Dafna profiled by the Examiner

Image by Dafna Steinberg

On the occasion of her Photos on the Deck event at Marvin Restaurant, Sparkplug artist Dafna Steinberg was profiled by the art beat folks at the Examiner. You can have a look at the brief write up here.

Barter closing reception at WPA

Barter, a project organized by Sparkplug curator Blair Murphy, is holding a closing ceremony this evening from 6 to 9pm at WPA headquarters in Dupont (2023 Mass Ave NW).

Barter is a non-monetary silent auction that is part of Washington Project for the Arts’ Coup d’Espace series. People were allowed to bid on goods and services by offering their on goods and services in return. Winning bids have been selected and exchange items and certificates for exchange services will be on display tonight at the closing reception.

See you there!

Introducing the new SPARKPLUG members

Things were delayed a bit, but the blog is back up and running. DCAC welcomes the seven new member artists of Sparkplug: Rob Chester, Chajana DenHarder, Todd Gardner, Joseph Hale, Chandi Kelley, Matthew Smith, and Dafna Steinberg. Blair Murphy is the lone member of Sparkplug F1 that will continue in the new iteration of the group, and she is most certainly welcome back.

To introduce the new members, DCAC presented Facts and Fiction, which closed last Sunday July 18. Thanks to those of you that came out for the opening reception on June 18 and for the artist talk on July 11. Below is the press release for the show:

Sparkplug Presents
Facts and Fictions
June 18 - July 18
Opening Reception: June 18, 7-9pm
Artists Talk: July 11, 5pm

Curated by Blair Murphy
Featuring work by Rob Chester, Chajana denHarder, Todd Gardner, Joseph Hale, Chandi Kelley, Matt Smith and Dafna Steinberg

Featuring work by the seven new members of DCAC's Sparkplug artist collective, Facts and Fictions highlights the tension between the real and the constructed, between the production of elaborate fictions and the documentation of a seemingly concrete reality. Working in painting, photography and mixed media, the artists in the exhibition blur the boundaries between documentation and creation. Fictional narratives and imagined characters inhabit fantastical worlds that nonetheless speak to everyday experiences and anxieties. In other instances, work created with an eye towards everyday human experience transforms otherwise ordinary moments into unfamiliar and surprising visions.

Call for New Members!

Sparkplug Artist Collective Seeks New Members!

Sparkplug, a collective of emerging artists and curators sponsored by DC Arts Center, is seeking new members interested in participating as curators or artists. Currently composed of nine DC area artists and curators, the Sparkplug collective meets regularly to discuss their work, explore common concerns, grow their community and dream up creative engagements both in DC and around the world. Through its support of Sparkplug, DC Arts Center provides meeting space, legal and technical resources and exhibition opportunities to emerging artists and curators without current gallery representation or institutional employ. Via a continuing dialogue encompassing the theoretical and the practical, the group’s members share experiences, perspectives, preoccupations, challenges, and topics informing their ongoing artistic practice.

New members chosen during the Spring of 2010 should be prepared to participate in an exhibition this June and remain active members of the group for the next two years. Members are expected to attend monthly meetings and participate in studio visits. Applicants should be 21 years of age or older, live in the DC metropolitan area and not currently have gallery representation or institutional employ as curators or art writers. The deadline for applications is April 5, 2010. Invitations for formal interviews will be extended on or before April 19. 2010.

Go to the DCAC website for more information about Sparkplug and to view the full call and application requirements.



About DC Arts Center

The District of Columbia Arts Center, founded in 1989, is a nonprofit arts space dedicated to promoting the freshest, most under-recognized artists in the Washington metropolitan area. We encourage an ongoing dialogue between new artists and the greater art community, and assist artists in the business of production. Comprised of a theater, gallery, and administrative offices, DCAC is located in the heart of Adams Morgan. Since its inception in 1989, DCAC has received local, national and international reviews for visual and performing arts. Over 100 visual arts exhibitions and 500 performance events have illustrated the need for DCAC. Poets, painters, actors, storytellers, sculptors, performance artists have been drawn to the Center from as close as around the corner and as far as from around the world.

SAVE THE DATE: May 13th for CUISINE DES ARTISTES!

Are you an ARTISTE' with an idea for an aesthetic appetizer? What a great excuse to get to know us. Get in touch at info@dcartscenter.org if you're interested in helping.

PRESENTS FINDINGS


October 16 - November 15
Opening Reception: October 16, 7-9pm

Art by Deborah Carroll Anzinger, Peter Gordon, Michael Matason, Lisa McCarty, Kathryn McDonnell, Karen Joan Topping and Jenny Walton

Curated by Lea-Ann Bigelow and Blair Murphy

DCAC’s resident collective considers the artistic process as a mode of inquiry, a domain characterized by sustained research and vigorous experimentation, yet focused less on the production of definitive answers than on the discovery and negotiation of contradictory truths.

360 degrees of images taken by Lisa McCarty from Sparkplug: Now exhibit at AAC.








The show ends this weekend. The 22nd will also be your last opportunity to sign the memorial book for Mark Planisek before the AAC sends it to his family. Please stop by if you have not already.