ART(202) Journal: HIgher Stars by DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

AUGUST|2010

1371 Harvard St. N.W. Washington D.C. 20009 (202) 724-5613 (202) 724-4493 TTY/TDD

www.dcarts.dc.gov

content IMPRINT

Digital Underground with Kyle Dargan and Scott Heath

7 Higher Stars music video COVER ART |ROD LITTLE

EDITOR

SHYREE MEZICK

DESIGNER ROD LITTLE

CONTRIBUTORS

featuring Tabi Bonney, Kokayi, Alison Carney, Tim Conlon, Gaia & Angel Perez

SPOTlight

PROFILE Magee MacIlvaine Tim Conlon Kokayi Paige Hernandez

REBECCA LANDWEHR SIA TIAMBI BARNES

Have this issue delivered to your inboxâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Subscribe now!

25 • FY2011 Opportunities • 2010 Grantees

art 101

• The Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program: In the Works

35 • Marvin Gaye Park Dedication

IMPRINT

ypically, underground cultures are rooted in intimacy, proximity - reserved for those â&#x20AC;&#x153;in the know,â&#x20AC;? who prefer not to be blinded by the flashing lights of the mainstream. Now, however, even the most reclusive, exclusive artists have become instantly globalized, their star power intensely more visible - higher, if you will - in the simultaneously vast and condensed space of the Internet. In this issue, we examine the impact this has on art using the international phenomenon that is hip hop as a case study.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION|ROD LITTLE

KYLE

DARGAN

Kyle Dargan is a poet and a professor at American University. Read more of Kyle’s work in his online publication, Post No Ills.

KD:

What do you understand the traditional function of the “underground” in hip-hop culture to be?

SH: “Historically, the “underground” has functioned as a conceptual (or even somewhat sentimental) site reserved for a hip_hop that represents an alternative to the sort of art production driven by big capital and commercial demands. The term underground has come to indicate a “true” hip_hop, supposedly more uncorruptibly authentic, more categorically “real” than that being accessed in the cultural “mainstream.” In its crudest application we might be discussing the difference between an emcee who rhymes without a record contract and a rapper who performs with corporate backing. We might be drawing a line between the writer who applies a graffiti-style hand to commissioned wall space and the bomber who steals the public canvas (or, rather, takes it back). There’s a branding aspect to this “underground,” too, even as we are meant to celebrate its brandlessness. The idea relies heavily on the presumed intelligence and “consciousness” of the “underground” artist and his or her work, that is, the assumption of a brainier, politically astute hip_hop. So there’s this latent moral element attached as well.

KD:

So does this create a tension between Internet presence, which is essentially global, and underground status, which is usually tied to a local following? SH:

“In my scholarship I propose a rethinking

of underground that could make the concept

SCOTT HEATH

functional again. One primary distinguisher is that our underground hip-hop should be expressly critical of hip_hop itself. This approach is a good deal less

Scott Heath is a hip-hop scholar and professor at Georgetown University.

about capital and more about an applied sensibility that you or your work might exhibit regardless of whether you choose to rock a backpack. So it’s not simply about off-the-grid art making and nonprofit community building.

However, I would

suggest that much of this interventionist push can be located among some practitioner groups that have traditionally been marginalized.

One

sector that comes to mind is heads operating from outside the United States and form inside migrating populations—for instance, those who have been producing work out of the African nations recently— who challenge the pure Americanness of blackbased visual and performing arts. In my own work this is what I call more all city—a progressively global local. This same expansion is what makes all of the old US-centered regional beefs seem obsolete. Similarly, women practitioners, by virtue of their even being consistently present in the sphere of hip_hop culture design, represent a critique of the heteronormative assortment of masculine bodies that have typically been cleared for recognition. Read more on our blog.

L E E R DC COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES

HIGHER STARS Featuring: Tabi Bonney Alison Carney Kokayi Tim Conlon Gaia Angel Perez

Tabi Bonney & Kokayi were faced with a challenge: write, record, learn and perform a song about DC in under 12 hours. Watch as they bring ‘Higher Stars’ to life —12 hours in 3 minutes.

