Saturday: Chuck Brown at Vivid Solutions

The Gallery at Vivid Solutions welcomes Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-Go, to view (Un)Lock It: the Percussive People in the Go-Go Pocket, on Saturday, August 20th from 1-3pm. The exhibition of photographs by Thomas Sayers Ellis documents the current history of Go-Go, a non stop music indigenous to the Washington, D.C. area, which began with the release of Chuck’s now classic “Bustin’ Loose.” Mr. Ellis is a former Go-Go percussionist and professor of Creative Writing at Sarah Lawrence College.

Thomas will conduct a short live interview with the Godfather of Go-Go in the gallery. “I’ve interviewed Chuck Brown before and have been in numerous private and public settings over the years with him but interviewing him about his presence as a photographic symbol for a genre of music that he created, well, that’s quite different and a dream come true!” says Ellis.

After the interview, Chuck will sign photographs taken by Mr. Ellis, which will be available to the public for sale.

Three Art Openings Tonight in Anacostia

Short version: Go to to Vivid from 6-8 and Honfleur from 7-9.
Always a good time.



Long version: (from press release)

For the fifth year running, artists rooted in Wards 7 and 8 will be featured in Honfleur Gallery’s juried East of the River exhibition, with an opening reception on August 5th from 7-9pm. The exhibition includes photography and illustration. Artist Jonathan Edwards uses cartoon style illustrations to explore serious themes of contemporary urban African-American experience. Jon Malis’ large scale prints are based on his research in the medical archives of St. Elizabeth’s hospital. Larger-than-life cross sections of brains are a chilling yet alluring reminder of the hospital’s history and impact in Southeast Washington. Lark Catoe-Emerson and Deborah Terry’s explorations in abstract photography range from the intimacy of human skin to the landscape of the urban environment. Marlon Normon, who first learned photography at Ward 8’s ARCH Training Center, engages the natural world on a macro level. Poet and photographer Danielle Scruggs’ studies of self-image in text and image round out the collection. The six artists were selected by an esteemed panel of judges including Renee Stout (renowned DC artist), Stephen Bennett Phillips (Federal Reserve) and Susanna Raab (Smithsonian‘s Anacostia Community Museum). East of the River runs from August 5- Sepetember 9th 2011.



Upstairs at Honfleur Gallery, 61, an installation-based exhibition on mapping of time and place by resident artist Mei Mei Chang, is based on her two-month (sixty-one day) residency in Anacostia. Using traditional artists materials such as ink, paint and paper paired with more nontraditional drawing materials such as colored tape, yarn and packing wrap, Chang expands the concept of drawing from the paper’s surface to the architectural limits of the gallery. Exhibition runs August 5- Sepetember 9th 2011.



(Un)Lock It: the Percussive People in the Go-Go Pocket, a collection of photographs taken in Washington, D.C. by poet and photographer Thomas Sayers Ellis (author of The Maverick Room and Skin, Inc.), opens at The Gallery at Vivid Solutions the same evening with a reception from 6-8pm. Mr. Ellis was born and raised in Washington, D.C. and began taking his camera to area Go-Go’s while he was a percussionist in the Petworth Band in the 80s. Ellis portrays the lives of local legends like Chuck Brown and Little Benny with intimate respect and fascination. (Un)lock it: the Percussive People in the Go-Go Pocket will be open to the public from August 5th to October 7th 2011. Gallery hours are 12-5, Tuesdays through Friday and 11-5 on Saturdays.

Tonight - Artist Talk at Vivid Solutions

Come on down to the Gallery at Vivid Solutions tonight from 6:30 to 8:30ish to listen to artists Ayodamola Okunseinde and Yulia Graham talk about their DOCUMENTS show. It's also Ayo's birthday, so there will be cupcakes!



About the exhibition:

DOCUMENTS: alternative guide to DC underground is a collaborative project between Ayodamola Okunseinde and Yulia Graham investigating subjects of identity through photographic and physically interactive portraits. Based on the likenesses of artists from the DC metro area, the objective of this project is to chronicle connections between artists, their environment, personalities and work through portraiture.

The pieces in DOCUMENTS range from black & white digital prints to installations where the audience in directed to play a part in the presentation of the portraits. The collective works of the project also serves as a selected educational archive of the DC underground art scene in recent years.

