition-of-recent-w.html

Works by artist Victor Ekpuk (wall) and Joel D’Orazio (sculpture)

By Daniel Brooking

April 2011

Process: Reaffirmation

Presented by Hillyer Art Space in collaboration with Washington Project for the Arts, and Black Artists of D.C.

Curated by Gina Marie Lewis, Process: Reaffirmation focused on and reaffirmed the processes of artists within their studios. The exhibition honored the personal philosophies, practices, and vocabularies of eight artists and attempted to explore a visual dialogue between their works.

The artists selected for this exhibition include Anne Bouie, Daniel Brookings, Joel D’Orazio, Victor Ekpuk, Corwin Levi, Barbara Liotta, Adrienne Mills, and Cleve Overton. In some cases, the relationships between their works may be obvious, and other instances invite the viewer to inquire and explore the relationships from their own point of view. As a starting point, such aspects as linear relationships, creation of new processes, innovative use of materials, the making of marks, and defining space were most apparent during the curatorial process.

https://athillyer.org/portfolio/hillyer-art-space-washington-project-for-the-arts-and-black-artists-of-dc/

Reclaiming Those Negative Images, Roll Call Inc.

Reclaiming Those Negative Images

Feb. 16, 2010

By Kristin Coyner

Roll Call Staff

Oftentimes, there’s more talent under our noses than we realize. That’s certainly true when it comes to “Mixed Media Reflections,” a new gallery at the Corner Store, a multiuse arts space at 900 South Carolina Ave. SE.

Alec Simpson and Tray Patterson, both Washington artists, are acting co-curators for the gallery. Simpson, who often deals in abstract art, is one of 12 Washington-area African-American artists whose works are on display.

The idea for the show started rather simply, over a meal between Patterson and Simpson.

“We just got together over lunch one day and decided to put on a show last fall,” Simpson said.

In light of Simpson’s own success last year with a one-man show at the Corner Store — Simpson sold all his small works in “Flashback/Fast Forward” — it followed that the planners focused on small works. “In view of what people were saying about the economy, we just thought that maybe we’d stick with that concept,” Simpson said. All works at the gallery are on sale for $240 to $1,000.

“We didn’t have any idea how many artists there would be in it, how many pieces there were going to be, how big they were going to be, but we did know that we didn’t want them to be priced out of the market,” Simpson said. With the theme of Black History Month, the mixed media motif pulls everything together.

Stepping into the front room of the Corner Store, where the works are on display, is a treat. The front space is warm and beautiful, with colored walls and exposed brick. The artists’ works are accentuated by the lack of a modern white-walled space.

As for the works, some pieces use found objects, others use silk, some are on ceramic and still others are on paper. One artist, Alonzo Davis, even uses bamboo poles and fabrics.

The show is a mixture of materials and artistic styles, but the works manage to tie to the theme of Black History Month in a compelling way. All the artists in some way touch on the African diaspora, from clear visual images of brutality to parodies of mockery of black personhood to abstract works that offer the chance to create new meaning.

Works by Aziza Gibson Hunter, “Prayers to Haiti,” were a late addition to the show. Gibson Hunter composed a series that incorporates elements of African cloth and other found objects, including Haitian money, to offer homage to the small island nation devastated by an earthquake a month ago. Gibson Hunter intends to donate all proceeds to Doctors Without Borders.

One wall in particular seems to deal most directly with ancestral issues and imagery, which are most readily visualized through Anne Bouie’s “Ancestry 5,” “Ancestry 6” and “Ancestry 8.” Bouie incorporates Aunt Jemima and Uncle Tom figures but creates new meaning with the images.

And that, to Simpson, underscores a driving theme of the entire show. “It’s a matter of transformation, transforming it into something different and new,” he said. “It’s about seeing new things in what wasn’t necessarily good.”

Patterson added: “It’s also reclaiming it. Reclaiming a negative stereotype that was out there to turn it.” The breadth of artistic techniques that individual artists have perfected is another striking aspect of the show. For example, artist Juliette Madison uses mixed media clay pieces by transferring images onto clay using ink that she created.

Madison’s “Lord Why” displays the technique with a veritable gut punch. The work shows the archival photograph of a lynched woman who, along with her son, was accused of theft. The significance of the story is made clear with the phrase “Lord why is my seed in the wind?” emblazoned on top of the image.

“African-American artists don’t feel backed into a corner,” Simpson said. “They create and let the chips fall where they may. There’s an authenticity to what you see.”

The exhibit, which opened Feb. 5, will run until the 28th. The Corner Store doubles as an art space and home to Kris Swanson, a sculptor who for the past eight years has welcomed any variety of art events into her home, including author readings, CD release parties and theatrical performances.

Because the space functions as a home, the Corner Store isn’t open for regular hours. However, Swanson makes appointments at webmaster@cornerstorearts.org or 202-544-5807.

The Corner Store Gallery

900 South Carolina Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20003

(202) 544-5807

 www.cornerstorearts.org

Metro: Within 2 blocks of the Eastern Market Station

Orange and Blue Lines

2010 © Roll Call Inc. All rights reserved.

FOCUS GROUP: Four Walls, Four Women Presented by Black Artists of DC (BADC)

Featuring work by

Jamea Richmond Edwards

Danielle Scruggs

Kristen Hayes

Amber Robles-Gordon

Curated by Zoma Wallace

FOCUS GROUP: Four Walls, Four Women seeks to spark a visual discussion between artworks created by Black women and a verbal dialogue between those who view and purchase them. The topic of discussion is material. What are artists using? What materials do they feel drawn to? How does Black femininity affect or reflect itself in the chosen material(s), if at all? How does femininity affect the delivery and/or reception of the message? 

The voices of the women artists in this exhibition are heard primarily through material form. Embracing both visual and verbal discussion, FOCUS GROUP: Four Walls, Four Women hopes to determine how effectively unique material languages are deciphered/valued/appreciated/acquired by a universal audience and market. 

FOCUS GROUP: Four Walls, Four Women is the second in a series of collaborations between DC Arts Center and Black Artists of DC. The purpose of Black Artists of DC (BADC) is to create a Black artists community to promote, develop and validate the culture, artistic expressions and aspirations of past and present artists of Black-Afrikan ancestry in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Opening Reception: Friday November 19, 7-9pm  

District of Columbia Arts Center

2338 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

https://dcartscenter.org/2010/11/19/focus-group-four-walls-five-women-curated-by-zoma-wallace-november-19-january-9/