VIDEO|CHRIS KEENER VOCALS| TABI BONNEY, ALISON CARNEY BEAT| KOKAYI LYRICS|TABI BONNEY

SPOTlight

NICE CHALLENGE One of the District’s most mainstream emcees (he’s an internationally known “Jet Setter”), Tabi Bonney was tasked with creating a song and performing it in one day (“It’s a nice challenge.”). With a beat and hook from Grammy Award nominated producer/singer/lyricist, Kokayi and a vocal assist from funky soul singer, Alison Carney, the song, Higher Stars was born. Following is a real-time account of the process:

PHOTOS|CHRIS KEENER

164

SPOTlight

PROFILE

d n u

g r e

meets the

LINE

world

d n u o

SO HOW HAS THE UNDERGROUND RESPONDED TO AN INCREASINGLY ONLINE WORLD? WE ASK ARTISTS REPRESENTING EACH ELEMENT OF HIP-HOP: A DJ, A GRAFFITI WRITER, A B-GIRL, AND AN EMCEE. WRITTEN BY SIA TIAMBI BARNES

magee

M cIlvaine Magee McIlvaine is a world citizen, born in Canada and raised between East Africa and DC. He works as a videographer and DJ, meshing the mainstream world of politics with the underground culture of International Hip Hop, and in doing so has created one of the most comprehensive virtual networks of youth activists and artists. He co-founded a non-profit production company, Sol Productions, through which he’s filmed the Presidential elections in Venezuela, Senegal, and France; he’s produced fair-trade mixtape compilations available online via his partner site, Nomadic Wax; and co-founded the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival, the largest such conference and festival in the US.

“Aside from the occasional trip, most of the music I collect or hear about is via the internet,” he said. “So it plays an enormously important role in what music I fill my ‘crates’ with... For many artists, access to YouTube and MySpace and more has suddenly given artists from different countries access to the rest of the world, and the opportunity for the rest of the world to access those artists, especially in countries where no formal music industry exists.”

www.mageemacilvaine.com

PHOTO|CHRIS KEENER

Tim

conloN

Graffiti artists are traditionally the most covert of hip hop artists, but for Tim Conlon the idea of being widely recognized is not so fresh. His early career involved writing on freight trains stationed in Baltimore (where Conlon attended college) which then traveled cross-country with his tag, “CON.” He has since moved on to different canvases including commissioned paintings on residential exteriors and institutions such as the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, where his work was featured in 2008. His work has also been spotted on miniature toy freight trains sold in stores such as Urban Outfitters and Walmart. “Graffiti is an underground art,” said Conlon. “Its popularity goes through cycles. In the 80’s it was popular in subways and galleries and then its popularity died down for awhile. Recently graffiti is found in movies, television, advertising, and clothing.” However, this kind of exposure doesn’t affect Conlon’s craft. About the recent mainstream popularity of his work and its appeal to consumers, Conlon said, “ If I can make a living out of doing what I love, I don’t think I’m selling out at all.” www.conoperative.com

kayi ko

Kokayi is a producer/singer/lyricist who lives in the frequencies that dance between mainstream and undeground. He was born in Southeast DC, raised in Southwest, and has since lived in every quadrant, along with having performed in over 35 countries. In 1997, he was signed to BMG France and released two critically acclaimed albums with a hip hop group called Opus Akoben. In 2009 he was Grammy Award nominated in the category of “Best Urban Alternative Performance” for his collaboration with Wayna, “Lovin’ You.” The first song he ever collaborated with fellow ART(202) Reel artist Tabi Bonney on was a track called “Jet Setter.” Kokayi had placed the beat on MySpace where Tabi heard it and since then, the video has been on rotation on MTV2.

“The internet is a grand equalizer,” he said. “It gives people opportunity.. It’s not going to make you do better songs, it’s not going to make you do better art, it just gives you an opportunity to distribute your art with practically no cost.” myspace.com/kokayi

PHOTO|CHRIS KEENER

Paige Hernandez A native of Baltimore, Paige Hernandez is a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts and received a BA in theater and broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a teaching artist, Paige has taught throughout the DC metro area, to all ages, in all disciplines. She has partnered with many organizations including Wolftrap Foundation for the Performing Arts and Arena Stage where she was awarded the Thomas Fichandler Award for exceptional promise in theater education. Paige has performed on many stages in the DC metro area including Arena Stage, Roundhouse, The Everyman Theatre, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Woolly Mammoth, Imagination Stage, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Discovery Theatre and Charter Theatre as well as others. As a critically acclaimed B-girl, Paige’s choreography has been seen most recently in the DC Hip Hop Theatre Festival with Imagination Stage’s “Zomo the Rabbit.” As a hip hop education advocate, Paige has shaped various educational workshops, including “Props for Hip Hop” at Arena Stage and the upcoming Hip Hop Tater Tots, at Wolftrap Foundation for the Performing Arts. Both workshops help teachers to understand the fundamentals of hip hop while incorporating the culture into their curriculum. As a performer and playwright, Paige has performed her children’s show Havana Hop in elementary schools along the East Coast. She is currently performing/touring her one woman show, “Paige in Full: a B’girl’s isual Mixtape.” www.paigehernandez.com

grant recipientsfor

2010

THE HIP HOP COMMUNITY ARTS GRANT PROGRAM is the first grant program offered by any state arts agency to focus on the art of Hip Hop. This program was started by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 2007 and continues to support the efforts of local community organizations and individuals. CITYDANCE ENSEMBLE CityDance Ensemble presents a free hiphop performance at THEARC Theatre by 90 students in the free, after-school outreach education program as well as field trips, guest artists, and other activities related to hip-hop as a supplement to their free dance program at the Trinidad Recreation Center.

