The Local Arts Scene in Washington, DC

One of my complaints about living in DC has been the apparent lack of a local arts scene. There are, of course, tons of museums for "high art" and history. Small galleries and bohemian areas seemed to be in short supply. But I'm beginning to think that I just wasn't looking in the right places.

This weekend wrapped up Artomatic, where 1,000 artists shared their paintings, sculptures, films, poetry and whatever else they could come up with. There were dancers, musicians, fashion shows, and lectures. Basically, if it involved creativity, it was welcome. The thing took up ten floors in a cavernous, unused office building.

One of the more interesting (if sparsely attended) events Chris and I went to was a talk by an artist named Serinity Knight. You can see her work on MyArtSpace.com. I knew it was going to be interesting as soon as she brought up the fact that she corresponded with James Baldwin before he died. I am a bit obsessed with Baldwin, in case you didn't know.

Since yesterday I've been nosing around on the internet looking for more clues of DC's secret bohemian life. Turns out there are several websites and organizations trying to build the local arts scene in DC and the Cultural Development Corporation even builds affordable studios/housing for artists. Who knew?