Arts Focus

Arts Focus: Explore Local Creativity on the Arlington Visual Art Studio Tour

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/3

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

By guest blogger and Arlington artist Melanie Kehoss

Over 30 of Arlington’s visual artists are opening workspaces to the public for the second annual Arlington Visual Art Studio Tour, allowing the public a rare glimpse into the creative process.

Studios will be open in neighborhoods throughout the county on Saturday and Sunday, September 28 and 29, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Local artists will feature their work, processes and studio spaces, many of which are rarely open to the public. Art lovers of all ages can meet and chat with the artists while enjoying paintings, ceramics, metals, photography and more.

The day before the tour, check out the Launch Party on Friday, September 27, 5-7 p.m., with a Launch Party at Cody Gallery, at Marymount University’s Ballston Center, 1000 North Glebe Road, 2nd Floor. There, art lovers and artists can meet, celebrate and plan their tour route.

This free event allows local artists to feature their work, processes and studio spaces, while showcasing the richness and diversity of visual arts to be found in Arlington County. Visitors will find paintings, ceramics, jewelry, paper art, photography and more.

The Arlington Visual Art Studio Tour is a joint effort by the Arlington Artists Alliance, Arlington Arts Center, Columbia Pike Artist Studios, Westover Artists and independent artists throughout Arlington County, with support from Arlington Cultural Affairs and the Arlington Commission for the Arts.

“Arlington has many accomplished artists creating significant bodies of work in their homes, garages or rented studio space,” says Katherine Freshley, former Executive Director of Arlington Arts Center. “This open studio tour provides a rare opportunity to see and understand the artistic process that often seems quite mysterious… You’ll walk away with new insights and appreciation for Arlington’s hidden treasures — visual artists.”

“This tour addresses a central goal of Arlington County’s Arts and Culture strategy, Enriching Lives — to promote local artists and assist them in developing new audiences,” says Michelle Isabelle-Stark, Director of the Cultural Affairs Division of Arlington Economic Development, which is a sponsor of this event highlighting the county’s diverse range of visual artists. “Moreover, the fact that this initiative emerged organically — by and of the artists — is itself a testament to the continued growth and vitality of Arlington’s creative community.”

Find more info, including an artist directory, at arlingtonartstudiotour.org. A map with studio addresses will be available online starting in September.

Tour guides will be available at the Launch Party, Arlington Arts Center, Studios Clarendon, Lee Arts Center, and more. All events are free and open to all ages

Arts Focus: The Rosslyn Jazz Festival — A Duet Between Business & Government

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/4

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

One of Arlington County’s signature events, the 29th annual Rosslyn Jazz Festival draws thousands to hear internationally-renowned musical artists.

The Artists on this year’s roster are all rooted in the unique synthesis of sounds from the Gulf Coast that evoke jazz, blues, soul, funk and Caribbean genres: the Houston-based band The Suffers, Grammy-nominated New Orleans brass band Cha Wa, singer/cellist Leyla McCalla (formerly of the Grammy award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops), and D.C.’s go-go/jazz ensemble JoGo Project.

Presented by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID) and co-sponsored with Arlington’s Cultural Affairs Division/Arlington Arts, the partnership harnesses the respective strengths of the locally-focused non-profit and Arlington County Government to maximum effect.

“Creating a vibrant arts and cultural scene is a core part of our work to make Rosslyn a more attractive place for both businesses and residents,” said Mary-Claire Burick, president of the Rosslyn BID. “The Rosslyn Jazz Fest brings community together to enjoy music and culture in a way (and at a scale) that no other event in Arlington does; it has brought vitality and energy to Rosslyn for 29 years and we look forward to many more.”

Most of the on-the-ground logistics, such as permitting, promotion and vendor area coordination, are led by the BID. Using their formidable network of staff, volunteers and community connections, the BID transforms the three-acre Gateway Park and the surrounding thoroughfares into a safe, smooth-running festival-site, stocked with some of the area’s top food trucks with options to engage the entire family.