DANCE INSTITUTE OF WASHINGTON Dance Institute of Washington is connecting established artists with young students who wish to learn and grow through Hip Hop culture.

DAVE ADAMS With his HHCA grant, videographer Dave Adams is creating “The District Rhyme”, a feature length documentary film about the convergence of hip-hop and education in Washington, DC.

DC WHEEL PRODUCTIONS, INC. DC Wheel Productions co-presented a two-week project including on-site school workshops, one adult master class, and open mic/cypher event, and seven public performances in conjunction with the DC Hip-Hop Festival in July 2010. DIALLO SUMBRY Diallo Sumby presents The Greatest Hip Hop Cover Story Ever Told, a live multimedia journey through the life of Hip Hop from an MC’s perspective by some of Washington DC’s most talented MC’s.

FACILITATING LEADERSHIP IN YOUTH, INC. FLY conducted three workshops in tandem with the creation of a mural at their annual breakdancing event, “Breakin for Birney XI,” the longest-running b-boy/b-girl jam in DC.

FESTIVALS DC, LTD Festivals DC presented their Jazz Meets Hip Hop student concert with the W.E.S. Group at the Atlas Performing Arts Center as part of the 2010 DC Jazz Festival.

JERALD BRYANT Jerald Bryant will produce the National Black L.U.V. (Love Unity Vision) Festival: DC’s largest HIV/AIDs awareness event held every third Sunday in September at John Marshall Park.

LATIN AMERICAN YOUTH CENTER, INC. LAYC is producing a Hip-Hop Now curriculum that will expose youth to hip hop culture and provide technical skills in the creation of one large mural about their experiences.

MAGEE MCILVAINE Magee McIlvaine is conducting a cultural exchange between six DC and African hip hop artist activists to jointly record and produce a song and video and stage a multi-disciplinary hip hop performance and discussion in Fall 2010.

MENTORS OF MINORITIES IN EDUCATION M.O.M.I.E. is expanding their creative history curricula, for young children, using spoken word hip hop music via the “History Teaching thru Hip Hop” project.

PEDIATRIC AIDS/HIV CARE, INC. Pediatric Aids/HIV Care is conducting an 8-week hip-hop curriculum, facilitated by a local artist, with their teen group producing a community performance and a three song EP.

PATRICIA M. SITAR CENTER FOR THE ARTS Sitar is offering Hip Hop classes to students (ages 9-19) who will learn dance techniques and have opportunities to choreograph and perform.

THE STUDIO THEATRE The Studio Theatre hosted and organized events throughout the DC Hip-Hop Theatre Festival in July.

WILLIAM E. DOAR, JR. PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL Doar Public Charter School is integrating hip hop arts with literature in order to improve student learning outcomes.

WORDS BEATS & LIFE WBL presented Remixing the Art of Social Change: a Hip-Hop Approach designed to develop multi-state collaborations, cross org. artist exchanges, and an artist residency for hip-hop artists during the 2010 Hip Hop Theatre Festival.

YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS UNITED TO RISE Youth Organizations United to Rise is producing online video and audio newscasts, minidocumentaries, blogs, along with their online/ print hip hop magazine, “360 Secondz.”

DCCAH proudly announces

Opportunities for FY 2011 Funding Project-Based Grants

Capital Projects Grants

Folk & Traditional Arts Mini-Grant Program - Individuals and Organizations - Provides funding for artists and arts organizations practicing or supporting folk traditions. Grant Amount: Individuals and Organizations- up to $1,000 Deadlines: Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Public Art Building Communities Grants - Funds individuals and nonprofit organizations for the creation and installation of permanent public art projects with a life span of at least five years. Grant Amount: Individuals - $1,000 - $20,000 Organizations - $1,000 - $100,000 Deadline: Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Small Projects Program - Provides funds to individual artists and arts organizations for small-scale arts projects with budgets under $4,000. Grant Amount: Individuals and Organizations- Up to $2,000 Deadline: Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Young Artist Program - Funds individual artists between the ages of 18 to 30 through eligible projects include support for innovative art projects and community service art projects that aim to provide access and positive alternatives for youth and seniors. Grant Amount: Individuals- up to $3,000 Deadline: Wednesday, September 18, 2010

Roster Opportunities Performing Artist Roster - Individuals and OrganizationsPromotes DC-based performing artists through their inclusion on the touring roster in an effort to increase marketability, touring capacity and artistic development. No Monetary Award Deadline: Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Workshop Wednesdays Our Grants Team can offer you assistance at the following sessions:

