About
Your Creative DC cruise director, Amanda Hirsch
I’m here to tell you that Washington, DC is a city full of creative people.
It’s a city that’s home to artists, entrepreneurs, and people seeking – and embracing – unique life paths. It’s a place where the famous Cake Love founder Warren Brown traded in a law career to open a bakery. Where Kimberly Wilson, founder of Tranquil Space Yoga in Dupont Circle, started a yoga studio in her living room. Where firemen and government workers alike moonlight as improvisers, where publicists and moms form writing workshops, where hair stylists are percussionists and computer programmers make short films.
I’ve had three goals for this blog since I started it back in 2006:
- Help inspire DC residents who haven’t yet tapped into a creative community here,
- Help people learn about creative groups, projects and businesses, and
- Help reshape the mainstream image of DC.
Far too often, I see DC painted as a town full of humorless transients, slaves to dull government jobs; a city devoid of pulse, known so much for its monuments and memorials that it too comes to seem perhaps important, perhaps beautiful, but also untouchable, and lifeless.
I need to fight these images for my own well-being as much as anyone else’s. It can be disspiriting to live in a city that thinks of itself as dull – a place where essays proclaiming New York’s superiority to DC are as predictable as the seasons. I spend my days interacting with creative people all over this city – people I’ve met through Washington Improv Theater, Tranquil Space Yoga, Creatives DC, and other outposts. And yet, it’s easy to feel disconnected. My hope is that Creative DC can ease that sense of alienation in some small way.
What People Are Saying
“Thanks to Amanda and Creative DC for helping to document and promote Washington’s artistic community. The better connected we are, the more we can achieve.” – Olivia Mancini, DC musician
“Informative and provocative” – Washington Business Tonight
“I came across your blog because I’m searching for a way to connect with other artistic people and have been feeling discouraged about the seeming lack of a strong DC arts community. Your blog has been a bright spot for me. So thanks for that!” – New DC resident, via email
“Woof!” – My dog Cosmo
About the Author
I’m a writer and performer. I live in Adams Morgan with my husband, Jordan, my dog, Cosmo, and the occasional rat. You can learn more about me at amandahirsch.com. I’m also active in a number of other places online:
- Read Outside the Frame, my weekly column for PBS on documentaries and the web
- Follow my updates on Twitter
- Check out my bookmarks
- View my photos on Flickr
Contact me at amanda [at] creativedc dot org, or use this contact form.
Special Thanks Go To…
Jordan Hirsch, my husband and Creative DC’s CTO (that’s Creative Technology Officer, thankyouverymuch), aka the technical brains behind this operation. He also makes a mean Guinness Chocolate Cake – and chocolate is, of course, essential to the success of any creative endeavor.
Christina Descaro, my friend who designed the Creative DC logo, graphic header and background image.
Kate Barrett and Laura Hertzfeld, who’ve contributed fabulous guest posts.