Nation's capitol boasts sprawling art community

Art Business News, Dec, 2001 by Andrew Korfhage

Down a long, dusty hallway filled with stacked desks, overturned bookshelves and the sharp smell of fresh sawdust glides Bill Wooby, a 30-year veteran of the Washington, D.C. arts community. He maneuvers his kick-scooter toward the door of an exhibition space and dismounts. "We have five of these [scooters]" he said offhandedly. "We've tried roller skates too. This place is so spread-out that we need ways to get around more quickly."

"This place" is Wooby's newest venture and a dream come true for the long-time gallery owner. It is the Millennium Arts Center (MAC), a 150,000 square foot, not-for-profit, comprehensive, national arts facility being developed in and around a 90-year-old former junior high school six blocks south of the Capitol. The MAC houses exhibition space, studio space, two theaters (for both film and stage work), a center for art restoration, a sculpture garden, a cafe, apartments for visiting artists and art classes in media from fused glass to wood-turning and more.

And if the MAC already seems like a small city unto itself because of its comprehensive artistic scope, it is further analogous to its home city in the nature of its physical sprawl. "The art scene in D.C. is splintered and spread out," said Cheryl Numark, owner of the Numark Gallery, located three blocks on the other side of the National Mall from the MAC. "You've got pockets of galleries here and there."

Numark's gallery is situated on a sloping section of Seventh Street NW, in an area that has recently evolved into one of those "pockets of galleries."

In her six years downtown, Numark has seen the arrival of new theaters, hotels, retail centers and a huge sports complex. Her building now holds four different galleries, with several others nearby. The revival has sparked a monthly "Third Thursday" celebration in the area, notable not only for its coordinated gallery openings, but also for the participation of area retailers (furniture dealers, bookstores and others), as well as the Smithsonian's nearby Museum of American Art. The downtown renaissance is an inspiration to Numark. "It's totally positive" she said. "Unless your downtown is vibrant, you feel like something is missing."

Still others, however, including Wooby and some of the resident artists at the Touchstone Gallery (an artists' co-op) worry that rising rents could force the artists away from the Mall. Touchstone has only been downtown for five years, after several years in pricier, trendier DuPont Circle.

But resident artist Jean Sheckler Beebe thinks location isn't all that important. "My work tends to sell to residents," she said, adding that customers tend to be loyal no matter where the gallery is located.

Twenty-five blocks across town, however, amongst another pocket of art businesses in Georgetown, Judith duBerrier, president of the Fine Art and Artists Gallery, said most of her traffic comes from buyers not located in the D.C. area. "[Georgetown] is known worldwide for its shopping," duBerrier said. "People are here on vacation, or they're lobbying the Hill. They have extra time on their hands, so they come to Georgetown."

At the nearby Hemphill Fine Arts Gallery, director Kimberly Gladfelter echoes enthusiasm for Georgetown. Gladfelter calls it a "wonderful neighborhood" that contributes to the "mix of atmosphere and artists and hospitality" that combines to make a successful gallery. Hemphill started an art consulting business a decade ago, but quickly began offering exhibition space, responding to what Gladfelter calls the "nexus for emerging talent" in D.C.

Yet another pocket of art galleries, located in townhouses along the tree-lined streets of DuPont Circle, taps into that nexus also, comprising the most concentrated group of galleries in the city, though the galleries themselves remain thematically distinct. On just one block of R Street, for example, a buyer can find separate dealers for Mexican paintings, African wood carvings, Inuit stonecutters' prints, as well as work from old masters, contemporary stars and emerging local talent.

Further, the DuPont area is peppered with various embassies, many of which contain their own art galleries. For instance, the Swedish embassy recently mounted an exhibition of paintings by Swedish artist Eva Zettervall, while the Czech embassy opened a showing of Antonin Kratochvil's photographs in November.

So, with all of these choices, how can a new gallery decide where to locate itself within the nation's capitol? "We decided it's not as important to have other galleries nearby as to have big open spaces," said Sarah Finlay, co-owner of Fusebox, one of Washington's newest art galleries. Situated east of DuPont, north of downtown and miles from Georgetown, Fusebox's immediate neighbors include grocery stores, community theaters and an Ethiopian restaurant. The building Finlay and her co-owner, Patrick Murcia, chose was originally a five-and-dime store and most recently a jewelry wholesaler. Both D.C. natives, Finlay and Murcia considered establishing themselves in New York before deciding their hometown needed a gallery like theirs. Wooby agreed. "There aren't enough galleries out there [in D.C.]," he said, noting that neither buyers nor talent are in short supply in the District.