August 18, 2010 6:00-7:30PM @ DCCAH Focusing on our Young Artist Program

September 1, 2010 1:00-2:30PM @ DCCAH Focusing on our Young Artist Program

August 25, 2010 1:00-2:30PM @ Thurgood Marshall Academy Focusing on Final Reports

September 8, 2010 6:00-7:30PM @ Ward 7 Arts Collaborative Focusing on Final Reports

September 22, 2010 1:00-2:30PM @THEARC Focusing on Final Reports

2010grantees

DCCAH will award 515 grants totaling $7.25 million to fund arts projects across the District of Columbia. DCCAH is proud to continue offering support to the District’s unique artists and arts organizations. Congratulations to these individuals and organizations who received funding in 2010: ARTIST FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM •Abdul Ali Addurrahman •Amy Saidman •Anupama Yadav •Assane Konte •Brian Wilbur Grundstrom •Frederic Yonnet •Gabriel Feldman •Henry Ofori-Atta •Issachah James Savage •Juan H. Gaddis •Karen L.B. Evans •Karen Zacarias •Kyle Dargan •Laura Zam •Lawrence B. Redmond •Marc Anthony Nelson •Mary Hall Surface •Maurice Michael Saylor •Randall Packer •Ryan Richmond •Sandra Beasley •Sara Ilyse Jacobson •Suzanne Zweizig •Vijay Palaparty

ARTS EDUCATION PROJECTS INDIVIDUALS •Asssane Konte •Joel Bergner •Marc S. Spiegel •Mary Beth Bowen ARTS EDUCATION PROJECTS ORGANIZATIONS •Capital Fringe, Inc. •Capitol Hill Arts Workshop •Capitol Letters Writing Center •CapoeiraDC •Center for Inspired Teaching •CentroNia •City Arts, Inc. •City at Peace, Inc. •CityDance Ensemble •Critical Exposure •DC Scores •Dumbarton Concerts, Inc. •Festivals DC, Ltd. •Folger Shakespeare Library •Grupo de Artistas Latino Americano •John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

•Joy of Motion Dance Center, Inc. •Latin American Youth Center Youth-

Build Public Charter School •National Building Museum •National Housing Trust Enterprise Preservation Corporation •PEN/Faulkner Foundation •Septima Clark Public Charter School •St. Coletta of Greater Washington, Inc. •Step Afrika! USA, Inc. •The Choral Arts Society •The Ellington Fund •The National Museum of Women in the Arts •The Parkmont School •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •The Phillips Collection •The Selma M. Levine School of Music •The Shakespeare Theatre •The Studio Theatre •The Theatre Lab School of Dramatic Arts •The Washington Ballet •The Washington Middle School for Girls •The Washington National Opera •The Washington Theatre Awards Society •Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art •Turning the Page •Washington Bach Consort •Washington Drama Society, Inc. •Washington Performing Arts Society •William E. Doar, Jr. Public Charter School •WVSA School For Arts in Learning •Young Playwrights Theater, Inc. ARTS TEACHER FELLOWSHIPS •Christina Greta Schorn •Dawn Naser •Katie Coogan •Premila Mistry

ARTISTS IN SCHOOLS INDIVIDUALS •Jose Gonzalez •Marta Perez Garcia •Regie Cabico •Thembi Duncan

ARTISTS IN SCHOOLS ORGANIZATIONS •Center City Public Charter SchoolCongress Heights Campus •Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter School-Amos 1 Campus •Hyde Leadership Public Charter School •KippDC-LEAP Academy •School Within School at Peabody •Scott Montgomery Elementary School • SEED Public Charter School CITY ARTS PROJECTS INDIVIDUALS •Audrey L. Brown •Holly Bass •Holly Tank •Joy Jones •Kim Roberts •Rex Weil •Ruth Stenstrom •Sarah Browning •Sukumar Srinivasan CITY ARTS PROJECTS ORGANIZATIONS •Art Enables •Building Bridges Across the River •Capital City Symphony •CapoeiraDC •CentroNia •Cultural Development Corporation of the District of Columbia •Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Company •Dance Institute of Washington •DC Film Alliance •DC Wheel Productions, Inc. •Ford’s Theatre Society •Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington •James Renwick Alliance •John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts •Mexican Cultural Institute •Moving Forward: Contemporary Asian American Dance Company •Opera Lafayette •Pin Points Theatre •Post-Classical Ensemble, Inc. •Sixth & I Historic Synagogue •Speakeasy DC

•Teaching for Change •The Choral Arts Society •The Shakespeare Theatre •The Textile Museum •The Washington National Opera •Transformer, Inc. •Vera Institute of Justice, Inc. •Washington Bach Consort •Washington Drama Society, Inc. •Washington Improvisational Theater Co. •Washington Parks & People •Washington Project for the Arts •Washington Sculptor’s Group EAST OF THE RIVER