Eat ★ Shop ★ Live : Anacostia

Today was reSPIN Public Relations, ARCH Development, and DHCD's Big Reveal of Historic Anacostia's new "Eat ★ Shop ★ Live : ANACOSTIA" marketing campaign. Meant to bring new legitimacy, branding, and connectivity to Anacostia's somewhat scattered but very lively group of main street businesses, the campaign has been heralded as "the biggest thing to happen in Anacostia since the Big Chair". And that's big.



The brainchild of Nikki Peele, a Ward 8 entrepreneur who also runs the blog Congress Heights on the Rise and has been a force in recent years towards a renewed image and perception of communities east of the Anacostia River, ESL:A is is the first major event for Peele's firm reSPIN PR, a company she began earlier this year to help outside companies and agencies market their visions, plans, and wares in the typically misunderstood River East half of DC.



ESL:A is similar to a Business Improvement District in that local businesses pay to participate, but is free rather than there being any sort of levied tax on the owners. Businesses are given marketing and inclusion into the membership program designed to build their customer base. Window decals and flags mark the participating local shops and eateries, and customers are able to flash keytags to receive discounts.



I think this is a great idea. It has a clean brand, it brings a fresh life and unity to Anacostia businesses, and it enables increased patronage from people who might typically pass these places by.



On a somewhat unrelated note - two of Anacostia's newest spots were advertised at the event: The Hive, a shared office & creative work space (post coming soon); and Blank Space, a new "permanent pop-up gallery" that will be rentable for privately sponsored shows.

Come on out and Eat ★ Shop ★ Live : ANACOSTIA. Seriously.
www.eatshopliveanacostia.com

For more, check out TBD's article on the Big Reveal - with some more background and interviews.

Vivid Solutions = Awesomeness

So you've heard of Vivid Solutions, the crazy awesome digital print lab and photo gallery on MLK, right? Well, now you have.



Located at 2208 MLK Ave SE, Vivid Solutions is one of the businesses / art spaces that is pushing Anacostia into the cool category, and in a very legitimate way.

Here's a video about Vivid that DC Arts & Humanities put together:



Seriously, if you are a photographer or just a shmoe like me (who just had some iPhone photos printed there), check this place out.

From their website:

It is the only lab in the U.S. to offer the “Digigraphie” printing process created by EPSON in France. Digigraphie is a unique, authentic printing technique which sets a standard for precise color management of prints and reproductive works, currently used by many European photographers, galleries, and museums.

The lab achieves the highest technical performance from its Epson printers which utilize UltraChrome pigment inks combined with Epson fine art papers. Ultrachrome inks offer optimum print quality for beautiful, eye-catching archival photographs guaranteed for 80+ years.

Vivid Solutions is friendly, its tech is crazy up-to-date, and it's a beacon for what the neighborhood is evolving into.

Follow Vivid on twitter: @VividPrintLab

Hours:

Tuesday - Friday noon to 5PM
Saturdays 11AM – 5PM

Contact:

Andrea Hope, Director of Digital Production
Email - ahopearchdc@gmail.com
Phone - (202) 758-0339

Art Shows Opening Friday! Be there.

East of the River: 4th Annual Juried Exhibit
Honfleur Gallery (1241 Good Hope Rd SE)

Eleven artists are included in the exhibition; BK Adams, Nigil Brice, Ralston Cyrus, Melani Douglass, Matthew Mann, Samuel Mercer, Marlon Normon, Luis Peralta, Amanda Stephenson, Deborah Terry and Renee Woodward.

Capturing the Spirit
upstairs at the Honfleur Gallery

Photographs by local talent Bruce McNeil examining the Anacostia River, using the mythic spirit Mami Wata as inspiration.

Anacostia: Never Far From Home
The Gallery at Vivid Solutions (2208 Martin Luther King Jr SE)

Past and present look at Anacostia with help from local bloggers Nikki Peele, Fred Joiner and David Garber.

*Starting on July 30th, bring your own photographs to be included in this exhibit. Any photograph taken in the area: family, friends, houses, schools, church, etc. All photographs will be returned at the end of the exhibit. We need your help to share the story of our neighborhood. Questions or to drop off photographs, call Beth @ 202-365-8392*

Student exhibit: TREEts & TREEties
ARCH Training Center (1231 Good Hope Road SE)

Student exhibit includes works by James Holiday, Joseph Roberson, Brittany Jackson, and Audrea Blackwell are the final product of a digital photography class sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.



graphics courtesy of ARCH Development Corp

THREE at Honfleur & Vivid Galleries Opening Tonight!

