Taking the Anacostia Art Walk
Posted by Joshua Yospyn | April 18, 2010
On Saturday, I participated in the first Anacostia art walk hosted by the Arch Development Corporation. Arch is “creating a home for arts & artists, cultural organizations, and compatible businesses,” mostly in Ward 8. I’ll narrate the photographs as we go along, but please leave a comment if you have any questions or thoughts.
When I say “Anacostia,” what’s your reaction? My initial visit occurred in November 2008 with my friend Beth, who I met that month during volunteer duties forFotoWeekDC. The event brochure listed several exhibitions in the Anacostia Historic District, so we went to check them out. Within minutes of parking on Good Hope Road, I was gawking at gigantic prints by Jean-François Rauzier and met Honfleur Gallery’s creative director, Briony Evans. She volunteered to give Beth and I a personal tour of the other photography exhibitions around the area and we walked through about a half dozen.
Now, one year later, Beth works for Arch and I’ve participated in two exhibitions at Honfleur.
The accessibility and community emphasized by the women who run these galleries has allowed me to meet Senator Al Franken, his brother Owen (a prolific photographer), Ann Curry of NBC News, plus numerous other talented photographers and artists who participate in their events. I’ve grown as a photographer because of these experiences and gained many friends. Enjoy some photos from Saturday’s walk.
Below: The Honfleur Gallery. In the far right window you’ll see a back hoe destroying an old gas station across the street. It was completely flattened by the time the tour was over and is a sign of how rapidly the area is changing. Try to ignore my reflection in the door. |
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Below: Inside Honfleur, local fashion designer Dana Ayanna Greaves of Artistic AYA prepares for a runway show (the gallery hosts several throughout the year). |
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Below: One stop on the tour was local printer and gallery Vivid Solutions, where I snapped a picture of photographer Shannon Holloway’s gorgeous sandals. |
Below: Anacostia is also home to the “World’s Largest Chair.” However, I found out this claim is widely debated with several other cities. |
Below: Andrea with Vivid talks about the darkroom available for use on Martin Luther King Blvd (fully stocked but bring your own paper). |
Below: Many of the galleries and businesses in Historic Anacostia are affiliated with Arch, including spaces like the darkroom. Below: I worked up an appetite and thankfully there’s Big Chair Coffee on MLK Blvd (aptly named) who’s getting a new chef this week. Although Dave’s seasoned turkey burger on ciabatta worked for me.  |
Below: Once the site of Cherry Blast 2009 by The Pink Line Project, this entire space, with funding from Arch, has been turned into a training ground for future builders. We were met by William Winchester, who gave us a tour of the facility, plus showed us a thermal imaging scanner and the Milwaukee Digital Inspection Camera (both fun as hell to use). William says their goal is to teach trainees skills valued by building contractors, who then hire the them. This is a fantastic follow up to Cherry Blast, whose original graffiti artwork remains on every wall. |
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Below: Once the DJ booth, but the DIABETIK peep remains. |
Below: Sadly, moojoo ken has gone out of business. |
Below: Tag on the wall by Asad ULTRA Walker, who also teaches a graffiti class at the Fridge. |
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Below: Cherry Blast + Isometric Drawing. |
Below: William holding the thermal imaging scanner. Below: Another peep poster by DIABETIK, this one by the front door.  |
Below: Our last stop on the tour was the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site run by the National Park Service. It’s a few blocks from the galleries and gives you an incredible panorama of Washington, DC from a Southeast viewpoint. |
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Below: The front door of the house. |
Below: The MWCC gave a sundial to the house in 1922. |
Below: At the rear of the house you’ll find “The Growlery.” Which is where I write these blog posts. |
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Below: Contact the Arch Development Corporation team to take part in the next Anacostia Art Walk. |
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Photo Credits: Joshua Yospyn/Worn Magazine (please ask permission to use our images)
Comments
Excellent work as usual, Yospyn!
It was nice to see you guys at Big Chair Coffee yesterday. I was the young man trying to make sure I didn’t mess up any of you guys’ shots in the upstairs lounge. But if you did manage to get me in any of the pictures, I would love to see them.
Thanks for participating in the tour Josh and for the the great review. Nice images!
fantastic shots of the cool stuff going on.
It was great bumping into you Joshua. Great shots.
Al Franken and Ann Curry! I want an intro.
excellent documenting of what looks to be an incredible intersection of arts, community building and sustainable solutions to urban revitalization. congrats to all on what could prove to be a model for other communities. can’t wait to visit in person.
not to be a hater or anything, but you gave diabetik props how about the other street artists… just to be helpful, i spelled my name out for you: U.L.T.R.A…
ULTRA – thanks for the comment, I just credited you in a caption there.
Where can I find more info on that darkroom? Is it open to the public?
Hey CDE – contact Andrea for more info via her e-mail at http://www.archdevelopment.org/contact.html. I think you need to coordinate usage with her but it is available to anyone I believe.
Nice images, include the Anacostia Community Museum on your next Art Walk.
Big Chair Coffee is great. GOOOOOOD coffee! Mark and I have been there a few times over the last few weeks (after meetings in Anacostia)
Magnificent, I hope to visit Anacostia next week and look forward to seeing the home of Frederick Douglass and recalling his famous visit to Ireland during our worst years.
[...] around my way: art galleries We have just as many art galleries in Anacostia as they do on H Street NE. Come check us out too, look here. [...]
T.H.A.N.K.S. =)
the very first photo is a production by DotCom crew (of which i am a member) and is featured in the doc “Chocolate City Burning”. as shown in the movie, a community member was very upset that her appeals to the police and property owner were ignored, so she took matters into her own hands and vandalized a legal piece of art. to this date, she remains at large.