•African Diaspora Ancestral Com-

memoration Institute •Arch Development Corporation •East of the River Boys and Girls Steelband •Life Pieces To Masterpieces, Inc •Northeast Performing Arts Group •Serenity Players, Inc. •Sewing Opportunities Never Ending Young Playwrights Theater, Inc. (S.O.N.E.) •Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Community Museum •The Washington Ballet •Ward 7 Arts Collaborative •Young Playwrights Theater, Inc. ELDERS LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS PROGRAM •Abraham and Laura Lisner Home for Aged Women •Audrey L. Brown •IONA Senior Services •Sharna Fabiano •The Double Nickels Theatre Company, Inc. •The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts •The Washington Ballet •Washington Improvisational Theater Co. FESTIVALS DC

•Building Bridges Across the River •Capital Fringe, Inc. •Cultural Tourism DC •D.C. Blues Society •Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Company

•DC Film Alliance •El Teatro de Danza

Contemporanca de El Salvador

•Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital

•Festivals DC, Ltd. •FotoWeekDC •French-American

Cultural Foundation

•Grupo de Artistas Latino Americano

•John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

•National Building Museum •National Cherry Blossom Festival Committee, Inc.

•One in Ten, Inc. •VSA Arts •Washington Project for the Arts •Washington, DC International Film Festival

FOLK & TRADITIONAL ARTS MINI-GRANT PROGRAM •Brendan Bell •Carlenia Springer •Interstages, Inc. •Lucy Ann Jickling •Sharna Fabiano

GRANTS IN AID •21st Century Consort •African Continuum Theatre Coalition •Art Enables •Atlas Performing Arts Center •Building Bridges Across the River •Capital City Symphony •Capital Fringe Inc. •Capitol Movement, Inc. •City Arts, Inc. •City at Peace, Inc •CityDance Ensemble •Critical Exposure •Cultural Development Corporation of the District of Columbia •D.C. Blues Society •Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company •Dance Institute of Washington •DC Film Alliance •DC Wheel Productions, Inc. •Edgeworks •Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital •Federal City Performing Arts Association, Inc. •FotoWeekDC •Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop •Friends of Fillmore Arts Center •Hamiltonian Artists, Inc. •International Arts and Artists •International Capoeira Angola Foundation •Joy of Motion Dance Center, Inc. •KanKouran West African Dance Co. •Maru Montero Dance Company •Moving Forward:Contemporary Asian American Dance Company •Musica Aperta •Northeast Performing Arts Group

•One Common Unity, Inc. •Opera Camerata of Washington DC,

Inc. •Opera Lafayette •Pan American Symphony Orchestra •PEN/Faulkner Foundation •Post-Classical Ensemble, Inc. •Smith Farm Center for the Healing Arts •Solas Nua, Inc. •Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation •SpeakeasyDC •Step Afrika! USA, Inc. • Taffety Punk Theatre, Inc. •The Black Women Playwrights’ Group •The Congressional Chorus •The In Series, Inc. •The Inkwell •The National Men’s Chorus •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •The Selma M. Levine School of Music •The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts •The Thomas Circle Singers •The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. •The Washington Chorus •The Washington Theatre Awards Society •The Washington Women’s Chorus •Theater Alliance of Washington •Theatre Downtown, Inc, t/a The Washington Stage Guild •Transformer, Inc. •Vocal Arts Society •Washington Bach Consort •Washington Concert Opera •Washington District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, Inc •Washington Improvisational Theater Co. •Washington Project for the Arts •Washington, DC International Film Festival •Words Beats & Life •Youth Organizations United to Rise

HIP HOP COMMUNITY ARTS

•CityDance Ensemble •Dance Institute of Washington •David Nicholas Adams •DC Wheel Productions, Inc. •Diallo Sumbry •Facilitating Leadership in Youth, Inc. •Festivals DC, Ltd •Jerald Bryant •Latin American Youth Center, Inc. •Magee McIlvaine •Mentors of Minorities in Education •Pediatric Aids/HIV Care, Inc. •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •The Studio Theatre •William E. Doar, Jr. Public Charter School •Words Beats & Life •Youth Organizations United to Rise

SMALL PROJECTS PROGRAM •Alexis E. Gillespie •Allison Lince-Bentley •Building Bridges Across the River •Carol Pineau •City Arts, Inc. •CityDance Ensemble •Consumer Action Network •DC Youth Orchestra Program •El Teatro del Danza Contemporanea de El Salavador •Eleanor Walton •In Da Streets, Inc. •Jamelle G. Thomas •Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington •Keisha Dene Mitchell •Khanh H. Le •Lorton Art Program, Inc. •New Horizons •Noah Getz •Ryan Richmond •Shawn Short •Sherri Lyn Sosslau •SpeakeasyDC •The Selma M. Levine School of Music •The Washington Ballet •Washington Bach Consort •Washington Project for the Arts •Women in Film & Video •VERGE Ensemble

