First things first: why isn’t there more political art in DC?
So asks Richard Layman over at Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space, in a post inspired by my writeup of Make DC Weird. He hits a number of interesting points, and his post inspired several provocative comments - I highly encourage you to check out (and join) the discussion.
One commenter, Reid, argues that there isn’t as much of an art community in DC as one would expect for a city of its size. My knee-jerk reaction is to disagree - I am, after all, a cheerleader for the city’s artists, and for its residents who may not self-identify as artists, but who are, nonetheless, creative.
But when I put down the pom-poms, I’m forced to admit that lots of creative people do not an art community make. Can I really argue that DC has a strong art community? And then, a flood of questions:
- What constitutes a strong art community? …and, to be considered ’strong,’ does it have to be…um…visible? Does it need to be part of how most people living in DC think of the city? Does it need to be apparent to the attentive visitor?
- And then, I wonder - does DC have a more visible creative community than art community? Do our entrepreneurs and bloggers (”creatives”) have a higher profile than our artists?
- And finally - to what extent are DC’s physical attributes and real estate realities the reason more people don’t think of it as an “artsy” town? Layman addresses these factors:
Part of it has to do with the lack of creative spaces, cheap places to rent, to be able to explore (also known as the point Jane Jacobs made about the need for “a large stock of old buildings” to be present in Great Cities–paid off, with low rents and running costs, to seed innovation) and do things cheaply.
What do you think?
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
the notion of dc not having a large art community is absurd.
That was one of the quintessential reasons we left DC. There is a decent amount of artists and musicians, but there was little to support for it.
DC is a grand city - there is little like it elsewhere, but in the end it’s a city of Government and it’s sadly more conservative than most people want to admit. Even me.
I love DC. It’s my life and blood. But there are some serious issues it needs to work out in the art community. Both in music and art.
DC will get there. DC is just slow. Like the Government.
I applaud your efforts. It’s only helping to remind.
Something I didn’t touch on in the aforementioned blog entry, but something I’ve written about before is how the “arts infrastructure and funding system” in DC is really more about supporting “art institutions” rather than about supporting “artists” as producers.
So that’s one thing.
And another, as discussed in the blog entry, and mentioned by you is the lack of supportive space.
And facilities that help anchor particular communities. Sure there is the Washington Glass School, but that got displaced to Mt. Rainier.
DC proper needs to have these kinds of anchoring places in the various disciplines, in order to help seed creation in a community that is very much focused on displaying “art” produced by people from elsewhere (the museums, especially the national museums).
But even “local” museums like the Corcoran and Phillips don’t have much interest in local art, do they?
This is another example of what I think of trickle down big government. The idea of the federal government and systematization and bureaucracy trickles down and shapes in its image what would otherwise be local institutions.
“This is another example of what I think of trickle down big government. The idea of the federal government and systematization and bureaucracy trickles down and shapes in its image what would otherwise be local institutions.”
Bingo. I was trying to say that in my post. But couldn’t get that out as eloquently.
Oops forgot to mention… it’s not arts, but crafts, but another supportive anchoring institution I found is the Woodworkers Club in Rockville, for woodworkers. You join, and they have a big workshop, where you can learn how to use various types of high quality, professional machines, and work on the machines. (They also have a retail shop that sells specialty tools, woods, hardware, and books and other materials.
We needed some very precise woodcutting for the reworking of a kitchen shelf unit (from Ikea) in order to jam into a very small space the reworking of a kitchen from the 1920s. I couldn’t find a traditional woodworker in DC that would even return my calls.
But the Woodworkers Club does wood cutting for nonmembers ($80/hour, $25 minimum).
DC Recreation Centers ought to have these kinds of facilities. Not all the capabilities at every facility but spread around. E.g., put a glassmaking capacity at one, a ceramics studio at another, woodworking at a third, etc.
Considering all the money that was pumped into these facilities, it’s sad to think about the facilities the city _doesn’t have_ after spending all that money.
I don’t think a lack of “cheap places to rent” is a valid reason for the supposed lack of an arts community in DC. Does NY have a preponderance of “cheap places to rent?” No, but it does benefit from a long-standing reputation as an arts-filled place. Reputations are hard to change (The Washington City Paper did a piece not too long ago about how for 50 years people had been saying that this or that administration was ushering DC out of its phase as a “sleepy southern town” and into its new phase as an urban center, all the while the city was simply what it was), and I think DC’s reputation simply doesn’t fit.
I am disappointed that several local music venues (notably in Adams Morgan) have closed down in the past few years, but new ones are opening up, too. You can see local DC standup comedians and musicians almost every night at Solly’s on U St. And there’s a whole summer of free concerts at Fort Reno where you can see local band after local band.
I feel like nearly everyone I know in the city is in a band (or 2) or an improv group or a play or writing a screenplay or shooting a short film or auditioning for something when they’re not busy painting at home. DC has a huge community of artists, and for the most part it lacks the competitive vibe people tend to associate with such communities. I have found DC artists to be supportive, creative, and friendly.
I honestly don’t know how to change a city’s reputation once it gets set. When so many people come here with preconceived notions then move away without trying to challenge those notions, how does change happen? But I can say that as a long-time resident of the city (8 years) I have had my own preconceptions about the creativity of this town turned upside down, and I couldn’t be happier about that.
Well the lack of affordable spaces for our studio forced us look elsewhere. We couldn't afford $4000 a month in studio space (in a shitty neighborhood) that was 450 square feet. Not to mention the construction we'd have to do.
It's amazing how many full-time artists & musicians we know here in Baltimore. I couldn't name one while we lived in DC. I still can't. It's a shame. DC has so much to offer! And a crazy awesome Metro too!
Baltimore by the way is proof of the price for space (and size of available spaces) point vis-a-vis DC.
Note that a couple weeks ago I wrote a number of entries about “DIY” culture inspired by a trip to Baltimore.
Sean, I’d love you to say more about the local art community as a *community*; I know the city is full of artists, but what is it that, in your mind, constitutes “a strong community” versus just “lots of artists”? What are your thoughts on Richard and Mat’s points re: cost? And what’s your take on the reputation issue - if there’s a strong community, why aren’t more people inside and outside the city aware of it? Would love your thoughts. Will email you too!
i didnt really respond to your queries though…. sorry.
What constitutes a strong art community?
to me, a strong arts community is an amalgamation of arts professionals, artists obviously, but also, gallarists, curators, patrons, art lovers, etc.. that interact regularly and create an atmosphere that is encouraging toward artistic and professional artistic growth.