While the County had always provided production and marketing support, since 2001 the experienced programming team at Arlington Arts expanded their role to oversee all elements of the on-stage production and curating the musical line-up.

Re-envisioning the festival to highlight more national and international touring artists, attendance quickly rose from 1,200 to an average 7,000 annually.

“Like jazz itself the festival has evolved,” says Josh Stoltzfus, who programs the Festival, as Director of Cultural Development for Arlington Arts. “During the past several years, we’ve been incorporating a more diverse array of music to feature critically acclaimed global music, soul, funk and all manner of jazz-related expression.”

Now drawing upwards of 10,000 attendees when the weather cooperates, it’s not unusual to see audience members who travel from as far away as Philadelphia, Raleigh or Chicago for the event, all of which benefits Arlington’s restaurant and hotel industry as well.

Free and open to the public, this year’s Rosslyn Jazz Festival takes place on Saturday, September 7 from 1-7 p.m. at Gateway Park, 1300 Lee Highway (2 blocks from Rosslyn Metro, at the foot of Key Bridge).

For information, visit rosslynva.org/do/rosslyn-jazz-fest-2019 or arlingtonarts.org.

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Arts Focus: County and Local University Showcase Arlington Artists in Open-Call Exhibit

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/2

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

Arlington artists Emma Cregan and Johab Silva were selected to be showcased in the Arlington Open Call 2019 Exhibition, opening Friday, September 6 (reception: 6-8 p.m.) through Saturday, November 2 at Cody Gallery at Marymount University, 1000 North Glebe Road, 2nd Floor, Arlington, Virginia, 22201

The all Arlington juried exhibition continues as a tradition that Arlington Cultural Affairs Division started over 20 years ago.  In collaboration with Marymount’s Cody Gallery, Arlington Arts invited artists who live, work or have a studio in Arlington to apply.

Each of the two selected artists will each receive a $500 honorarium. This exhibition was juried by: Meaghan Kent, Director of Cody Gallery, Marymount University; Cynthia Connolly, Special Projects Curator, Arlington, Virginia and Dawne Langford, independent curator, artist and filmmaker from the Washington, D.C. area.

The work of Cregan and Silva intersect at various points visually and conceptually. Emma Cregan’s stop motion videos “Escaping Blade,” “Escaping Soil” and “Escaping Surface” are experimentations of long shutter speeds. The images are captured fragments re-interpreted with the use of light, allowing our perception of the environment and reality to become abstracted.

Johab Silva’s paintings on panel are inspired from his travels to the Amazon rainforest and the impact of human presence and the environment. The artist will also create a site specific installation in the University stairwell with lightweight plastic materials. Together, the work of these artists allow us to slow down and re-interpret the environment around us.

Emma Cregan’s work explores the space between the digital and intangible. Cregan studied animation at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Kinetic Imaging program, where she created several short films using puppets and other stop-motion techniques. Her animations focused on family history led to an internship at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

While working at the Smithsonian, she created short videos and wrote articles about the importance of culture and how traditional knowledge remains relevant in the 21st century. Her interest in cultural heritage led to an internship with The Maa Trust, a non-profit in the Maasai Mara working to establish harmony between community development and environmental conservation. Cregan created short video pieces showcasing their efforts to economically empower Maasai women.

Her experiences with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and The Maa Trust inspired her to create art focused on intangibility. She is drawn to animation because it is an exaggeration and distortion of reality. The visuals created are simultaneously familiar and alien, opening the audience’s mind to see the world from a different perspective. Through the distortion of the world created by animation, we can better understand unique perceptions of reality.

Johab Silva is a native Brazilian who has lived and worked in Washington, D.C. since 2008. He holds a Masters’ Degree in Art Education from Corcoran College of Art and Design. Silva’s ongoing research explores themes of appropriation, materiality, space and environmental issues.