•Eric Rubin •Graciela Requel Sedillo Lopez •Guarina Lopez-Davis •Hannah Naomi Kim •Jason Nickens •Jes Therkelsen •Jessica Solomon •John A. Johnson •Justin Young •Lindsay Routt •Maria Emelyn Villa Bryk •Mark Perkins •Mary Christina Coble •Matthew Jordan Hemerlein •Maureen Elizabeth Andary •Nicole Aguirre •Patrick Crowley •Paul Joseph Thornley •Peter Chang •Rachel Beamer •Ryan Patrick McDonnell •Sarah Koss •Sia Tiambi Barnes •Thomas Patrick Goss •Tommy Bobo

STIM10

•American Poetry Museum •Building Bridges Across the River •Capital City Symphony •City Arts, Inc. •CityDance Ensemble •Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh

Company •DC Youth Orchestra Program •Joy of Motion Dance Center, Inc. •Life Pieces To Masterpieces, Inc. •Opera Lafayette •Prisons Foundation •The Choral Arts Society •The Double Nickels Theatre Company, Inc. •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •Theater Alliance of Washington •Washington District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, Inc •Washington Men’s Camerata •Woolly Mammoth Theater Company UPSTART PROGRAM

•Environmental Film Festival in the

Nation’s Capital •FotoWeekDC •Jones-Haywood Dance School, Inc. •One in Ten, Inc. •The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts •Youth Organizations United to Rise YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM

•Adam de Boer •Alexander Richard Clarke •Alexandra Silverthorne •Carmen Wong •Christylez Bacon •Danielle M. Evennou •Elizabeth Dawn DeRoche

CULTURAL FACILITIES PROGRAM

•Atlas Performing Arts Center •Dance Institute of Washington •DC Wheel Productions, Inc. •Folger Shakespeare Library •Grupo de Artistas Latino Americano •Hillwood Museum and Gardens

Foundation •Meridian International Center •National Trust for Historic Preservation •The National Museum of Women in the Arts •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •The Shakespeare Theatre •The Studio Theatre •The Washington Ballet •Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art •Washington District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, Inc PUBLIC ART BUILDING COMMUNITIES •Bill Warrell •Chinatown Community Cultural Center, Inc •City Arts, Inc. •Golden Triangle Business Improvement District •Kelly Towles •Latin American Youth Center, Inc. •Roderick Turner

PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONED PROJECTS •Takoma Metro Underpass – Sam Gilliam •NY Avenue BridgeDesign Team – Kent Bloomer •Girard Street Playground Mural – Words Beats and Life – Albus Cavus – Aniekan Udofia •Benning Library Project – Rik Freeman –Life Pieces To Master Pieces •Anacostia Library Project – Kamala Subramanian –Bill Howard •New Beginnings Youth Development Center Mural – Cheryl Foster –Joey Tomassoni •The New Saint Elizabeths Hospital Suspended Installations – Matthew Barinholtz – Walter Kravitz •The New Saint Elizabeths Hospital Murals – Sheila Crider – Roderick Turner – Bill Gibbons

PUBLIC ART BANK RECENT ACQUISITIONS Artists •Aliza Lelah •BJ Adams •Carol Brown Goldberg •Caroline Thorington •Catherine Kleeman •Cynthia Connolly •David Allen Harris •Denise Wright •Elaine Langerman •Ellen Hill •Frank Hallam Day •Frank Smith •Gloria Kirk •Gwen Lewis •James Brown Jr. •Jarvis Grant •Jason Horowitz •Jenny Walton •John Aquilino •John Grunwell •John James Anderson •Joseph Craig English •Judy Byron •Karen Hubacher •Kay Hwang •Lely Constantinople •Lisa Fanning •Lisa Marie Thalhammer •Margaret Boozer •Matt Dunn •Michael B. Platt •Michael Dax Iacovone •Peggy Fleming •Robert Sanabria •Sandra Parra •Sharon Moody

•Solomon Wondimu •Sondra Arkin •Stanley Squirewell •Steven Jackson •Susana Raab

Artomatic Purchases •Arlie Hammons •Ben Nicholson •Carlito Cabading •Claudia Minicozzi •Jamea Richmond Edwards •Jeremy Arn D. Ramirez •Jessica Van Brakle •John Sawyer •Kerry Cavanagh •Kimberley Bursic •Lori Larusso (Jordan Faye Contemporary) •Lynne Venhart •Marina Reiter •Mark Jude •Matthew R. Carucci •Michael Torra •Pat Goslee •Patricia McDonald Hartnett •Rachel Thern •Rob Chester •Sam Vasfi •Sean Hennessey •Stephen Beardsell •Susan Finsen •Susannah Parnin

October is....

