John Anderson on Artomatic

"Walk through Artomatic for two hours and the effect is what you might expect: It's dizzying. Draining. Eleven floors, 10 of them busting with artworks from 1,300 contributors. Some floors are labyrinthine; others are wide-open displays of sculpture and installation, interrupted by a stage and bank of chairs. Like the last time Artomatic was in Crystal City, this year's show is housed in an old office building. The carpet looks cheap; the drop ceiling feels cheaper. The lighting is mostly fluorescent. It is everything a museum or a gallery shouldn't be. And that's the point, because it is neither.

Consider what it is: a six-week event by local artists for local artists, run almost entirely by volunteers in a vacant building. There are the stages: poetry on the 11th floor; Heineken (one of the sponsors) has stages on the 10th and eighth floors; the ninth floor has a dance stage. If it isn't the largest volunteer-run arts organization in the country, it's probably near the top"

Read the whole article in the WCP here.

AOM: The biggest art party of the year is tonight!

The show that both right-wing neocon and left-wing nuts art critics love to hate and that all other art lovers embrace and love opens tonight! Do not miss the art opening party of the year, and in the DC Art News AOM tradition, I will be publishing anyone and everyone's Top 10 List!

Send me your list of your top ten AOM artists and I will publish all of them throughout the duration of this art-battery charging event.

1851 S. Bell Street, Crystal City, Virginia

Doors open 6 p.m. on Friday, May 18!

1,300 artists and performers take over an 11-story building and turn it into
DC's biggest creative event.

Plan your visit -- directions, hours and more.

Artomatic opens tomorrow

1851 S. Bell Street, Crystal City, Virginia

Doors open 6 p.m. on Friday, May 18!

1,300 artists and performers take over an 11-story building and turn it into
DC's biggest creative event.

Plan your visit -- directions, hours and more.

If or If

Get ready for RSVP...

Bustin' Loose

D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities' Executive Director, Lionell Thomas released the following statement on the passing of Go-Go music legend, Chuck Brown.

"The DC arts community mourns the passing of music icon, Chuck Brown. Chuck was a musical legend that helped shape the musical identity of this city. His music touched the lives of generations of Washingtonians, and he will forever be known as the Godfather of Go-Go. Our condolences go out to his family and friends. May he rest in peace."

Europe's oldest rock art depicts a...

The oldest rock art ever found in Europe reveals an interest in the female form — and the type of décor that the first Europeans preferred for their living spaces.

The new discovery, uncovered at a site called Abri Castanet in France, consists mainly of circular carvings most likely meant to represent the vulva.

Read more: here.