Now in its 20th year of artistic service, ArtSpace has been committed to providing an affordable avenue for artists of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels to express themselves, share and gather skills, create economic opportunities and find common ground. ArtSpace needs you - the ripples that undulate from this creative space with curiosity, healing, and connection. Your financial contributions will ensure art opportunities are accessible to you and your neighbors to create more stories like the ones you will read below.
Madison, age 8
During our Sunday December Open Studio our 9 year old neighbor, Madison (Maddie), was busy making an ornament. We started talking about gifts and she shared what she likes to give, "My gift is my personality." She and her "PopPop" have an incredible bond as you can see in this photo their presence light up our space.
Stephanie Echeveste, Creator of Cocktails+Craft
I rekindled my love for creating @dc.artspace during a time when I needed it most. A few years ago I found their weekly weaving class through a google search and was ecstatic that I could afford it on my limited budget. I have since been supported by their community through career and life changes and even partnered with them to host a @cocktailsandcraft workshop with guest teacher @tallerdoscoyotes. This is an art space that truly welcomes everyone with open arts, regardless of your income level, color of skin, or sexual orientation.
Rachel
I am a DC resident and the mother of two children, a four year old boy named Jonah and a 9-month old girl named Zoe. I signed up for the 2017 Touchstone@ArtSpace series workshops for Jonah and we had an amazing time. He loved participating in the diverse projects (rock city, printmaking, and Mondrian style painting) and learning from real artists. He remembered many of the lessons they imparted long after the projects (for example, the concepts of "horizontal" and "vertical" he learned in the Mondrian workshop). Most amazingly, he got to see his own artwork and his name on the walls of a real gallery with many visitors. We attended the show opening for "I Belong Here" and he was SO proud and excited, and made a true connection with his teachers and loved seeing their own art at the show. These workshops allowed Jonah to learn about art--from technique to concept--and about community. The affordable price was what brought us in in the first place, as we do not have spare funds for expensive art classes, but the community feel was what kept us coming back. I also really appreciated that I was able to bring my baby along for the ride, and that we were able to leave our small artists or stay with them, depending on what worked for us. We will definitely join events in the future. Thank you again for making an impact on our lives.