National Arts and Humanities Month Join us at the Corcoran Gallery of Art October 21

Artists Represented by Galleries •Colby Caldwell (Hemphill Gallery) •Franz Jantzen (Hemphill Gallery) •Godfrey Frankel (Hemphill Gallery) •James Huckenpahler (Hemphill Gallery) •Jamils Rahimi (ArtEnables) •Kate McGraw (Curator’s Office) •Kevin McDonald (Pyramid Atlantic) •Margie Smeller (ArtEnables) •Michael Farrell (Curator’s Office) •Nancy McIntyre (Jane Haslem Gallery) •Renee Stout (Hemphill Gallery) •Robin Wheeler (ArtEnables) •Workingman Collective (Hemphill Gallery)

THE

IN WORKS

DCCAH, in partnership with DOES (Department of Employment Services), DHCD (Department of Housing and Community Development), private sector, non-profit arts organizations, community members and professional teaching artists, is currently providing 100 DC youth with exposure to the arts across multiple media with a specific emphasis on the media arts and a goal of helping to inspire the understanding and development of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creative economy.

PHOTOS|AARON THOMPSON

art 101

SYEP YOUTH | CLARENCE ALEXANDER

Youth have been placed at a variety of locally-based organizations, including BET, Facilitating Leadership in Youth (FLY), Words Beats and Life, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Capital Fringe Festival, City Arts, Hillyer Art Space, DC Youth Ensemble, City Paper, Capitol Movement, Latin American Youth Council, Joy of Motion Dance Studios, and Multimedia Training Institute.

DCCAH is providing our youth with exposure to the media arts through our Media Arts Boot Camp. Youth have been traveling East of the River to take part in this Media Arts Boot Camp in Anacostia, taking instruction from a dozen media arts specialists using hands on workshops and presentations, including social media skills, brand development, online journalism, radio magazine production and careers in the creative sector.

SYEP YOUTH | TESSA THOMAS

Youth have also been applying these newly acquired skills to the Anacostia Business and Community Development Project. They will be helping the Historic Anacostia community, impacting business such as Anacostia Spirit Health and Wellness Center, Honfleur Gallery, Vivid Solutions, Big Chair CafĂŠ, and Ward 8 Business Council through multiple media outlets. With the assistance of lead artists Chris Keener, Sia Tiambi Barnes, Wilma Consul, Mike Miller, Billy Colbert and Tim Conlon, youth will be designing and producing logos, TV and radio commercials, music, events and fliers, a community mural at Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. and Good Hope Rd. SE, oral history recordings of the Anacostia and a documentary about Anacostia both past and present. Look for a culmination the weekend of August 13 at various locations including the Corcoran Community Gallery at THEARC, Hillyer Art Space and GALA Hispanic Theatre to showcase the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth outputs.

SYEP YOUTH | RAYMOND BERRY, OMATAYO AKINBOLAJO, CLARENCE ALEXANDER

MARVIN

Marvin Gaye was a singer-songwriter and native Washingtonian living and creating art in the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Learn more about his work in DC here.

GAYE PARK Marvin Gaye Park, formerly known as Watts Branch Park, received a much needed facelift this year. In the past, the park was a notorious rough spot, to put it lightly. Dubbed “Needle Park,” it eventually caught the attention of Mayor Adrian Fenty, who kicked off a $2.4 million construction and revitalization project last year. New elements of the park included a new playground, a community stage, a bicycle trail, and multiple mosaics- one of which including an image of Marvin Gaye, a native Washingtonian, at the entrance of Lady Bird Johnson Meadows. The mosaic would be an eye-catching means to top off a variety of other park features related to the timeless singer. It also ties the theme into the environment by paying homage to the Anacostia River and the river’s vegetation and wildlife. DCCAH, in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Arts, awarded funding to City Arts to create this mosaic, designed by DC artist Byron Peck. Last month’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, featured in the picture below, truly represents one of many new beginnings around DC which is in large part thanks to public art. PHOTO|VIKRUM AIWER

—Jenny Cook

sP ND res ent EP EN DE NT FIL M SER IES

Aug. 17 Capital Irish Film Festival Aug. 24 Washington Jewish Film Festival

S :I c

Re na DC issan Co ce D mm up iss ont ion Ci on rcle the Ho Art tel & sa nd Hu

ma nit

ree

nin

TUESDAYS August 17 & 24 | 7-10pm

All screenings are free & open to the public. Seating in the lounge is on a first come first serve basis. Specialty theater cocktails & small bites available.

Summer Screenings

a series of independent films in conjunction with area film organizations.

The Lounge at the Renaissance Dupont Circle Hotel

will transform into an intimate theater, allowing guests to discover thought-provoking & engaging films.

