Arts Focus

Arts Focus: Perfect Holiday Gifts by the Local Artists of Lee Arts Center

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
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This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

For holiday shoppers in the know, the annual Lee Arts Center Holiday Show and Sale has been a cherished Arlington tradition that allows you to #shoplocal for the holidays — finding unique ceramics, prints and other handmade crafts. This year, Arlington Arts invites you to visit Lee Arts Center Artists on the Web, where in addition to shopping from the socially distanced comfort of your home, you can also explore the artists’ talents more deeply.

Located in a charming former 1920s schoolhouse, the Lee Arts Center is a fully equipped professional studio for artists working in ceramics and printmaking. The Center houses a mini-gallery with rotating exhibitions of visiting and resident artists. Master workshops are offered throughout the year. Of course, that’s what goes on usually… For the safety of the public and the artists alike, the center has been closed during the pandemic. Clearly, crowding into the confines of the space for a sale would not be feasible.

To help the Center’s member artists reach you, we designed a page on the Arlington Arts website where you can find many of your favorite Lee Arts Center artists and discover more of their work on their personal webpages. Please check out their websites — a few have web stores, too. You might even want to commission a work as a gift! You will also find links to other regional events and shows that our members are participating in as well as their social media accounts, so you can give them a follow.

Although none of this can replace Lee Arts Center’s much-loved venue and event, we encourage you to utilize this virtual space to reconnect with your favorite local artist and offer unique holiday gifts to your friends and loved ones. Check them out!

Arts Focus: Arlington’s GRUMP Holiday Market Moves Online and Delivers

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/4

This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Even a pandemic cannot keep a good Yeti down.

In partnership with Arlington Arts, GRUMP has been Arlington’s holiday go-to over the past ten years for unique, unusual holiday gifts and handmade treasures. This year is no different with GRUMP at HOME bringing the experience directly to you.

The Yetis now deliver to your door! Shop from GRUMP’s curated online store of over 25 vendors and nearly 200 items. Do your holiday shopping and get the local arts and crafts show experience from the comfort and safety of home!

While you may not be able to hug GRUMP’s Yetis in real life, GRUMP, in addition to the over 50 unique makers, is planning fun, interactive activities like Yeti Tarot Readings, maker Instagram takeovers and Yeti Show and Tell.

Here is an overview of GRUMP socially-distanced, Zoom and Facebook-based activities for you to partake of over the next few days:

Social Media Maker Takeovers
November 27 to December 2 | via Facebook and Instagram

Between November 27 and December 2 makers will be taking over GRUMP’s Instagram and Facebook pages. Check out @ilovegrump on Instagram and facebook.com/ilovegrump to get an inside look into how 10 local makers devise their creations. Featuring makers like Potomac Chocolate, Auggie Froggy, Noctiluna, Moonlight Bindery and more!

Yeti Show N’ Tell
Sunday, November 29 | 1 p.m. | via Zoom

Meet the GRUMP Yeti online for this handmade Show N’ Tell. Bring your most prized handmade item to show our GRUMP Yeti. Bring the thing you are most proud of making yourself. Show Betty the Yeti, some GRUMP makers and GRUMP shoppers how much you love handmade in this fun meet and greet! Make sure you take a screen shot to show your friends that you got to Zoom with a Yeti.

Making Polymer Clay Earrings with Caddington Clay
Monday, November 30 | 7-8 p.m. | via Zoom

Learn how to make Polymer Clay Earrings with items you already have around your house. Join Megan DeMillo, owner of Caddington Clay, as she teaches the basics of polymer clay jewelry making and how to get started with just a few simple supplies.

New among the GRUMP makers is a group of Made in Arlington members whose normal holiday pop-ups have been canceled due to the pandemic. GRUMP is happy to support this group and share some of Arlington’s wonderful makers with you.

GRUMP at HOME takes place from November 27 through December 1, 2020. Check out www.grumpathome.com to see the full programming schedule and to meet the makers.

Arts Focus: Capacity-Building Workshops By Artists Continue Into November

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Amid the many challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic poses for the arts and culture community, artists are taking the opportunity to strengthen capacity.