Exhibitions Open 3/12/10 @ 7pm in Historic Anacostia

In Honfleur’s main gallery, Three features paintings by artists Wesley Clark, Lance Wiggs & Jonathan Royce. The work by this younger cadre of local abstract painters features intense color, experimental techniques and an overarching predilection for the art of layering. Stop-action video and works on canvas, panel and found objects will be included.

Honfleur’s upstairs exhibition space will highlight a new body of portraiture in the solo show Now And Then. John K. Lawson returns to Anacostia with his signature collaged encaustic works using salvaged materials.

The Gallery at Vivid Solutions presents Brad Ulreich’s large-format renderings in La Femme da Vine hit upon a topic long targeted in the canon of art history, the depiction of the female body. Digitally fusing imagery from anatomical drawings, fetishism, renaissance masterworks, and spiritual images, these women are a revamped take on classical imagery of madonnas and venuses.

Honfleur Gallery is located at 1241 Good Hope Road SE, and Vivid Solutions at 2208 MLK Avenue SE. Come on out!

Photo Exhibits Opening Tonight in Anacostia

Stories and Migrations: Photography by Antoine Sanfuentes and Ann Curry of NBC and Deborah Terry of International Lifeline Fund



Friday January 22nd at 7PM marks the opening at Honfleur Gallery of Stories, an exhibit of photographic stories created by three artists to help raise awareness and funds for relief efforts in African nations. Stories features documentary photography created by Antoine Sanfuentes in a 2008 visit to East Goma with NBC’s Ann Curry covering topics such as children soldiers of Africa, education and rape.

Works by Ann Curry will be presented from the same trip, alongside Deborah Terry’s images of Sudanese and Ugandan refugees and conflict victims as well as multimedia presentations of the grassroots work done by International Lifeline Fund. Proceeds from this exhibition and the opening night fundraiser will go to support International Lifeline Fund.

Concurrently, Terry will be exhibiting at The Gallery at Vivid Solutions, also in Historic Anacostia, with a solo exhibition entitled Migrations, illuminating the lives of two disparate groups at odds in the Darfur conflict: nomadic herders/warriors known as Janjaweed, and the refugees displaced by them.

FotoWeek Starts Tomorrow in Anacostia

FotoWeek DC starts tomorrow night, folks, and Anacostia is the where the exciting stuff is happening. Check out this great poster for all the details ... with some more details below.

Click to Enlarge


Friday Night @ 7:30, 2204 MLK Ave SE



Tickets Still Available! Silent Auction + Reception hosted by Senator Al and Franni Franken to celebrate the kick-off of DCFotoWeek in Anacostia and the opening of Owen Franken : A Photography Retrospective. The Senator will be drawing his famous free-hand map of the US to be auctioned off during the event. Tickets are $25 - email bferraro@archdc.org or call 202-365-8392.

A preview of Owen Franken's, "A Photography Retrospective" at The Gallery at Vivid Solutions is free and will open at 6:30 pm.

Saturday, November 7 - Saturday, November 14: (all openings at 7PM on the 7th)

Honfleur Gallery, 1241 Good Hope Road SE



Women Photojournalists of Washington: Including works by Astrid Riecken, Allison Shelley, Abby Greenawalt, Ashely Twiggs, Algerina Perna, Amanda Lucidon, Andrea Bruce, Carol Guzy, Gabriela Bulisova, Jamie Rose, Katie Falkenberg, Laura Pohl, Melina Mara, Sarah L. Voisin, and Yanina Manolova.

Alternative Art Space, 2200 MLK Ave SE



BK Adams' and Steven M. Cummings' I AM ART: Presenting an experimental installation with interactive components.

Gallery at Vivid Solutions, 2208 MLK Ave SE



Owen Franken, A Photography Retrospective: Owen has traveled to over 100 countries and covered everything from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the culture of food and wine in his home city of Paris.

This is a great excuse to check out Anacostia for the first or the hundredth time. Come on over!

friday night at the galleries

this past Friday night was the Summer Jamboree, a duel show at Honfleur Gallery and Vivid Solutions - Anacostia's two galleries. Probably the coolest thing about it was the fact that, because they're about 4 blocks from each other, people were walking between them and showing off the commercial corridor's potential as a walkable destination.


might seem corny, but just really cool to see people hanging around in and out of Vivid Solutions


the photographs were amazing. check it out if you can.


the Bellevederes soul-funked out at the Honfleur



Seriously, these galleries are a big part of what's making this neighborhood a more livable and lovable place. Listen to ARCH DC's founder Duane Gautier's interview on WAMU about how he decided to focus his organization's efforts on the arts as a tool for economic development HERE.

