Monday, November 28, 2005

Lawrence on DC art round-up

Sidney Lawrence writes a really good round-up of our area's visual arts goings-ons published at Art Net Magazine and in the process mentions DC Art News!

Thank you Sidney! Read the Capital Roundup here.

For all the new art devotees checking in: come back often.

Smithsonian debuts art blog!

Kriston has been keeping all of us in check about announcing Eye Level, the new art blog by the Smithsonian, but today it's official!

So what's this new important art blog about?

Here's the short version: Eye Level investigates American art—its history, evolution, and currents. The hope is that this blog hosts a vital conversation among artists, curators, collectors, and enthusiasts on a broad range of subjects related to American art. It's the kind of conversation you have in a museum—that unique social space that a museum provides—that Eye Level would like to bring to the blogosphere.
More about what Eye Level is about here. Visit often: Eyelevel is here.

When are the openings?

This is the most common question emailed to me, as new readers and new people interested in the DC area visual art scene discover DC Art News and our area's visual art scene itself.

DC area art galleries are generally now centered on six loosely gathered gallery concentrations: Dupont Circle, Bethesda, 14th Street area, Georgetown, 7th Street corridor, and Old Town Alexandria.

First Fridays: With 21 member galleries and art venues, the Dupont Circle galleries has the largest number of galleries roughly concentrated around the Dupont Circle area of DC. Many of these galleries host openings and extended hours (generally 6-8PM) on the First Friday of each month.

Second Thursdays: Seven galleries in and around King Street in Old Town Alexandria host openings and extended hours on the Second Thursday of each month. Other galleries in the area, as well as the 83 artists studios inside the Torpedo Factory host different openings ad hoc.

Second Fridays: With 12 member galleries and art venues, the Bethesda Art Walk also has a good number of participating visual art spaces offering openings and extended hours (6-9PM) as well as a free guided tour on the Second Friday of each month.

Third Thursdays: A handful of art galleries and venues are within walking distance of each other around the 7th Street, NW corridor and still host (I think) joint 3rd Thursday extended hours and openings.

Third Fridays: The five galleries inside the Canal Square (31st and M Street, NW in Georgetown) host joint openings or extended hours from 6-9PM each and every 3rd Friday of the month. The other half dozen or so Georgetown galleries within walking distance host their openings ad hoc.

14th Street: Initially anchored by Fusebox Gallery, a handful of very good art galleries and art venues now congregate around the 14th Street, NW area and host openings at various times throughout the month.