Arlington Arts continues its latest series of skill-building sessions: the Arts Enterprise Institute Fall Classes through our Arts Enterprise Institute, from October 27 through November 17 (all classes are virtual). Take all remaining classes for just $30.

Arts Enterprise Institute program exists to provide resources for artists and deepen their skill set to withstand the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Workshops, training, seminars and events integrate strong business skills, knowledge, life-long learning, and artistic development with peer-to-peer learning and engagement with the community. A cornerstone of these programs is artists teaching artists.

Mary Briggs is the instructor for: Crisis Management for Artists and Arts Organizations During COVID-19, Where to Find Funding for Individual Artists During COVID-19, and Where to Find Funding for Arts Organizations During COVID-19.

The co-founder and director of the You Are Here community arts non-profit in Jeanette, Pennsylvania and an adjunct lecturer at Goucher College, Towson, MD in the Masters in Cultural Sustainability program, Mary Briggs is also deeply knowledgeable about our community. From 1989 until 2011, Ms. Briggs served in a variety of positions on the staff of Arlington Cultural Affairs Division, ranging from Grants Manager to working with an array of Multi-Cultural organizations. She has been a presenter at numerous national and regional conferences and meetings including Americans for the Arts, Grantmakers in the Arts and American Folklore Society. Ms. Briggs also was an Arlington resident for several decades.

Caroline Weinroth is the instructor for: Tips Tricks and Hacks for Creating Better Virtual Experiences, and Social Media Strategies 1 and 2.

Caroline Weinroth is a musician, writer and artist. At George Mason University, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, with a concentration in Poetry, and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater & Audio Engineering. She is the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Cinema Hearts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has performed livestream concerts for Center for the Arts GMU, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Alexandria Office of the Arts and others.

Take ALL remaining classes for just $30! See below for details on each class and information on how to register!

Arts Focus: Workshops By Artists, For Artists in Social Media, Development and Crisis Management

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Amid the many challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic poses for the arts and culture community, artists are taking the opportunity to strengthen capacity.

Toward that end, Arlington Arts is launching a new series of skill-building sessions: the Arts Enterprise Institute Fall Classes through our Arts Enterprise Institute, from October 27 through November 17 (all classes are virtual).

Dovetailing with our earlier partnership with the Washington Area Lawyers of the Arts (with workshops continuing through October 11), Arlington Arts now offers yet another opportunity for artists to learn and grow. Our Arts Enterprise Institute program exists to provide resources for artists and deepen their skill set to withstand the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Workshops, training, seminars and events integrate strong business skills, knowledge, life-long learning, and artistic development with peer-to-peer learning and engagement with the community. A cornerstone of these programs is artists teaching artists.

Mary Briggs is the instructor for: Crisis Management for Artists and Arts Organizations During COVID-19, Where to Find Funding for Individual Artists During COVID-19, and Where to Find Funding for Arts Organizations During COVID-19.

The co-founder and director of the You Are Here community arts non-profit in Jeanette, Pennsylvania and an adjunct lecturer at Goucher College, Towson, MD in the Masters in Cultural Sustainability program, Mary Briggs is also deeply knowledgeable about our community. From 1989 until 2011, Ms. Briggs served in a variety of positions on the staff of Arlington Cultural Affairs Division, ranging from Grants Manager to working with an array of Multi-Cultural organizations. She has been a presenter at numerous national and regional conferences and meetings including Americans for the Arts, Grantmakers in the Arts and American Folklore Society. Ms. Briggs also was an Arlington resident for several decades.

Caroline Weinroth is the instructor for: Tips Tricks and Hacks for Creating Better Virtual Experiences, and Social Media Strategies 1 and 2.

Caroline Weinroth is a musician, writer and artist. At George Mason University, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, with a concentration in Poetry, and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater & Audio Engineering. She is the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Cinema Hearts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has performed livestream concerts for Center for the Arts GMU, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Alexandria Office of the Arts and others.

These virtual classes are offered at a special rate: $30 for the first class and up to all-five additional classes in the series for free! See below for details on each class and information on how to register!

Arts Focus: Arlington Visual Art Studio Tour Goes Virtual

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/2

This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

By guest blogger and artist Melanie Kehoss.

