The ARC, which hosts a community gallery and ArtReach workshops for youth and adults at it’s 1901 Mississippi Avenue SE location is planning something special for the annual Anacostia River Festival. The festival, on April 12, 2015 held at the Anacostia Waterfront Park will be the site of the first Anacostia River Festival Fish Bike Parade. What is a Fish Bike Parade? Picture hundreds of bikes riding around the DC streets with colorful handmade fish windsocks like the one’s pictured above flying over the heads of the cyclists and convening at the festival to create an above water river display.
Over the next few weeks the ARTREACH will host workshops to create your own fish flags inspired by the Japanese tradition of creating carp-shaped windsocks known as “Koinobori.” The fish windsocks will then be attached to poles on the back of bikes for a flying fish performance at the festival. The workshops are free and open to all regardless of creative experience. :
Wednesday March 11 @ The ARC’s ArtReach studio 1901 Mississippi Ave SE 6-8 PM
Saturday March 14 @ The ARC’s ArtReach studio 1901 Mississippi Ave SE 1-3 PM
Wednesday April 1 @ The ARC’s ArtReach studio 1901 Mississippi Ave SE 6-8 PM
Saturday April 4 @ The ARC’s ArtReach studio 1901 Mississippi Ave SE 10-1 PM
JOIN THE EAST RIVER FAMILY STRENGTHENING COLLABORATIVE IN ITS ANNUAL 7 WARD 7 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE AWARDS LUNCHEON ON MARCH 26, 2015 AT NOON. FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO NOMINATE A WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR OR SMALL BUSINESS OWNER FOR THIS YEAR’S CEREMONY VISIT:
Scholars in Wards 7 & 8 and beyond: Please consider applying to the Smithsonian’s 2015 Latino Museum Studies Program. The program seeks scholars and emerging leaders in the fields of Latino history, art, and culture. You can come to Anacostia and use our resources to broaden your understanding. More information can be found bellow or by visiting www.latino.si.edu.
January 16, 2015-The Washington Performing Arts’ Children of the Gospel Choir perform “I Know I’m Going to Make It” at the Anacostia Community Museum 30th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program at the Rasmuson Theater at the National Museum of the American Indian. Here, Norman Hudgins sings solo. Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
The Anacostia Community Museum celebrated its 30th annual Martin Luther King program with inspiring performances and a keynote speech by the Center for Community Change’s Kica Matos. The theme for this year’s program was “The Beloved Community.” Ms. Matos spoke to how we can all become involved in creating change and respecting dialogue in our own communities and pointed to upcoming exhibits like “Twelve Years that Changed Washington” which will speak to the impact and strength of individual communities.
January 16, 2015 – Keynote speaker Kica Matos, Director of Immigrant Rigths and Racial Justice at the Center for Community Change at the 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program of the Anacostia Community Museum.
January 16, 2015- A performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been” from the musical Hairspray with the Washington Performing Arts’ Children of the Gospel Choir and the Alfred Kiger Savoy Plaers in collaboration with the DC Youth Ensemble entertained the audience at the Anacostia Community Museum’s 30th annual Martin King Luther Jr. Program. Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionJanuary 16, 2015 – Smithsonian Undersecretary Claudine Brown moderated a question and answer session with keynote speaker Kica Matos, Director of Immigrant Rigths and Racial Justice at the Center for Community Change at the 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program of the Anacostia Community Museum. Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionJanuary 16, 2015 – Smithsonian Undersecretary Claudine Brown moderated a question and answer session with keynote speaker Kica Matos, Director of Immigrant Rigths and Racial Justice at the Center for Community Change at the 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program of the Anacostia Community Museum. Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionJanuary 16, 2015 – Keynote speaker Kica Matos, Director of Immigrant Rigths and Racial Justice at the Center for Community Change at the 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program of the Anacostia Community Museum.
