Design Notes + Photos

Julie LaPorte of Washington Life Magazine focuses on the arty aspect of this week's green celebration at the Embassy of Finland.

http://www.washingtonlife.com/2010/02/26/paint-the-town-finlands-green-arty-night/

My photos look great on the feature. Thanks Pink Line Project!

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A huge thanks to Philippa P.B. Hughes with the Pink Line Project for inviting me to shoot at last night's green celebration at the Finnish Embassy. The embassy celebrates its LEED certification, becoming the first and only green embassy in the U.S. (see their story here). What an amazing building! Pink Line brought art, music & performing arts together for the occasion, featuring some of our best local talent.

Media gals Emily and Maura Judkis (those drinks look pretty swanky!).

Peter Corbett knows good company (iStrategyLabs)

Tracy Clayton entertained w/ a photo project using Cory Oberndorfer's art. Check it out!

Finnish ambassador Pekka Lintu and wife

Nearly 300 people at the event

Super talented artist Christylez Bacon. He's got a show at Atlas this Saturday.

The City Dance Ensemble. More of them in the Flickr set.

My only fan, Christina ;-) & artist Cory Oberndorfer, w/ notable upcoming projects.

Of course, Ethan and Becca on the Pink Line Project team!

Check out Philippa's blog post here, posted by Becca. Tracy's photos are funny and fun. My set of people shots on Pink Line's Flickr.

More: I met Susanna Michelsen w/ Swedish Scene. She's got a great post about the event. Nice to meet you!

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Update: Mentioned in DCist's Arts Agenda. Yay.

We have two great events lined up for this Friday! Part one is our new monthly event: The Art of the Blog_. Each month we invite bloggers, readers and everyone in between to discuss the DC blogosphere, focusing on one blog category a month, followed by drinks and music. This month we are talking neighborhoods, and we have Dan Silverman (Prince of Petworth) and David Garber (And Now, Anacostia). Come out to meet them! Music will be provided by Sean Peoples of FATBACK.

Following The Art of the Blog_, we are partnering up with No Kings Collective (remember Activation 2719?) to bring you the first of a new art event series, the GALLERY at District. Each event serves as an art opening and social, showcasing the works of gallery caliber artists. The inaugural event is also the launch party for No Kings Collective! Mingle and enjoy the work of No Kings Collective, along with drinks. Sean Peoples of FATBACK will stick around and keep the party going!

Part 1 from 6-8PM, Part 2 from 8-10 PM at DISTRICT Lounge
2473 18th Street NW - Washington, DC

See you there!

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An artist, an architect & a developer walk into a bar...
March 1 at Long View Gallery - http://culturaldc.org/gala/

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Are you excited? We are! http://www.readysetdc.com/rsvp. Partcipate before and during tonight's event on Twitter; we will be streaming your tweets live at the party. Use hashtag #lovedc. Much love, Vincent + the ReadysetDC team

See: Ready, Set... Launch! How Good Design Will Motivate the Future of @ReadysetDC

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Come celebrate our love for DC tomorrow at ReadysetDC's launch party. The space is phenomenal. The prizes are substantial. And the surprises will impress you.

Info and RSVP at: http://www.readysetdc.com/rsvp

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See the Long View Gallery invite here. Also check out Metroweekly's article on Jeff McElhaney, creator of the exhibited ads. He tells the magazine:

The ads are near and dear to my heart. There are a lot of ghosts standing next to me when I'm holding these ads. I've lost so many friends.

Thanks to his ads, however, it's likely McElhaney saved quite a few, as well.

Jeff is Creative Partner at Brand-Aid Creative in Washington, DC. He just found Posterous—we hope he starts using it!

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"We love our space," Suzi Molak tells ReadysetDC as she invites us for a walk-through of the new Long View art gallery and cultural venue—and we agree! What an amazing location for our upcoming "For The Love of DC" art party, to be held on Thursday, December 10 (see event details; RSVP here).

My favorite piece during our walk-through: Jessica Angel's beautiful imagined cityscape, inspired by the artist's Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. The painting is a temporary installation that Suzi wants to make permanent (she wants to see if Jessica would use Long View's big paneling out in front as street art).

Art gallery director Drew Porterfield was also with us for conversation. He tells us that he hopes to travel for Thanksgiving, despite the massive undertaking of installing 30 advertisements for an upcoming event, "Ads vs Aids" (see the flier for that here).

For more photos Long View Gallery, check out these awesome shots by Brandon Bloch: "DC Artists Go Big at the Grand (re)Opening of Long View Gallery." DCist's Lynne Venart has a great preview post of this creative new space.

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Cross-posted at ReadysetDC: A Creative Urban Enterprise

Joan Belmar is a wonderful local artist that you should know about. He is represented by Nevin Kelly Gallery and funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. This week is your last chance to enjoy his mini-retrospective at the Chilean Embassy, featuring works from 1995 to present. Dubbed "Migrations," the exhibition is a good opportunity to inspect the way in which Joan's work has matured: from his earlier mixed-media techniques to his current signature style and the elements that connect them.

I had the privilege to attend the "Migrations" opening reception at the Chilean Embassy earlier this month, a cultural event attended by celebrities and friends alike. Cristian Campos, a famous Chilean actor, was present with his wife actress Maria Jose Prieto (see this YouTube clip, where Cristian looks pretty badass). Also at the opening was Charles Krause, survivor of the Guyana Massacre and an avid art collector and journalist (see this PBS link).

Many friends and supporters praised Joan at the reception, including Jim & Minna N Nathanson, Barbara Liotta, Elaine Reuben, Constance Bergfors, Eve Hennessa, Shanti Norris (Executive Director at Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts), Ellyn Weiss, Sondra Arkin, Mikray Pida, Katya Romero, Humberto Fuentes  (Manuel Zapata Olivella Center), Victoria Montero and Alejandra Ruiz-dana.

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