October is the time for stories, traditions, and folklore. It’s also National Arts & Humanities Month. Hear old familiar tales and create new stories.
- Opening Reception for Juxtaposed, a group exhibition focusing on the contradictory or conflicting. Whether it be through the use of mixed media or the themes represented, the works in the exhibition are at odds with two or more juxtaposing concepts. Reception, 7-10 pm, Artist and Juror Talk, 8 pm.
- Walking tour and Artist Talk for our new Fall Seasonal Art Installations from 7 – 8pm. Learn more about the installations from Make Room Inc., Andreas Schenkel and Steve Wanna, and Henry Egghart.
- Opening reception for Connecting the Dots 2 in the New Project Studio (Studio 8).
- Welcome Post Grad Kelly R. Johnston as she starts her 3-month residency at the Art Center (Studio 319).
Paint Jam Art Project on the Waterfront
- Curated by New Project Studio artists Shani Shih and Michelle Chen, seven DC and Northern Virginia-based artists come together to create unique artworks to be donated by the Torpedo Factory Art Center to various nonprofits and social-minded Alexandria-based organizations.
- Participating organizations:
- Curated by New Project Studio artists Shani Shih and Michelle Chen, seven DC and Northern Virginia-based artists come together to create unique artworks to be donated by the Torpedo Factory Art Center to various nonprofits and social-minded Alexandria-based organizations.
MasPaz was born in Bogota, Colombia, adopted from La Casa De La Madre Y El Niño orphanage, to an American family, and raised in Washington, DC. His Latin American heritage plays a huge role in his art today. MasPaz is a graduate of George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. His studio work, installations and gallery projects have been exhibited throughout the world most notably The Smithsonian Institution, Corcoran Gallery of Art and The New Museum. MasPaz lives and works in Arlington, Va, but spends a majority of his time traveling, teaching and painting murals across the world.
Monolith @monolithdc
Monolith is a DC-based artist from Northern Virginia, whose work is informed typography, pop culture, social justice and political philosophy. They believe that art forms born in the streets, graffiti and street art in particular, can reclaim space monopolized by eyesores of capitalism and advertising. A co-founder of the 411 Collective, Monolith uses street art to elevate the creative language of resistance as one of the few remaining avenues of independent expression and culture in local communities facing rapid gentrification.
JAH-ONE @you_are_jah
www.youarejah.com
JAH-ONE is the moniker chosen by this artist. He was classically trained in watercolor and acrylic at a young age and would later go on to teach himself how to paint with oil and sculpt using traditional and synthetic clays. Through fortunate occurrence he was introduced to aerosol and the art of graffiti. The skills and lessons gained from graffiti, have allowed him to begin creating larger work more rapidly. He is now a full-time artist that splits his time between his roots in the studio and his new found love of public art in the form of murals.
Jamilla Okubo @jamillaokubo
www.jamillaokubo.co
Jamilla Okubo is a mixed-media artist. Washington, D.C. raised, Okubo earned her BFA in Integrated Design at Parsons School of Design. Her work has a consistent theme of exploring the intricacy of belonging to an American, Kenyan, and Trinidadian identity and aims to use her interdisciplinary concentration as a medium to address topics within her culture. Rotating between collage, painting, fashion design, and printmaking her work is heavily inspired by the art of storytelling through textiles and fashion.
Gean Martinez @_grave__
Gean Martinez is a self-taught fine artist and muralist from Washington, D.C. His artwork embodies elements of nature, space, and the afterlife. Though it is ever evolving during the process he aims to use household and found objects to create earthly textures. He uses this method of painting to one day change the thought process of humans relationship with nature.
FAME @dcsofaimeous
FAME is a visual/mural artist from Washington, DC. He began writing graffiti when he was 14-years old. His creative talents have contributed to numerous public and private murals throughout the city, most recently Little Havana, a Cuban/Caribbean restaurant in Columbia Heights, DC. He is a founding member of ART B.L.O.C. DC and is part of the Double Down Kings graffiti crew.
Michelle Chen @shiyuart
www.shiyu.art
Michelle is DC-based artist from Maryland. Working primarily in acrylic, oil, and spray paint, Michelle explores identity, belonging, and transformation with an eye to how these emerge from shared stories and symbols. Michelle is the Gallery Assistant and Events Coordinator at IA&A at Hillyer and is currently a New Project Studio artist-in-residence at Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Shani Shih @shanishih
www.shanishih.com
Shani is a multimedia artist based in Washington DC, originally from New Jersey. Featuring bold linework, gritty textures, and human figures intertwined with industrial structures, much of her personal work speaks to day-to-day social and bodily experience in the stratified and colonized landscapes of the modern world. Shani works in the DMV around community arts, anti-displacement, and is currently also artist-in-residence at Torpedo Factory Art Center’s New Project Studio.
The Omi Collective transforms the South Hall of the Art Center into an Art Lounge, featuring two community art projects for visitors to join in.
Featuring the collaborative work of artist Nicole Wandera and boys and girls from the Dunbar Alexandria-Olympic Boys & Girls Club. The finished work will hang in the club as a gift from the artist and the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Nicole Wandera @nicole_the_african
Nicole Wandera is a multidisciplinary artist, who brings to life the essence of the human experience. Raised in Nairobi Kenya, she uses her cultural background to build depth and colour into her work. Through the use of traditional and digital mediums, she creates visual stories that depict the beauty and complexity of the world we live in. Her art is mostly figurative, and use symbology as a means of conveying emotion where words tend to fall short.
As a champion for social justice, Nicole has used her talents as a vehicle for change. Her work is a catalyst for conversations not easily started, while capturing moments that strike at the heart of many of today’s issues by telling the stories of those whose voices have been silenced, through discrimination and injustice.
Visitors are also invited to take part in completing a work-in-progress by Torpedo Factory Art Center studio artist Michael Fischerkeller (Studio 5). The finished work will be donated to the Carpenter’s Shelter as part of the Art Center’s ongoing mission to bring art and inspiration to the Alexandria community.
Michael Fischerkeller @m_fischerkeller
Following a meditation – induced heart opening in the Summer of 2013 , Michael Fischerkeller was inspired to elucidate through art the truth s of disruptive social issues of our time. Having acquired a Ph.D. in political science in 1996, Michael leverages his academic background to offer concise, often poignant compositions and accompanying narratives to provide deep understanding and coherence of complex issues. Fischerkeller is inspired by street artists and so, recognizing that the “street” is most often and most severely impacted by social issues, he chose their primary instrument of communication – spraypaint – to deliver his messages. His starting point is always a black canvas, symbolic of the black light referenced in Sufi mystical prose from which the light of our universe emanates, light that seeks to overcome the darkness in our lives. Through on – going meditative practice Michael receives guidance on issues upon which he should focus and imagery to support their understanding. His art w ork has been shown in dozens of juried exh i bitions , nationally an d internationally , with a particular emphasis on exhibit ions focusing on art’s role in promoting social change. He strives to ensure that his art educates, inspires, and offers opportunities for personal healing . Michael lives and creates in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
- Healing the Body – Site 2 Exhibition and Interactive Project with visitors
Pop-up performances with Through the 4th Wall to celebrate their new musical “19” – a play about women winning the right to vote.- Three floors of art studios and galleries to explore all night.
- Torpedo Row – featuring artists from across the DMV.
Pop-up performances with 