Renaissance Dupont Circle Hotel 1143 New Hampshire Ave., NW Washington, DC 20037 For more information, please contact John.Eddleman@renaissancehotels.com

et tre S N

A Festival & Arts Market

Arts N Str

DCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new and free weekend outdoor market displaying indie talents of the handmade expression. Featuring highquality, one of a kind creations, concepts and more!

2 Weekends

. Sq . onh St n n r t . Ve 7 tio n Mt &nventatio o S - C nter Ce

Av Yo

. St

ash for by W ject Proe Arts th

ew g Vi Lonllery Ga

lley en A

s trait PorD C of aft g Cr Cragihting Li Row lerygton l a in G

eet

Aug. 7th 8th &14th15th

e pac y 8) S aller (Cruedio G St

d Blag

Visit Portraits of DC: a one- block long, large scale, outdoor photo exhibit! Music, food, friends, art! Rain or Shine.

s boy Bus Poets d n a

@ Washington Convention Center | N St., NW (between 7th & 9th St.)

a! can i r f A l eption c a e r v & a e c n n Caring night performa | 6pm 010

Open

20, 2 t s u g u A | Friday

Atlas Performing Arts Center

1333 H Street , NE, Washington, DC 20002

Friday-Sunday | August 20-22 | 2010

To see a full schedule, visit us at DCARTS.DC.GOV For more information, call 202.724.5613

Take Metro | All Events & Workshops are Free |

e c n a m r o f r e P 2010

e l u d e h c S

WED

0pm m-6:3 4:30prm nce by a Perfo ight” “The Lt Totten @ For

0pm m-6:3 4:30prm nce by a Perfo - C” “Babaerfront-SEU t @ Wa y ance b

Perform

ight” t “The Ltern Marke s a E @

nce by

a rale” “Pastoro Center t e @M

Perform

SAT

FRI

0pm m-6:3 4:30prm nce by con” a Perfo tylez Ba “Chris costia @ Ana

Art in Transit Program

0pm am-1e:3by ” 11:30rm nc a ’Souza Perfo anie D U “Stepherfront-SE @ Wat

0pm m-6:3 4:30prm nce by ” a n Perfo er Us I “Gath ery Place@ Gall atown Chin y ance b n” Perform ylez Baco t is r h “C a om @ Tak

0pm m-6:3 4:30prm nce by a fo Per “Sigh!”ern Market @ East nce by

a rale” U “Pastoerfront-SE t @ Wa

Perform

SUN

ST AUGU

27) August – 2 2 y (Jul held will be tions s e c n a a Performwing Metro st dates: d llo at the foon the specifie THU

FAR

ECA

VAL

UE IN

o r t e Merforms!

THE

IN KNOW

Click to view Tabi Bonney’s latest single: Nothin’ But a Hero

Click to view Kelly Towles’s latest mural on 13 & U in Scout

artisttoolbox

Each month, you’ll find a staple of arts resources, with new additions provided by grantees.

PARTNERSHIPS Provides a forum for artists to convene, perform and exhibit; strengthening Washington’s arts community.

C U LT U R A L A L L I A N C E

& SERVE

RESEARCH

CONVENE

A D V O C AT E GREATER WASHINGTON

This virtual arts marketplace connects users to more than 300 DC-area arts organizations and cultural institutions.

RESOURCES ARTS EDUCATION •The American Alliance for Theatre & Education •The Kennedy Center ArtsEdge •National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts

FUNDING •ArtsReady •Grantmakers in the Arts •Mayor’s Office of Partnerships and Grants Development (OPGD) •Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG)

MARKETING Provides access to arts and humanities education for DC Public and Public Charter Schools to encourage the growth of the whole child.

•National Arts Marketing Project •Technology in the Arts

LEGAL •The Artists Rights Society •The Copyright Society of the United States of America •Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing •Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA)

GENERAL A private, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Humanities Council funds and conducts humanitiesbased cultural and educational programs across DC.

•Americans for the Arts •National Council of Nonprofit Associations •National Endowment for the Humanities •National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts •The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

SPECIAL INTEREST Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, supporting excellence in the arts bringing art to all Americans, and leading the nation in arts education.

•American Association of Community Theatre •International Society for the Performing Arts •National Alliance for Media Art & Culture •National Association of Women Artists •PEN American Center •Poets & Writers

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation supports the richness and diversity of the region’s arts resources and promotes wider access to the art and artists of the region, nation and world. Provides education, advocacy and volunteer services through workshops, seminars, and clinics for artists and arts organizations, and pro-bono referral services.

dccah

ABOUT DCCAH STAFF

INTERNS

MISSION

Our Mission at The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is to provide grants, programs and educational activities that encourage diverse artistic expressions and learning opportunities, so that all District of Columbia residents and visitors can experience the rich culture of our city.

COMMISSIONERS

OFFICE OF THE POET LAUREATE Dolores Kendrick | District of Columbia

Get Connected!