January 16, 2015 – Smithsonian Undersecretary for Education Claudine Brown poses for a photograph with keynote speaker Kica Matos, Director of Immigrant Rigths and Racial Justice at the Center for Community Change, and Anacostia Community Museum Director Camille Akeju before the start of the 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. program.January 16, 2015 Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionJanuary 16, 2015-The Washington Performing Arts’ Children of the Gospel Choir perform “I Know I’m Going to Make It” at the Anacostia Community Museum 30th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program at the Rasmuson Theater at the National Museum of the American Indian. Here, Norman Hudgins sings solo.January 16, 2015- A performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been” from the musical Hairspray with the Washington Performing Arts’ Children of the Gospel Choir and the Alfred Kiger Savoy Plaers in collaboration with the DC Youth Ensemble entertained the audience at the Anacostia Community Museum’s 30th annual Martin King Luther Jr. Program.January 16, 2015 – The Alfred Kiger Savoy Players prepare for their performance at the Anacostia Community Museum’s 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program backstage at the Rasmuson Theater at the National Museum of the American Indian.January 16, 2015- A performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been” from the musical Hairspray with the Washington Performing Arts’ Children of the Gospel Choir and the Alfred Kiger Savoy Plaers in collaboration with the DC Youth Ensemble entertained the audience at the Anacostia Community Museum’s 30th annual Martin King Luther Jr. Program.January 16, 2015-Director Camille Akeju makes opening remarks at the Anacostia Community Museum 30th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program at the Rasmuson Theater at the National Museum of the American Indian. Here, Norman Hudgins sings solo. Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionJanuary 16, 2015-The Washington Performing Arts’ Children of the Gospel Choir sing “I Know Where I’ve Been” from the musical Hairspray at the Anacostia Community Museum 30th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program at the Rasmuson Theater at the National Museum of the American Indian. Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
January 16, 2015 – Wendy Perez and Ramiro Forty, winners of the 2014 DC After-School Latin Program perform before the Anacostia Community Museum’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program. Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
Last Saturday a group of intrepid young Citizen Scientists from the UPO POWER college prep program hopped on a bus departing from the Anacostia Community Museum to monitor biological and chemical markers in a tributary to the Anacostia Watershed, the Lower Beaverdam Creek in Cheverly, Maryland. Also attending were representatives from State Farm, Dwayne Redd and Lynn Heinrichs. State Farm supports the Anacostia Community Museum Citizen Scientist program through a grant. Afterwards the group gathered for lunch back at ACM where State Farm presented the group with a giant check, literally. The Citizen Scientist program encourages environmental stewardship by training and supporting citizen volunteers to monitor and report back on their local ecology.
Biologist Alison Cawood, of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) helps the students conduct their data collection. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
Dwayne Redd, of State Farm, right, poses with David McIntyre of Ballou High School and Anthony Lawson of Ideal Charter School, during the visit to Lower Beaverdam Creek. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionState Farm agent Lynn Heinrichs helps the students with their data collection.
Diamond Carter of National Collegiate PCS records the data for future reference.Wading boots were mandatory during this early December visit to the Lower Beaverdam Creek. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
I will be participating on an interesting panel discussing Photo Trends & Evolution in our digital age at the Martin Luther King Library Tuesday Dec. 9. This meetup is sponsored by Net2Squared DC. Please join us and bring your thoughts and questions!
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, Digital Commons
901 G Street, NW, Washington, DC (map)
In this panel discussion we will be exploring how the world of photography has evolved from the days of the film camera to mobile phone cameras. It has evolved tremendously as an art form and as a profession. Camera technology is more accessible than ever. Everyone is a “photographer.” What are the implications of this for both amateur and professional photographers? Media outlets are now crowdsourcing photography from their audience. What does it mean to be a photographer in this age of “phoneography”? The event is free and open to everyone from hobbyist and professional photographers to photo enthusiasts.
Panelists:
o James Campbell, Photographer & Founder of InstantDC
o Joshua Cogan, Documentary Photographer
o Holly Garner, Mobile Phone Photographer & Instagram igdc Organizer
o Susana Raab, Documentary Photographer & Photographer at Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
o Matt Rakola, Editorial Photographer & DC Chair of American Photographic Artists
Moderator:
Roshani Kothari, Photographer & NetSquared DC Organizer
Discussion Questions:
1. How are things evolving in terms of camera technology–DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, mobile phone cameras, etc.?
2. What are the online technology trends in terms of photo sharing communities, like Flickr, Instagram and other sites?
3. Now all media outlets are about multimedia. NPR has photography and video. An article on National Geographic’s website includes video along with images. What is the role of photography in a multimedia world, and how is the profession being impacted?
4. How is photography being used for social good? Everything from community photography projects to nonprofits using photography to enhance their online campaigns.
These are just a few of the many questions we will be discussing. We look forward to an exciting discussion about photo trends and evolution!
Anacostia Community Museum MAP students meet Ambassador Francisco Roberto Altschul Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
The Anacostia Community Museum Academy is an after school program dedicated to broadening the horizons of some of the younger members of our local community. One late afternoon in November the ACM Museum Academy crossed international borders and paid a visit to the Salvadoran Embassy in DC. There, they met with Ambassador Francisco Roberto Altschul; learned about El Salvador; tasted traditional Salvadoran food like pupusa de queso (a thick corn meal tortilla filled with cheese) and served with curtido (a delicious cabbage slaw made with vinegar); and enjoyed a film screening with Oscar-winning Salvadoran director Andrè Guttfreund about a Salvadoran man who had an idea and turned that into a school that benefitted the entire community.