His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Transformer Gallery, Miami Art Palace and the Santo Andre Museum of Art. His work has been published in The Washington Post, Art in America and Sculpture Magazine.

Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development, which delivers public activities and programs as Arlington Arts. Our mission is to create, support and promote the arts, connecting artists and community to reflect the diversity of Arlington.

We do this by: providing material support to artists and arts organizations in the form of grants, facilities and theater technology; integrating award-winning public art into our built environment; and presenting high quality performing, literary, visual and new media programs across the County.

Cody Gallery is a contemporary art space created as a platform to support the arts and strengthen the arts community at Marymount University and the greater Washington DC area. Exhibitions present work by local, regional and international artists in order to provide groundbreaking and thought-provoking work for the community to experience.

Events, including artist talks and lectures, are available for students at Marymount University and the general public at large.

For more info on the exhibit, visit www.marymount.edu/codygallery, or www.arlingtonarts.org.

Arts Focus: Arlington Arts & The Hirshhorn Celebrate 35th Anniversary of Iconic Dark Star Park

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/3

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

What better way to mark the national significance of a sculpture that is both a regional landmark and a cornerstone of Arlington’s internationally acclaimed public art collection than a series of events celebrating the 35th Anniversary of Dark Star Park!

Arlington Arts is partnering with the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and Holt/Smithson Foundation to celebrate the iconic sculpture.

Every August 1 at 9:32 a.m., artist Nancy Holt’s Dark Star Park (1984), in Arlington’s Rosslyn neighborhood, aligns with the sun. Shadows cast by the spheres and poles of this landmark outdoor sculpture align with their permanent forms on the ground, marking the moment of Rosslyn’s founding. Dark Star Park is also extraordinary in that it is among the late artist’s few works in an accessible urban area.

Activities range from film screenings and a panel discussion, to a world premiere of a new site-specific work by new music notables Janel and Anthony. Events are scheduled both at the Hirshhorn, as well as on-site at Dark Star Park. They include:

In Conversation: Time in Public Sculpture 

Wednesday, July 31, 6:30 p.m. — Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn Museum (Independence Avenue and 7th Street, Washington, D.C. 20560).
Free, tickets available starting Thursday, July 11, 12 p.m. EST.

Holt/Smithson Foundation’s Executive Director Lisa Le Feuvre will lead a panel discussion exploring the ever-evolving nature of sculpture in the public realm with Arlington Public Art Founding Director Angela Anderson Adams, Hirshhorn Associate Curator Anne Reeve and the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum Director Brett Littman.

Janel and Anthony Performance 

Thursday, August 1, assemble 9 a.m. — Dark Star Park (1655 Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22209).
Free and open to the public.

The world premiere of an original site-specific composition by Cuneiform recording artists Janel and Anthony. The live performance (which will begin at approx. 9:20 a.m.) will coordinate with the 9:32 a.m. shadow alignment.

The Alignment at Dark Star Park

Thursday, August 1, 9:32 a.m. — Dark Star Park (1655 Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22209).
Free and open to the public.

The community is invited to watch as the sculpture aligns with the sun and celebrate with light refreshments provided by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District.

Nancy Holt Film Screenings with an introduction by Lisa Le Feuvre

Thursday, August 1, 12:30 p.m., & Saturday, August 3, 2 p.m. — Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn (Independence Ave and 7th Street, Washington, D.C. 20560).
Free, first-come, first-served seating.

Screening of Nancy Holt, Sun Tunnels (1978, 26 min.) and Nancy Holt, Art in the Public Eye: The Making of Dark Star Park (1988, 33 min.). The films reveal the making of visionary land artist Nancy Holt’s earthworks, serving both as documentation of her best-known land art sculptures and as artworks in themselves.

Check out the video below for a peek at a past shadow alignment on Dark Star Park Day!