The Arlington Visual Art Studio Tour (AVAST) is a self-guided free tour of artists in their studios held throughout Arlington County in early autumn. In response to the pandemic, this popular event is going virtual with a mix of videos and Facebook Live events from Wednesday, September 23 through Sunday, September 27.

This is a non-juried showcase for local artists to feature their work, processes and studio spaces. For the last several years, it’s been a popular way for the community to experience the richness and diversity of visual arts to be found in Arlington County.

In 2020, our tour will go entirely online, with videos and Facebook Live events featuring artists in their studios. This format not only helps our artists and visitors feel safe and secure, it also provides an opportunity to “visit” far more studios than would be feasible in-person. Moreover, this virtual tour will showcase Arlington studios to art lovers around the country and the world! And yes… Much of the artwork you’ll see is available for purchase (see website for details)!

The 2020 Tour will begin on Wednesday, September 23 at 9 a.m., when 28 video studio visits premiere on You Tube. The interactive portion of the tour takes place on Saturday, September 26 at 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, September 27 11 a.m.-4 p.m., when 12 more artists go live on Facebook.

Videos will also be available to watch after the event, but we encourage you to watch during the live sessions so you can comment and ask the artists questions! Look at the list of participating artists and the full schedule on the AVAST Website!

Arts Focus: Arlington Arts Partner With Local Arts Agencies for Workshops With Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/2

This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

The ripple-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted the region’s arts and culture community. But the creative community is often inspired by adversity to take the opportunity to grow. As such, Arlington Arts is proud to be part of a cross-jurisdictional partnership in support of a great capacity-building opportunity. .

Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA), in collaboration with three Northern Virginia Arts Agencies — Alexandria Office of the Arts, Torpedo Factory Arts Center, Arlington Arts and ArtsFairfax — will bring its popular six-part Creative Entrepreneurs Series of workshops to Northern Virginia Artists and Arts Organizations.

As part of our commitment to ensure that Arlington-based artists, performers and creatives have access to this opportunity, Arlington Arts has subsidized a limited number of tickets to each workshop that are available for FREE.

WALA’s Creative Entrepreneurs Series (CES) is a series for creatives of all kinds who want to take the next step in their professional career by creating their own business. Explore the basics of forming a business for your creative endeavors, from deciding whether to incorporate as a non-profit or for-profit entity, to understanding copyrights and trademarks, to contract and negotiation skills, and finally to taxes and understanding the grants process.

“This is an historic partnership with Northern Virginia’s three leading arts agencies,” says WALA Executive Director John C. Good. “Bringing these workshops to the Northern Virginia Arts Community — especially during these challenging times — will provide creatives with the business tools necessary to take their art to a broader audience, to protect their art from piracy, and maximize their money-making potential. It a boot-camp for arts entrepreneurs.”

The series comprises of six sessions to be held on *consecutive Tuesdays, starting Tuesday, September 15 and continuing through Tuesday, October 20 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Each interactive workshop is facilitated by an expert WALA volunteer, and includes livestream access, supporting materials and ample time for audience Q&A. The six sessions are as follows:

September 15 — Copyright/Trademark Protection & Use
September 22 — Contracts & Licensing
October 6 — Negotiation Strategies
October 13 — Tax Strategies
October 20 — Grants

The WALA Creative Entrepreneurs Series is free for WALA members and $20 per workshop for non-members. Reduced rate General Admission tickets available through September 8. Arlington Arts is offering a limited number of free tickets to each of these workshops, and they are going fast.

To avail yourself of the opportunity, Arlington-based artists may visit the Arlington Arts website and register through the calendar listing on the Arts Enterprise Institute webpage (the discount will be automatically applied).

#ARLINGTONARTS  #WALANOVA

Arts Focus: Arts Forward Fund Created to Buoy Arts Organizations Impacted by COVID-19

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Recognizing the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on arts and culture organizations throughout the region, the Greater Washington Community Foundation and The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation have joined with seven other funders to launch the $1 million Arts Forward Fund to support arts and culture organizations in the D.C. region as they make essential shifts needed to continue their work during the COVID-19 pandemic and respond to the nationwide movement for racial justice.