ACM Museum Academy students enjoy the pupusas, curtidas, fresh fruit and corn bread, traditional Salvadoran fare. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionThe Anacostia Community Museum Academy enjoyed a visit to the Salvadorean Embassy in Washington, DC where they met Ambassador Francisco Roberto Altschul, Salvadorean Oscar-winning director Andre Guttfreund, and Counselor for Cultural Affairs Vilma Herrera.Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
Andrè shared this story about Hector Morales , a director of a poor rural school, El Zapote, in El Salvador who changed the face of a community. In Andrè’s own words:
Hector Morales, El Zapote’s hero Director, took over 4 years ago. In that time he has done the following:
1) Introduced hydroponic gardening all done by the kids themselves in order for the school to feed itself. Leftover produce is sold by the kids to raise money for their other projects. In addition, 80% of the kids took hydroponics home, so that their families now also feed themselves, and barter what they don’t need with fishermen, allowing both parties to balance out their diets.
2) The kids and their parents, with the help of community members, have built two tilapia ponds and one shrimp pond. What they don’t eat has already been pre-sold to fish markets in the area.
3) Given that there is no artisanship in their village of 500, and because Hector felt the kids needed an activity which they would enjoy, instill pride, and help them make some money for themselves and their families, he brought a teacher in, from an area in El Salvador which weaves for a living, who taught the kids how to make hammocks. This program has been so successful that the kids are having to catch up with the orders. Each kid gets $25.00 for their hammock; the rest goes for the materials involved. Hector introduced them to branding, by having the kids choose the colors which would identify the hammocks as having been made in El Zapote. They are now sold to tourists at airport gift shops, and orders have started to come in from abroad.
4) Hector made a deal with local turtle egg fishermen in which they keep 70% of their crop and give the other 30% to the school. This helps conserve the species, and makes the kids responsible for taking care of the eggs, and then releasing the turtles before they imprint. This project is part of his biology class, and he has integrated ecology, environmentalism and self-sustainability into the entire curriculum
5) Every Friday, the whole school participates in a total community clean-up operation, ending with recycling and mulching.
6) Some of the recycled material is used to make puppets for a puppet show on environmental awareness, which the kindergartners perform throughout the county.
7) Before Hector, education at El Zapote would end at 8th grade for 95% of the students. The closest high school was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride away (each way). Now a ninth grade schoolroom has been built for the upcoming school year, and one will be added every year until the 12th grade is finished. Every eighth grader has been inscribed other than three whose families are moving.
Andrè finished his impassioned presentation by telling the students that they had the tools to create a film like the one he made (linked to below), with the ubiquity of personal technology like smart phones, and outlets like YouTube and Vimeo, we all can be the creators of our stories and share them with the world. Andrè Guttfreund’s movie served to create awareness of how one dedicated person harnessed a community to become positive conduits for change, and has since inspired the curriculum at schools around the world. Watch it below.
The students of Anacostia Community Museum Museum Academy pose outside the El Salvadoran Embassy in Washington, DC. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum
St Elizabeths historic cemetery. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
Tucked away behind Johnson Middle School on 12 Place SE, lies the remains of many of Saint Elizabeths Hospital former residents, veterans all. Today at 11 AM a small but significant group of people gathered to honor these veterans, many of them anonymous, but some with stories that persevere. Among those gathered to honor were: Arrington Dixon, President of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, keynote speaker and Civil Rights activist Dr. Frank Smith, now Director of the African American Civil War Museum, members of the Anacostia High School Junior ROTC, members of FREED, the Female Re-Enactors of Distinction, and the combined chorus of the US Coast Guard and St. Elizabeths Hospital, among other notables. It was a beautiful ceremony on a perfect Washington autumn day, complete with a bagpiper, bugler, and speeches that recognized the struggles of those who were interred in the Cemetery, advocated for mental health care, and honored those who continue to serve in the US Armed Forces.
