May 4, 2012

Weekend [East City] Roundup: Portraits, Lights and Dreams Edition

Frederic Nauczyciel. "Serge". Photo Courtesy Honfleur Gallery

Friday May 4

Honfleur Gallery (7pm to 9pm)

Honfleur Gallery Presents Le Temps Devant (our time ahead) by Parisian photographer Frederic Nauczyciel. Nauczyciel masterfully captures the inhabitants of the Gers countryside in lifesize, Rembrant-like portraits. Each subject’s gaze and body language tells his/her story of life in rural southwestern France. For more information click here.  Honfleur Gallery is located at 1241 Good Hope RD SE

The Gallery at Vivid Solutions (6pm to 8pm)

The East of the River photography gallery presents the work of local artist Benjamin K. Nguyen birdsdecay. The photographer captures beauty’s temporality and anguishes over its ephemeral nature. For more information click here.  The Gallery at Vivid Solutions is located at 2208 Martin Luther King Ave SE

LUMEN8Anacostia Temporiums (6pm to 9pm)

The LUMEN8Anacostia Temporiums which are normally open from noon to 5pm on Saturdays will be open Friday night along with the two Anacostia galleries Honfleur and Vivid. Participating venues include site specific installations, artwork and crafts all made by area artists and artisans. For more info go to www.lumen8anacostia.com/temporiums-2  The LUMEN8 Anacostia Temporiums are located between 2208 MLK AVE SE and 2208 Good Hope RD.

The Fridge (7pm to 11pm)

The Fridge will present a group show featuring the DC Latino Art Collective whose artists draw their inspiration from Kahlo, Rivera, Dali and Picasso. The event will feature live music by Machetres. For more information click here.  The Fridge is located at 516 1/2 8th Street rear alley, SE

Saturday May 5

The Brentwood Arts Exchange at the Gateway Art Center (3pm to 5pm)

Tosha Grantham, Philippa Hughes, Christina Marsh and John Yeh discuss what makes a portfolio great and not-so-great. Hear what makes them look twice or not at all, what they’ve seen that works, and where trends are going. Discussion to be moderated by Alonzo Davis.

 This workshop is free but Advance Registration Required to http://smartlink.pgparks.com/smartlink to register and use code SMARTlink #883815  Brentwood Arts Exchange @ Gateway Arts Center is located at 3901 Rhode Island Avenue Brentwood, MD 20722

Sunday May 6

The Corner Store (5pm to 8pm)

The Corner Store presents beloved CHAW art instructor and figurative artist Ellen Cornett. Cornett’s latest pastel series Fact from Fiction interpret dreams, fairytales and myth through archtypes as a means of explaining contemporary life. For more information click here.  The Corner Store is located at 900 South Carolina Avenue, SE

Phil Hutinet is the Editor-in-Chief of East City Art. You can get more information about East City Art on Facebook or follow them on Twitter

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May 2, 2012

The Queen Vic: Your New Local

The Queen Vic, H Street’s best neighborhood hangout, has started to host a delightful trivia night upstairs every Tuesday at 7:30. Check out the newly roofed back patio on warm nights, sip on a pint, have a proper scran, and just straight chill, holmes. Teams are strictly limited to 4 people, and for Pete’s sake, resist the urge to reach for your smartphone — it’s a hollow victory if you cheat.

The quizmaster is warm and congenial, the questions aren’t too difficult (I’m staring in your general direction, Fadó’s trivia night), and the waitstaff is wonderfully attentive as always. And to top it all off, yours truly and his rag-tag band of mates won last night and got $50 off our bar tab! Amerigo Vespucci, we love thee. A fantastic way to spend a Tuesday.
Feel free to gush over this amazing feat and offer your humble congratulations in the comments below.

Written by Joel Church.

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May 1, 2012

The Wisdom Files: Pears of Wisdom

pic courtesy of MetroMix

Wisdom  takes first place as my you-have-to-go-to-this-bar bar.  That is why I will run a post for each cocktail I think you may enjoy there.  Each one is completely different and different people will have their own favorites (after all, you’re a beautiful, unique snowflake, aren’t you?).  Hopefully, you’ll be intrigued enough to visit and try on a new identity.  