Arts Forward Fund will make grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 to support short-term capacity-building, training, and innovation.

Arts Forward Fund will prioritize organizations that serve Black, Indigenous and other communities of color, and organizations with limited access to philanthropic capital. It will also prioritize requests that address longstanding racial inequities in organizations, in the arts and culture field, and in the broader community.

Arts and culture organizations with annual revenue of less than $10 million in their most recently completed fiscal year are eligible to apply, provided they serve the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, and Arlington and Fairfax counties and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax in Virginia.

Informational webinars will take place on August 14 and 20, in advance of the deadline for application. The application deadline is August 27, and grant decisions will be made on or before September 21. More details and the call for applications are available here.

#ArtsForwardFund

Arts Focus: Synetic Theater’s Innovative The Decameron is a Classical Response to COVID-19

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/4

This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has required almost every industry to reassess, revamp and reset.

This is especially true of the performing arts, historically predicated on both an artistic and economic transaction between artist and audience. As Arlington Arts has been documenting, Arlington’s cultural community has responded quickly and energetically.

Arlington’s Synetic Theater presents a digital adaptation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, a collection of novellas written in Italy in response to The Black Plague of 1347-1351. For each day through July 20, short filmed vignettes were released in groups of three. All content will remain available to stream through the end of July. Watch at your own pace, with a range of affordable pay-what-you-can ticket options.

The Decameron is a collection of novellas that celebrates the human impulse to connect through storytelling in a time of despair and isolation. The book is structured as a collection of 100 tales told by a group of young people sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the epidemic. The tales the group tells each other in The Decameron range from life lessons and tongue-in-cheek commentary, to erotic and tragic love stories.

Have more questions? That’s understandable in this new paradigm, so Synetic has created a page of FAQ to guide you through this virtual theater experience. For tickets and information, visit the Synetic Theater website!

Arts Focus: Lubber Run LIVE on WERA 96.7 FM Turns Your Living Room Into An Amphitheater

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/4

This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced a return to ‘The Basics’ and the simple pleasures of some ‘retro’ technologies.

Thanks to the old-school medium of radio, Arlington Arts is able to forge ahead with Lubber Run Live on WERA 96.7 FM –LIVE performances and discussions broadcast weekly with host Ken Avis (The Antidote), Saturdays at 5 p.m., July 11 through August 8 (live streaming on wera.fm ).

Lubber Run Amphitheater is a summertime tradition for Arlington residents. But during the pandemic, the shoulder-to-shoulder audiences that we’re accustomed to at this sylvan venue located just off of Route 50 in the Arlington Forrest neighborhood, just aren’t possible. Through the magic of radio, audiences can still enjoy a range of music, with no threat of ‘rain-outs’: Jazz and Go Go, Roots Rock, Soul and Blues are all part of the mix.

This partnership between Arlington Arts and WERA was a natural. Arlington’s only radio station, WERA’s mission is to enlighten, enrich and entertain Arlington’s diverse community by promoting and facilitating independent radio. A project of Arlington Independent Media, WERA’s programming is produced by and for the community.

The lineup for Lubber Run LIVE is brimming with a mixture of toe-tapping Amphitheater favorites, and a splash of new talent, including:

July 11: The Jogo Project

The JoGo Project is a fusion ensemble with Jazz and Go-Go at the core. Founded in 2014 by D.C. native Elijah Jamal Balbed, the band is dedicated to keeping Go-Go music alive while also exploring new sounds.

July 18: Nkula

Ethiopian-born “Ras Abel” Mekonnen’s band Nkula features a unique blend of foundational reggae with infusions of African influence (e.g. zouk and soukous riddims). Their high-energy groove exposes audiences to musical styles that broaden horizons.

July 25: Caz Gardiner

A 2019 Wammie (Washington DC Area Music Association) nominee for best Soul Artist/Group, Caz Gardiner is a high energy performer who writes songs of overcoming struggles and celebrating life with a Soul Rock and Reggae sound that is as diverse and driving as she is.