Dr. Frank Smith, Director of the African American Civil War Museum delivers the keynote address at the Veterans Remembrance Ceremony at Saint Elizabeths Hospital East Campus. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionThe Coast Guard Color Guard posts during the Veterans Remembrance Ceremony at Saint Elizabeths Hospital East Campus. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionMembers of FREED (Female Reenactors of Distinction of the American Civil War): Judy Williams, Joyce Bailey, Helen Hassell, Asa Gordon, Carol Gordon, and Shirley Holmes pose for a portrait before the commencement of the Veterans Remembrance Ceremony at Saint Elizabeths Hospital East Campus. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionMembers of FREED (Female Reenactors of Distinction of the American Civil War): take a cellphone photograph during the Veterans Remembrance Ceremony at Saint Elizabeths Hospital East Campus. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
-Jeffrey Burton of the US Coast Guard Pipe Band plays during the Veterans Remembrance Ceremony at Saint Elizabeths Hospital East Campus. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionMembers of the Anacostia High School Junior ROTC places flags on graves of soldiers during the Veterans Remembrance Ceremony at Saint Elizabeths Hospital East Campus. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian InstitutionA gravestone in Saint Elizabeths Cemetery. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
– The historic Saint Elizabeths Cemetery at Saint Elizabeths Hospital East Campus. Photo by Susana Raab/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution
Friend of the Anacostia Community Museum local artist Sheila Crider has an exhibit up at the Honfleur Gallery on Good Hope Rd SE called Volume. It features beautiful paper sculpture assemblages and mixed media prints. Sheila is a lifelong East of the Riverite, and participated in several projects with ACM. Please join her for an artist talk on November 15 @ 2 pm @Honfleur Gallery.
A sculpture in Sheila Crider’s VolumeVolume by Sheila Crider at the Honfleur Gallery
My practice focuses on making objects that challenge notions of decorative and fine art, questioning what real value and purpose these objects and “the artist” serve in the 21st century. It is centered by study of the varied languages of art movements since Modernism to construct contemporary pictures, using texture, pattern, line, color, form, sequence, and now, volume, with a goal of integrating image, object, and frame.
-Sheila Crider, September 2014
Also of interest is the PHOTOBOOK exhibit at Vivid Solutions Gallery next door in the Anacostia Arts Center. PHOTOBOOK asks how the presentation of a photographic image influences its effect on the viewer. How do we consider an image seen in a book that we hold as opposed to a photograph in a frame hanging on the wall? Featuring the work of 7 artists, the exhibit is tightly curated and offers an easily accessible framework in which to ponder these questions.
In the last 20 years photo books have become highly collectible and coveted objects. Martin Parr‘s and Gerry Badger‘s history of Photobooks in 3 volumes explores the use of photo books, the myriad way photographers have re-represented their work within them, the changes made in the advent of self-publishing, more affordable methods of offset publishing, and the rise in popularity of the handmade artist book. The photo book allows affordable entry into the world of fine art collecting. And first and limited editions have been known to appreciate greatly in value. Ask anyone who has their hands on a first edition of photographer Robert Frank’s seminal photo book The Americans.
Kristin Gudbrandsdottir “Faces of the Fallen”, KGB press, handmade artist book at Vivid Gallery
The books represented by the artists in Vivid Solutions Gallery’s PHOTOBOOK exhibit represent many of these ways of interpreting the photo book. Kristin Gudbrandsdottir’s Faces of the Fallen is a handmade artist book utilizing an acordian fold and cut-outs to represent the human waste of war. Leda Black’s Mimesis examines three categories of objects: plant, animal, and human-made. She prints out inkjet prints and had them hand bound into a book locally, offering yet another version of the handmade artist book
Leda Black’s Mimesis, Palabra Press, inkjet print on canvas.
Luke Strosnider’s I Wish You Where Here depicts images made during a European sojourn. His book appears to be one made from one of the many companies offering offset printing in small publishing runs, companies that include Blurb and MyPublisher.
Luke Strosnider ‘s Images from the series Wish You Where Here
Exhibiting Artists in Honfleur Gallery’s East of the River show: Bruce McNeil, James Terrell, Malik M. Lloyd, Amber Robles-Gordon, moderator Susana Raab, Rik Freeman, Luis Peralta del Valle, Yvon Fleurival, and Lawrence Green. Photo courtesy of Samuel Margai.
On October 16, 2014 The Anacostia Community Museum (@AnacostiaMuseum) sponsored an artist panel featuring 8 of the 9 East of the River artists exhibited in Honfleur Gallery‘s annual juried show. They were: Yvon Fleurival, a Haitian-born, Southeast Washington based painter with an MFA from the Maryland Institute and College of Art (MICA); Rik Freeman, a painter based in NE Washington whose murals can be seen at the DC Convention Center and Dorothy Height Library on Benning Road; Lawrence Green, a photographer, filmmaker and DJ based in SE Washington who graduated with a degree in Film and Media Arts from Temple University; Malik M. Lloyd, a SE based DC artist with a BFA in Illustration from the Philadelphia College of Arts; Bruce McNeil, a SE photographer who had documented the Anacostia waterway for years and hosts photo tours of the waterway with the Anacostia Community Museum; Luis Peralta Del Valle, another SE artist and muralist who has created a beautiful mural of SE spots with the Anacostia Community Museum Academy on display outside the library at Savoy Elementary, and who studied at the Corcoran School of Art; Amber Robles-Gordon, a mixed-media artist based in SE with an MFA from Howard University; and James Terrell, a multi-disciplinary artist based in NE Washington with an MFA from the Parsons School of Design and a BFA in Howard.