For detailed information about the 35th Anniversary Celebration of Dark Star Park, visit this link.

Arts Focus: Lubber Run Amphitheater — Arlington’s Essential Summer Outing

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/4

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

Chosen among “the essential summer outings” in the DMV for 2019 by The Washington Post, the 50th Anniversary Season of Lubber Run Amphitheater’s Free Summer Concerts is underway!

Since the construction of the first permanent stage in 1969, generations of Arlingtonians have enjoyed free summer cultural events at the sylvan venue nestled two blocks off Route 50, ranging from Arlington Children’s Theater to bands like Eddie from Ohio and superstar Ritchie Havens.

More than a thousand music lovers turned out for 2019’s opening weekend concerts featuring two-time GRAMMY Award nominated singer-songwriter Raul Midon, followed on Saturday by acclaimed singer-songwriter Justin Jones.

As part of their nod to the venue, which Arlington Arts programs and manages, The Washington Post noted that “while the schedule includes the usual rotating cast of performers, there are also some standouts such as… local bossa nova powerhouse Verroneau.”

The venue also benefits from the strong support of the surrounding community, and especially the Lubber Run Amphitheater Foundation. Other upcoming highlights range from area salsa stalwarts Sin Miedo and Arlington Philharmonic’s pet-friendly ‘Pops in the Park’, to an evening of cabaret performances by some of your favorite voices from Tony Award winning Signature Theatre!

Concerts continue through September 15, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with 11 a.m. family-oriented programming on Sunday mornings (run-times vary). So bring a picnic, some friends and enjoy the arts at Lubber Run Amphitheater, located at 200 North Columbus Street, Arlington, Virginia 22203 (North Columbus Street and 2nd Street North).

While there is a small parking lot, there is abundant free street parking in the surrounding Arlington Forrest neighborhood.

For directions on how to get to Lubber Run Amphitheater and leave the car at home, check out the video below by Arlington’s Car Free Diet, a program of Arlington County Commuter Services (ACCS), a bureau of the Department of Environmental Services!

Here’s a sampling of upcoming programs into July. For a full-schedule, visit www.arlingtonarts.org.

Friday, June 21 — Full Power Blues Band
Saturday, June 22 — Sin Miedo
Sunday, June 23 — Grandsons Jr
Friday, June 28 — Arlington Philharmonic: Pops in the Park (pet friendly)
Saturday, June 29 — Signature Theatre: Cabaret Under the Stars
Sunday, June 30 — Encore Stage & Studio: A Sidewalk Stoll (family performance)

Friday, July 5 — U.S. Army Blues
Saturday, July 6 — The Fuss
Sunday, July 7 — Reptiles Alive (family performance)
Friday, July 12 — Vox Pop
Saturday, July 13 — King Soul
Sunday, July 14 — Rocnocerous (family performance)

Arts Focus: Walking Tour Explores Public Art in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/3

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

Rosslyn has many celebrated works of public art throughout the neighborhood.

Public art helps to give a community a sense of place, yet often even longtime locals may not know the story behind the artworks. Explore these works of art on the Rosslyn Public Art Walking Tour, led by one of Arlington County’s Public Artists in Residence, Graham Coreil-Allen.

Taking place on Thursday, June 6, at 6 p.m, the tour is free and open to the public, and starts and ends at Central Place Plaza: 1800 N. Lynn Street in Arlington, Virginia.

Directly following the tour, join us for a social at the Rosslyn Rocks! concert at Central Place Plaza (which features the new LED installation Gravity & Grace by internationally-acclaimed artist Cliff Garten). We will enjoy live music and share thoughts about the walking tour!

Space is limited, and registration is required (note: this popular tour often fills-up quickly).

Co-sponsored by Arlington Arts, the Rosslyn BID and WalkArlington, the event itself speaks to the pioneering combination of public and private resources which created this specific work and shaped Arlington’s internationally-acclaimed permanent collection of contemporary public art.