August 1: Justin Jones

A native Virginian, Jones started playing open mic nights in Charlottesville in his early teens, and has appeared at the Virgin Mobile Festival and the Floyd Festival. At the 2012 Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL), Speakers in Code named his one of the Event’s top-ten performances, and Bob Boilen of NPR’s All Songs Considered lists Justin Jones “as one of the top performances of the year.”

August 8: Lauren Calve

Washington, D.C. area singer-songwriter, guitar and lap steel player Lauren Calve has brought a vital new energy to the Americana scene. On her latest EP, Wildfire, Calve delves into complex issues ranging from the increased polarization and divisiveness prevalent in the U.S. and around the world, corporate greed and their role in both the climate crisis and gun violence, women’s’ stories that are dominating public consciousness, and even the precarity of online dating.

So tune-in for Lubber Run LIVE on WERA 96.7. Bookmark their website to listen to the live-stream. Create your own Live Listening Experience when you fire up the car radio or pull the speakers onto the porch! Listeners are encouraged to recreate their own Lubber Run picnic experience and order take-out and beverages from local restaurants.

Arts Focus: During Pandemic, Arlington Arts Center Provides Creative Outlet for Youth

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Over these last challenging months, Arlington Arts has been harnessing our community’s arts resources under the Arlington Arts at Home web page.

We also want to share how Arlington’s arts organizations are reaching out to all residents during the pandemic. One example is Arlington Arts Center’s partnership with the non-profit Bridges to Independence to bring creative options to the door-step of children in-need.

In their own words from their website, rather than allowing COVID-19 to stop their outreach work, here’s how Arlington Arts Center drew even closer to the community:

As the COVID-19 crisis has unfolded, Arlington Arts Center has continued doing what we do best: providing high-quality opportunities to explore, create, and be inspired by contemporary art and artists. A diverse array of online projects, classes, workshops, and virtual artist interviews, many offered at no charge, are currently available on our website.

Our goal is to provide thoughtful, engaging, and enlightening experiences that add value to our individual lives, and our collective existence.

Beyond the virtual realm, AAC has continued its partnership with Bridges to Independence, an organization that leads individuals and families out of homelessness and into stable, independent futures.

Prior to the lockdown, AAC was providing regular “Art Club” meetings for children in residence at Bridges to Independence. When that effort was derailed by COVID-19, AAC began delivering project kits complete with art supplies to keep the kids creatively engaged.

“During these uncertain times, Bridges to Independence’s youth have been able to depend on Arlington Arts Center. Our youth in shelter have been weighed down this year, and Arlington Arts Center has given them a creative outlet to shine through. This amazing group has provided bi-weekly interactive, fun art activities for all our youth in shelter. They understand that our families do not have basic art supplies and provide a new set each time. We are so thankful to have them as community partners!” — Alexandra Gavin, Youth Development Manager, Bridges to Independence.

Along with many other Arlington arts organizations, Arlington Arts Center also continues to offer a broad range of virtual activities.

For more information on arts offerings from Arlington’s arts organizations — everything from art-making projects to self-guided tours of our internationally acclaimed Public Art Collection — visit the Arlington Arts at Home webpage.

Arts Focus: Resources for Artists and Performers Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

With a centuries-long tradition of bringing people together in groups large and small, the impact on the Arts has been seismic.

Arlington Arts continues to pro-actively look out for resources to assist arts organizations, arts administrators and individual artists impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Here is just a sample of resources available to performers and artists of all disciplines who have been impacted by the pandemic.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Arts Funding: Update and Action items from Grantmakers in the Arts.

  • Field-wide responses & calls to action
  • Racial equality & justice response
  • Webinars, articles & resources
  • Information hubs
  • Rapid Response & Emergency Funds

Coronavirus Resources for Artists, Creative Workers & Organizations from Springboard for the Arts, an economic and community development organization for artists and by artists.

Workforce Relief, Charitable Giving Incentives, and NEA Funding Included in Third COVID-19 Relief Package.

  • The Association of Performing Arts Professionals and League of American Orchestras have sourced key points and are providing an in-depth analysis of the relief package

Resources for COVID-19 Crisis from Embracing Arlington Arts.

For a full list of resources, visit and bookmark our web page. Updates will be provided as new resources become available.

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