As the second most popular cocktail found at Wisdom, Pears of Wisdom takes pear vodka, cognac and elderflower liquor, moves them around over ice and delivers a just plain sophisticated note to a rather light cocktail.

Try if…you usually refer back to the [tired] old “I’ll just have a vodka tonic” when faced with the raised eyebrow of the bartender.  Pear is a very gentle flavor and, unlike cranberry or lime, puts the imbiber right at ease and won’t pucker the lips.  So get out there, friend!  But don’t worry, it’s not all that far.  And it’s sure delicious.

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April 27, 2012

Your Sunday Agenda: Life-Changing T-Shirts at Eastern Market

The forecast is in: your life is about to change forever this Sunday at Eastern Market. DC Style is Real contributor Joel Church—designer, artist, writer and muse—will offer you a unique opportunity to transform your every weakness and turn it into churning, raging, hyper masculine/feminine endowment.

Joel’s design label, Monumental Threads, will be selling his line of premier DC-inspired apparel at the flea market. The sharp designs and soft cotton will soothe away your hangover and the magic* in each thread will help you find your true love on the cobblestones of 8th Street SE.

You’ll wonder how you managed to clothe your suddenly firm and youthful frame in anything other than one of these exceptionally cool cotton confections.

“After I put on one of Joel’s shirts, my bald spot filled in and I got that promotion I was hoping for. This sweet cotton also cured my psoriasis.” – Joe McKribbs, Capitol Hill

“My Monumental Threads shirt makes it look like I had a breast lift. It’s better than Spanx topped with a Wonderbra!” – Veronica Marz, Dupont

A Monumental Threads shirt will change your life. **

Go to Eastern Market this Sunday or regret it forever.

Check out www.monumentalthreads.bigcartel.com and www.artbyjoel.com for more information on Joel’s work.

*Magic shirts available only before 7 a.m. EST. Additional fees may apply.

**Not really.

Written by Marie Francis.  Follow her on Twitter.

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April 25, 2012

Cherryblast from the Past: Weekend Wrapup

pic courtesy of National Cherry Blossom Festival

Cherryblast, the annual closing party of the Cherry Blossom Festival, sponsored lovingly by Philippa Hughes and her Pink Line Project, was, unsurprisingly, a blast this past weekend in Anacostia.  The art, the games, the shows, the people were all part of a new and exploratory DC.  There were the usual suspects: aerial trapeze artists, a Bluebrain collaborative feature (pretty cool: in a four story elevator shaft), and an all-girl drum corps.

The not-so-usual suspects dropped in: The Floating Lab Collective, a group of artists who work to “expand the space of art into public space and to expand the discourse about contemporary art.”  Cool right?  As I walked into their van (I know, I know), the artist told me that there were paper bags of Mobile Memorials.  Anyone could take one (become a ReDistributor), providing they put it somewhere public and “check in” its location on the website.  Hopefully I’ll start seeing some of these objects around town!

The old DC Police evidence warehouse has effectively become Lightbox, an open and roomy space especially suited to video installations.  Listening to acoustic guitar strummed by a hipster-chanteuse while standing next to the old Medication Room and looking out the broken glass windows at downtown DC was…surreal.  And a ton of fun.

I’m eager to see how Anacostia develops as a new art hot spot in DC, “activating abandoned spaces with the arts“.  For more info, search #lightboxdc on Twitter.

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April 24, 2012

The Argonaut: Summer Drinks Have Arrived

With the return of the sun today, consider some outside day-drinking.  From Selling DC Life comes this reminder to belly up to the Argonaut’s outdoor bar for one of their signature summer drinks.  A summer drink is usually served over ice, with bubbles or fruit or both, and makes you want to linger just a little longer than you would in brisk temperatures (may they be forever banished to the month of March).

14th and H, NE

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April 23, 2012

Free Today at Chinatown Coffee Co.

pic courtesy CCC websiteToday from noon to 1pm, the first fifteen Chinatown Coffee Co. Black Card holders (that sign of a true DC coffee fiend/snob) will receive a brand…new…free shirt!

Normally sold with the hefty tag of $40, these babies will be handed out in a range of sizes.

If you work in the area of H and 5th, NW, hop on over and wear your love for those sweet beans of life on your sleeve.

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