This past Fall, the Center was proud to be asked to partner with Pepco in their 2020 Call for Exhibits at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC. Through a transparent and competitive process, nonprofit organizations across the Pepco service territory were selected to participate in a two- to four-week residency that involves an in-kind donation of gallery space at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery.
Congratulations to the organizations selected!
We invite everyone to come see the amazing, meaningful work of local artists capturing life in the DC area. Join us for the Opening Receptions, or stop by during the day. Located at 702 8th Street, NW in Washington, DC, the Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4pm.
Exhibit Schedule for January – June
January 15 – February 29
DC Infrastructure Academy Exhibition: “Life Beyond the Line”
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 13, 5:30 – 7:30pm
This powerful series of portrait photographs, captured by DC artist Reginal Cunningham, envelop the observer with the personal, vulnerable and dramatic character of Pepco’s line professionals who are recent D.C. Infrastructure Academy (DCIA) graduates. This exhibit brings the public face-to-face with the people delivering the area’s critical resource and asks us to consider the life beyond the line. Through sound and visual elements, this immersive multimedia exhibit encapsulates what life is like for these individuals beyond the transmission lines, and demonstrates how participating in the DCIA program has changed the lives of these local Washingtonians.
March 1 – March 20
Pulitzer Center Exhibition: “Crisis Reporting Everyday DC Exhibit”
Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 11, 5:00 – 7:30pm
The Everyday DC photography exhibition aims to make positive contributions to media representation of DC by visualizing everyday life in the District through the eyes of DC public middle school students. The exhibition is the culmination of a photojournalism unit that was inspired by Everyday Africa, an Instagram feed aimed at countering negative media coverage of the continent.
The goals of the Everyday DC unit are to teach students to evaluate the composition and intent of the images they see, and to compose images that visualize underrepresented moments from everyday life in the District. By the end of the unit, students master photography techniques, caption-writing skills and exhibition curation. They are also able to articulate how they can compose photos that tell underrepresented stories about their city, and how the images they compose can work to combat dominant media representation of DC.
March 24 – April 10
National Cherry Blossom Festival Youth Art Contest
Student Art Contest Awards Ceremony: Tuesday, March 24
DC Public Schools and DC Public Charter Schools students will embrace their community “Home is where the Blossoms Are” with a focus on friendship, exploring what’s in their backyard and embracing cherry blossoms beyond the Tidal Basin. They will be encouraged to discover art and blossoms in their community and find other ideas through the Resource Guide.
Students are directed to create artwork that tells their “Home is where the Blossoms Are” story by discovering what cherry blossoms mean to their perspective communities, find similarities—via symbols, murals, patterns and culture, and think of how to express their thoughts in the framework of their own backyard. In the “group submission” category, a class can create a collaborative piece that tells a story with collaboration at heart.
May 1 – 31
The Beacon Newspapers and AARP Exhibition: “Celebration of the Arts 2020”
Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 27, 5:00 – 7:30pm
This show will feature amateur artists over 50 who live throughout the Pepco service area and whose work has been selected through the online Celebration of the Arts competition conducted by The Beacon Newspapers. Artwork will include paintings, drawings, ceramics, sculpture, stained glass, jewelry, mixed media and photography that have been selected for prizes by professional artist jurors.
June 1 – June 12
Creative Expressions Youth Art Show
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 4, 5:00 – 7:30pm
The Creative Expression Art Competition (CEAC) was created to provide opportunities for youth in the District of Columbia Public and Charter Schools to experience the arts. The Inaugural Event on June 2014 was called Civil-Tea Citywide Creative Expression Competition with over 100 art exhibits and 22 schools participating. The experience provided a medium to give our youth a voice to express the effects of civility and incivility on their lives. The event also gave teachers a teaching moment to use various teaching methods to engage students in all aspects of civility.