When the County, a citizen activist, the late artist Nancy Holt (profiled in this New York Times article), a developer and the National Endowment for the Arts collaborated to create Dark Star Park — the seminal landscape artwork in Rosslyn — the Arlington Public Art program has been characterized by its unique approach by combining public and private resources and its focus on enhancements to the public realm.

During this 90-minute tour, participants will discover the history, design and purpose of Rosslyn’s works of public art. Throughout the tour, Coreil-Allen will create opportunities for playful interaction and inclusive discussion.

Highlights include Cupid’s Garden, Dark Star Park, Liquid Pixels, the Le Meridien overlook, Anna and David, and Bennett Park Art Atrium.

Register for the tour via Eventbrite!

Arts Focus: County and Community Collaborate on Columbia Pike Blues Festival

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/3

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

A great example of collaboration between Arlington County and the Community, the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization presents the Columbia Pike Blues Festival for the 24th year.

It’s a collaboration with Arlington Arts, that celebrates artists for this highly anticipated annual event. As ever, the lineup is designed to get you on your feet, headlined by soul/blues vocalist and veteran Marine, Sugaray Rayford. Admission is free.

In addition to an array of available food and beverages and plenty of kids’ activities, the Festival will showcase a new Arlington Art Truck installation — Guggenheim Fellow and Baltimore artist Neil Feather’s interactive sound sculpture Futura Percussion 1860 featuring only mid-19th century technology and built from reused materials.

GRUMP is bringing local arts and crafts vendors from the area to show and sell their handmade work, from watercolor art to handmade soy candles to small batch silk screened shirts.

The Festival covers three blocks at the intersection of Columbia Pike and Walter Reed Drive.

  • Sugaray Rayford — Rayford is nominated for two 2019 Blues Awards: “Soul/Blues Male Artist” and the “B.B. King Entertainer of the Year” Award. The Desert Storm veteran spent ten years in the Marines and says, “…I’m proud of the time I served. I wouldn’t have my wife and the life I have right now had I not served.”
  • Thornetta Davis — In such a musically ‘storied’ city as Detroit, it speaks volumes that in 2015 Thornetta Davis was crowned “Detroit’s Queen of The Blues” by official city proclamation. The winner of over 30 Detroit Music Awards, Thornetta’s 1996 debut solo album Sunday Morning Music (Sub Pop) received raves in the national media. Her song “Cry” from that album was featured on the HBO hit “The Sopranos.”
  • Hardway Connection — The smooth, passionate, sometimes funky and extremely “tight” sound of The Hardway Connection will make you get up and dance! The D.C.-based band has opened for everyone from Johnny Taylor and Toni Terry, to Chuck Brown.
  • Lauren Calve Band — Washington, D.C. area singer-songwriter, guitar and lap steel player Lauren Calve’s dynamic voice, Bonnie Raitt’s smoky aura and Ben Harper’s unique slide style. She released her debut EP, “Between the Creek and the Tracks” in 2014, for which she earned a Washington Area Music Association nomination for Best Roots Rock Vocalist.
  • Funky Miracle — Funky Miracle is an exciting collective that brings a unique organ trio + vocals lineup and an improvisatory approach to classic Soul, Funk and New Orleans tunes. Members of the group have performed with some of D.C.’s funkiest outfits including The Funk Ark, and Three Man Soul Machine.

The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) is a coalition of businesses, civic associations, property owners and the Arlington County Government. Our Mission: To champion and connect business and community along Columbia Pike, Arlington’s oldest and newest main street, where authentic diverse neighborhoods connect to the world.

Arlington Arts, a Division of Arlington Economic Development, exists to create, support and promote the arts, connecting artists and community to reflect the diversity of Arlington County.

Taking place at the intersection of Columbia Pike and South Walter Reed Drive, the 24th Annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival takes place on Saturday, June 15, from 1-8:30 p.m.

Click here for more details.