I can’t stress enough the value of hearing artists discuss their work. Most artists work from a very personal place, and when they choose to reveal themselves and their inspirations you too may find yourself uplifted as I was, when for example I heard Amber Robles-Gordon discuss how her art employed the energy of color and that she saw everything she did, her art-making – her yoga and pilates instruction – as an integral component of her practice, each building upon the other to inform her work.
If you have the opportunity to attend an artist talk, whether in our East of the River communities or elsewhere, I encourage you to do so. It’s a way we can all support each other, doesn’t cost a thing, and invariably will inform you and amplify your understanding of the art, and perhaps find resonance in your own life.
A few of the artists chose to share their work and words with us, and I post their images here, with their permission. The artists retain all rights to the reproduction of their work.
Rik Freeman presents his work inspired during a residency in Bahia, Brazil. Image courtesy of Samuel Margai.
ST. Kitts Field by Lawrence Green. All rights reserved.St. Kitts Tree by Lawrence Green. All rights reserved.
Seasonal Reflections by Bruce McNeil. All Rights Reserved.
I was visiting Kenilworth Park towards the end of summer 2014 and saw this composition of lotus stems and the sky. The figures represented a salute to the seasons. Spiritually, it feels that every element is transcending and evolving into its space.- Bruce McNeil
Fishing by Bruce McNeil. All Rights Reserved.
This image was an assignment from the Anacostia Community Museum for the exhibition, Reclaiming the Edge: Urban Waterways & Civic Engagement. I was looking for a family activity that involved fishing. This particular anonymous family was fishing along the banks of the watershed of Anacostia River in Bladensburg, MD. They fished for survival to provide the basic need of food for the family. It doesn’t matter that the waterways are polluted. Many have stated, like the show, this is “our river” too. In their home countries, many rivers are more polluted and they fish for survival. What I found amusing was the daughter was taking pictures of me while I was taking pictures of them. – Bruce McNeil
The Creation of Adam by Malik M. Lloyd. All Rights Reserved.
Blackboard Series: The impetus for this series came as effort to educate black people of a variety of propaganda that we have been indoctrinated to through the years via history and religion. Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam has served as a major vehicle to influence billions of people’s perspective of the story of the first man. My intent was to use his very same bold and magnificent composition with text to expose the scientific and historical truth by altering the imagery from white to black. In addition to the full Frederick Douglass like afro of God, included are a few elements stereotypical to black men added in an attempt to make the imagery more distinctively black and digestible, such as the changing of the iconic finger touch into a fist-pump, the image of what could be considered a basketball into a globe resting on text books, indicative of past accomplishments. The most prominent stereotype associated with black men was changing Adams lifeless penis into an enlarged phallic symbol. Added to this school-related composition is “suggested reading” materials from two distinguished authors.
-Malik M. Lloyd
Home by Malik M. Lloyd. All Rights Reserved.
The impetus for the “Home” series came with visits to my Grandmother’s home in Columbia, SC over 25 years ago. The fields of vegetation would take on the appearance of cornrows, a hairstyle worn mostly by black people, and would set the stage for several artworks in the series. In addition to the fields, this artwork includes my Grandmother’s rusting red house and images of the Africa/Egyptian pyramids – another item that I associate with my concept of home. -Malik M. Lloyd
Embrace Me by James Stephen Terrell. Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30 inches. All Rights Reserved.
At the talk I learned that James Terrell’s father is a preacher. The stained glass which figures prominently in many of his works is a reference to this facet of his experience.
Hey Mr. DJ by James Stephen Terrell. Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30 inches. All Rights Reserved.
Frutos do Mar by Rik Freeman. All Rights Reserved
Rik Freeman’s love of Santana and the group’s song, “Bahia,” inspired him to apply to an artist residency in Bahia, Brazil – where he created these two pieces.
Uma Cancao para Pelo by Rik Freeman. All Rights Reserved.
On Luisius Model by Yvon Fleurival. All Rights Reserved.
New Work by Yvon Fleurival. All Rights Reserved.
Thanks to the artists who contributed to the panel and show, and especially to Honfleur Gallery for supporting the work of these artists and many more.
