Artomatic 2009: Opens May 29!

Time for DC area art critics to roll their eyes: Artomatic is back and grander than ever!

The tenth version of the massive art shows that artists, collectors, gallerists and the public loves and most DC art critics hate (but would love if it took place in NYC, or Berlin or London) will deliver over five weeks of art, music, theatre, workshops and more this year in Washington, DC's Capitol Riverfront neighborhood from May 29 - July 5.

The 2009 Artomatic will be held at the new building at 55 M Street, S.E. - essentially on top the Navy Yard Metro - celebrating its tenth anniversary in a newly built 275,000 square foot "LEED Silver Class A building", whatever that means.

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished building space into an exciting arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays by hundreds of artists, the event features free films, educational presentations and children's activities, as well as music, dance, poetry, theater and other performances.

Artomatic 2008 attracted a record-breaking 52,500 visitors and 1,540 participating artists. Visit their Flickr site to see over 4,000 photos captured at Artomatic 2008 or check out the below video.

Who will be the emerging art star of this AOM?

Who will be the artist who cracks us up?

Will "The Collector" make a comeback?

Who will be the prima donna?

Congrats!


Congratulations to the District of Columbia Arts Center, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with an evening of dance, poetry, performance art, sound installation and live music in Georgetown's gorgeous Halcyon House.

Born in 1989 with the mission of providing the “missing link” between emerging artists and the broader community, DCAC has maintained its place in DC as an organization that operates with the needs of artists in mind, rather than focusing on commercial demands. DCAC also recognizes the need to support ongoing projects, including our Curatorial Initiative, which nurtures upcoming curators and enriches audience engagement with our exhibits, and SPARKPLUG, a collective of local artists and curators who exhibit at DCAC each year.

In 1987, a group of artists, arts advocates and administrators came together to address their frustration with DC’s cultural climate. In order to bring local artists closer to the community, arts advocates Aaron Levine, Alice Denney, and Herb White, with the support of councilman William Lightfoot, established a center where local artists would become more visible to the community and receive the support that was largely unavailable. DCAC’s founding board includes artists Jack Rasmussen, Lynn McCary, Sam Gilliam, Greg Hannan, Kathy Keler, Rockne Krebs, Evangeline Montgomery, June Shadoan, and Paula Schumann, critic and curator Annie Gawlak, and arts activist Eden Rafshoon.

The gala will take place on May 29, 2009, from 6:30 to 10:30pm. The happenings get underway at 6:30 with cocktails and light fare in the gardens and ballroom of the Halcyon House Mansion. There will also be a special VIP reception from 6:30 to 7:30 for the founders, our board of directors, the invitation committee and special level donors. At 8:00, the Studio opens for dancing to the sultry and swining Jenn and the Tonics along with desserts and more cocktails. Throughout the evening there will be performances, exhibited art, video projectors, sound installation, dance and more.

Artists featured at the event include performance artists Katherine Cornelius and Quique Aviles, poets Silvana Straw and Buck Downs, Alberto Gaitán with sound installation and visual artists Gretchen Schemmerhorn, Jefferson Pinder, Jose Ruiz and David Hartwell.

Details here.

Congrats!

To DC's own Michael Janis, whose solo show opened in St. Louis' Duane Reed Gallery last Friday.

And the DC Commission on the Arts has awarded Janis a 2009 Artist Fellowship. They are awarded to individual artists who make significant contributions to the arts and who promote the arts in the District of Columbia through artistic excellence. The Fellowship is funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Oldest figurative art

"The 40,000-year-old carved figure of a voluptuous woman was excavated in Germany. It 'radically changes our views of the context and meaning of the earliest Paleolithic art,' its discoverer says."

Read the LA Times story here.

There's soooo much artwork in the DMV area being created by amazing women artists - I have this idea of (in the future) organizing and curating a show to survey the amazing women artists of the DMV.

For your weekend art needs

It is time for the 18th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival this weekend on the streets of the Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia, right off 267 (exit 12).

The Festival is produced by the Greater Reston Arts Center, and it is a top-rated annual juried outdoor street fine arts and fine crafts festival held in the heart of the elegant and bustling Reston Town Center. This two-day event attracts over 50,000 patrons and provides an interactive experience to view, purchase, and experience art directly from the unique and talented artists who have created it.

The 2009 festival is today and tomorrow and will feature more than 220 artists from around the nation as well as outstanding music and entertainment, activities for families, (all free) and delicious food.

See ya there! Swing by booth 835!

Rocco for NEA

President Obama has nominated Rocco Landesman, an "entrepreneur and commercial theater producer," to be the next head of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Rocco Landesman is the President of Jujamcyn Theaters, as well as the owner of five Broadway houses, and in that Broadway capacity was the key for such Broadway mega hits as "Angels in America," "The Producers," "Jelly's Last Jam" and "Big River."

Heard in New York

A major art fair is about to declare bankruptcy and besides that, they are being sued by a group of art dealers.