Arts Focus: Create With Creatives at the “Make Your Mark!” Festival

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/4

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

Experience hands-on making and innovation…

Learn new skills, from papercutting, calligraphy and mask making, to weaving, pottery and more. Not an arts and crafts fair, the Make Your Mark! festival on Saturday, May 18 lets you immerse yourself in a multicultural coming together of artists and makers ready to ignite your creativity.

Working in fields ranging from food to crafts to technology, the emergence of these innovators marks a transformative time in history when creatives… make their mark!

The Maker Movement is a community of millions of people who are taking the entrepreneurial leap to start their own small businesses dedicated to creating and selling self-made products. The movement is a feverishly creative intersection of technology and the arts, bringing together the most advanced computer innovations, with artistic skill as ancient as mankind.

Just in time for #BusinessAppreciationMonth, Make Your Mark! is presented by Arlington Arts, in partnership with Arlington Public Library, The Washington DC Modern Quilt Guild and New District Brewery.

Event Sponsorship is provided by ServiceSource-Arlington Weaves, Etc., Palette 22, Food. Art. Fun. and their Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program.

Modern technology allows the individual to create and distribute unique items, skipping the middlemen like manufacturers. This entrepreneurial mother and daughter are just two examples of the entrepreneurial spirit that will inspire you at Make Your Mark!:

During her 20+ years in corporate America, Tracy Wilkerson raised an entrepreneurial daughter who learned early how to market her own artistic talents. But Tracy’s own creativity didn’t kick in until 2006, when she began making hand-made greeting cards that continue to be sold in retail stores, online and at vendor shows.

In 2008, she expanded to working in 2D and 3D mixed media artwork utilizing anything that might otherwise end up in a landfill, including VCR tape, CD’s, floppy discs and circuit boards.

Meanwhile, her youngster Tamara Wilkerson got a head-start on mom, started to make jewelry in 2003. In 2006, she realized the potential of her hobby, earning enough money to pay her own way on international travel. Through high school and college, she focused on designing and improving the quality of materials to launch a fun small business, also incorporating her love of graphic design, marketing and dance.

Today, her company WiRealm is the result of a natural creator and entrepreneur who creates wearable art while staying true to her style and passion.

Make Your Mark! is fun for your whole family (…including those with four legs).

Join us on Saturday, May 18 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., at 3700 South Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22206. Admission is FREE.

For info call 703-228-1850, or visit www.arlingtonarts.org.

Arts Focus: Art on the ART Bus “Immigration/Assimilation”

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/3

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

Few commuters would consider their morning rush to the office to be an artistic experience.

But thanks to the nine year-old Art on the ART Bus program — a partnership between Arlington Arts and Arlington Transit — instead of the ads for soap, salsa and soda that usually are installed in the overhead frames, thousands of Arlington commuters regularly experience original artwork as they head to their jobs.

The latest installation is Immigration/Assimilation, a series of collages by photographer Gail Rebhan. Currently installed on a specially-outfitted Arlington Transit (ART) bus that is scheduled randomly on routes which take it to different parts of the county each day through the Summer of 2020.

However, replicas of the panels are now on display in the lobby of the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center (2100 Clarendon Boulevard) through the Summer of 2019.

“Except for Native Americans, this country is made up of immigrants,” Rebhan said of the exhibit in a recent article in The Washington Post. “I really liked the idea of doing this as a public art piece and to foster empathy and understanding.”

The stories are varied and fascinating: from a Dominican who went from being a health club laundress to a Business Systems Analyst; to a family journey from indentured servitude in London, to plantation owners, to sharecropping, to real estate wealth.

Artist Gail Rebhan has fashioned these remarkable stories and artifacts from six Arlington residents and digitally assembled into thirteen panels that will be displayed inside the bus. The artist’s goal with this project is to convey a message of tolerance and to promote understanding.

The subjects for the project were identified with assistance from the Arlington County Department of Human Services.