Click Here for Brightest Young Things' article/photos of the event.

photos by DG-rad

this weekend in Anacostia

there is a ton of great stuff going on today and tomorrow: music, food, art, and more. Come on out to Anacostia and check out a piece of this chock-full weekend.

Click Here for an interactive walking map of the weekend's events!

Friday Night: Cherry Blast
art + music + dance + fashion + anime + origami



When: Friday, April 10, from 9PM to 2AM
Where: 2020 Shannon Place SE
How Much: $10 (21+)

Getting There and Back:

FREE shuttle from Dupont Circle: Pickup on the corner of 20th Street and Massachusetts Ave (on the island between CVS and PNC Bank). First pick up at 8:30 PM and every half hour after that until 1:30 AM. Look for the yellow school bus!

Metro: Anacostia stop on the Green Line. FREE shuttle will run from the metro station to the event.

Parking: Lots of FREE street parking nearby and FREE parking at the Big Chair parking lot on the corner of MLK Ave, SE and V Street, SE.

Music and Video:
Yoko K + Aphrodizia
Optical Groove with A DC DJ
302acid
John Bowen - Video Killers DC
JMC

Art:
Words Beats Life, Inc.
Asad ULTRA Walker
Hiromi Ashlin, courtesy of Gallery Sydney-East
Cory Oberndorfer

Fashion:
Moojooken

Dance:
CityDance Ensemble

Spoken Word Performance:
Life Pieces to Masterpieces - Hope & Renewal

Film:
DC Anime Club

Light Design:
David London - Divergency

Food:
On the Fly

- - -

All Day Saturday:



The day kicks off at 10 am in the Anacostia Park with a Cherry Blossom tree planting and dedication to Phil Pannell, Marion Barry and Butch Hopkins by the Anacostia Garden Club. The festival continues with live jazz music by The Young Lions at Honfleur Gallery at 1241 Good Hope Road at 1 pm. More music can be heard throughout the day from 11am – 11pm at Eric Whitehead’s JazzNSoul Café, located at 2020 Shannon Place S.E. Musicians include SamO & JFC, Earl Carter, Glenn Arnett, Jamie Jones, Paul Chew, Nonya Whitley, DJ JAMMER and many more!


the location of the Cherry Blast and Jazz events

The Art Walk begins just a short distance from the Anacostia Metro with the grand opening of Vivid Solutions, a new photographic gallery located at 1227 Good Hope Road S.E. Sakura: Awakened by Spring is a group show of photography all submitted with the Spring theme in mind. It is full of color, nature and some unexpected visions.

Outside in the open lot next to the gallery is the Art + Craft Market, open all day with local artists ready to sell their work. Please stop by and see the assortment of jewelry, paintings, books and other crafts. At the market, Curbside Café offers their homemade burritos, and pick up an Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival t-shirt as well. Other food is available along the Art Walk; check out the Jamaican cafe or renowned Soul Food restaurant on MLK Jr. Ave.

Continue on the Art Walk to the storefront at 2204 MLK Jr. Ave SE where you will find a Pink Line Project exhibit in collaboration with Critical Exposure, with curatorial assistance from Chanel Compton. Don’t forget to also check out the Cherry Blast event the night before the festival on Friday April 10th from 9pm-2am, also hosted by The Pink Line Project. Cherry Blast highlights fine art, live music, dance, a DJ, fashion, anime, and origami, presented in association with the National Cherry Blossom Festival and through funding from the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities.

Alison Spain will paint "live" in a raw studio space on the next stop on the Art Walk at 2200 MLK Jr. Ave S.E. She is offering a charcoal drawing workshop for area youth from 2pm - 4pm; all are welcomed to join. Spain’s colorful abstract paintings are larger than life in both size and dynamism. Upstairs is a showcase of eight selected artists invited to use the space to display their work in any way possible. Don’t miss all this creative energy!

Stop into the American Poetry Museum at 1922 MLK Jr Ave, to hear some live readings by local poets. The current exhibit, Beats to the Rhyme: Visual Representations of Hip-Hop Poetry features works by Franc Rosario, Sami Miranda, Fred Joiner, Howard Fleming, Kenneth Robinson, and Nia Smith. The next space on the Art Walk is at 1231 Good Hope Road S.E. at Arch Training Center, showing local student photography in Spring Visions and Inspirations. Just a few doors down at Honfleur Gallery, take in Darren Smith’s solo exhibition Cross & Ladder. This DC Based artist pushes the boundaries of photography with handmade photo mosaics and a few large installation pieces.