Currently, there are two specially outfitted Art on the ART Bus vehicles in circulation, each scheduled randomly each day, bringing art to a different route through Arlington. The exhibit in the Bozman Center (2100 Clarendon Blvd) is free, and open during lobby hours.

For more information about the Art on the ART Bus program, click here.

Photos via Gail Rehban

Arts Focus: Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop Series

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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

Ready to get down to business with your artistic endeavors?

Arlington Cultural Affairs, in partnership with Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA) announces the Creative Entrepreneurs Series @Arlington Arts. The six sessions (all presentations with Q&A) will be held on consecutive Wednesdays, from March 27 through May 1, from 7-9 p.m. at Theatre on the Run in Shirlington.

WALA’s Creative Entrepreneurs Series (CES) is designed to help creatives of all kinds 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.

The Series offers tips on every skill you need to help you bring your best and most creative self to the community.

The Series constitutes the official launch of the Arts Enterprise Institute, a program of Arlington Arts to provide resources for artists so they can make a living as artists. Artists teaching artists is a cornerstone of our programs, which have been well received during the last year. The complete series is as follows:

  • Session 1:  Tax Strategies — March 27
    Benjamin Takis (founder, Tax-Exempt Solutions PLLC), Benjamin Grosz (partner, Ivins Phillips & Barker) and Jonathan Holbrook (associate, Ivins, Phillips & Barker)
  • Session 2:  Business Entities Formation — April 3
    Hardeep Grover (attorney, Tresquire)
  • Session 3:  Copyright/Trademark Protection & Use — April 10
    John D. Mason (Copyright Counselors, LLC) Arts/Ent. and intellectual property attorney
  • Session 4:  Contracts & Licensing — April 17
    Karl Means (Miles & Stockbridge, & fmr. Shareholder, Shulman Rogers)
  • Session 5:  Negotiation Strategies — April 24
    Facilitator TBA. Learn tips and tools for being a successful negotiator and collaborator.
  • Session 6:  Grants — May 1
    Paul Marengo (CEO, Promethean Fundraising; Volunteer Coordinator, FilmFestDC)

Since 1983, Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts has supported artistic expression and creative innovation by serving the legal needs of the Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland arts and cultural communities. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, WALA provides access to education, advocacy, and legal services through workshops and seminars, legal clinics and pro bono legal referral services.

The series is free for WALA members, and $20 per workshop for non-members (registration for each individual workshop is required). For more detailed information on the sessions and the presenters, and to register, visit Eventbrite at this link.

Arts Focus: The Library’s Groovin’ On the Pike Dance Party Series Continues

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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

The Groovin’ On the Pike: After Hours at the Library dance party series continues for March.

The collaboration between Arlington Cultural Affairs/Arlington Arts and Arlington Public Library features a diverse line-up of musical groups routinely drawing upwards of 200 patrons to dance in the stacks and enjoy a brew from the cash bar every first Friday of the month at 7 p.m.

Here’s a quick look at the schedule for March and April:

March 1 — Bitter Dose Combo

The Bitter Dose Combo is D.C.’s premiere gypsy jazz band, playing swing and hot jazz standards at social dances, bistros, supper clubs, weddings and special events in and around the District.

The BDC’s sound combines the improvisation and swinging guitar made famous by Django Reinhardt with spirited jazz vocals, Paris musette accordion and upright bass.

April 5 — Los Gallos Negros

From rural son jarocho to urban mariachi styles and contemporary Caribbean rhythms, Los Gallos are an eclectic musical ensemble working to make the modern more traditional and the traditional more modern. Members of the group hail from throughout the U.S. and all have strong roots in Mexico. Los Gallos perform regularly across the East Coast, including National Mall marches, Smithsonian museums and even the 2016 White House Cinco de Mayo celebration for President Barack Obama.

Come on out and discover another side to your local library! Click this link for free tickets.

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