PoP Weekend Picks

Milkmachine are playing a show this Friday at the Velvet Lounge. There will be three bands with accordions, and an opening act of sword sallower and fire breathers. Certainly an eclectic night indeed. January 30, doors at 9pm, show at 10. see for details: http://www.velvetloungedc.com/

Chinese New Year (year of the ox) parade is Sunday in Chinatown at 2pm.  A reader also writes:

Saw this on Chinatown in the Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012801315.html

it starts off saying that a five story high firecracker will be lit off this Sunday, and that made think it was perfect for PoP! For those non-superbowlers of course. The broader article is also interesting and discusses one drastically changing neighborhood.

Did you know Chinatown was originally along the mall, and its residents were forcibly relocated to make room for smithsonian and such?

Petworth Library is celebrating its 70th anniversary this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. with cake and punch. The party will follow the children’s story hour. Please come, show your support, meet the new librarian (Robin Imperial) and sign up for the relaunched Friends of the Library support group. More after the jump.

Saturday, January 31
2 p.m. Film, Hip Hop Cinema Café
Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
75 min., 2004, Dir. Kevin Fitzgerald
Historical Society of Washington, DC
801 K St. NW
Admission: Free

The SolSource Group and HSW present Hip Hop Cinema Café. Explosively
tracing the story of a group of underground hip hop MCs and DJs from
the early 1980s to the present day, Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme is a
work-in-progress documentary film that explores the world of
improvisational rap—the rarely recorded art form of rhyming
spontaneously, or “off the top of the head.” (Ages 13 and up)
[email protected] or 202-383-1828 FREE

WPA Auction Sneak Peek Preview Night
This Saturday, January 31, 6:00 – 9:00pm
Katzen Arts Center
4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW

Join WPA for the opening of several shows at the Katzen, including works featured in this year’s auction.
Bidding is not yet open for these works, but they will be on display and tickets for the auction on March 7th will be for sale.

Come get a sneak peek at the work selected by this year’s WPA Auction curators!
Info on our auction can be found here: http://auction.wpadc.org

JOHN KICRHNER: Unknowns
BRANDON MORSE: This Shape We’re In

January 31 – March 21, 2009

images and info@: CLICK HERE

Conner Contemporary Art is pleased to present Unknowns, an exhibition of new work by John Kirchner and This Shape We’re In, an exhibition of new video by Brandon Morse.

In Unknowns John Kirchner converses with unknown 19th century painters. Kirchner augments damaged vintage portraits, landscapes and history paintings with articles of clothing and other common objects. The artist’s interventions with the works of his anonymous predecessors are thoughtful, critical and sometimes humorous. Kirchner, whose art furthers principles of the Arte Povera and Surrealist movements, has exhibited work at the Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA, the Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY, The Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, NY and the Anchorage Museum of Art, Anchorage, AL.

Brandon Morse examines factors of overreach, neglect and collapse with a series of video projections in This Shape We’re In. Using digital media, the artist created images of architectonic structures. Morse’s complex forms analogize cultural systems which strive to maintain their integrity as destructive external forces intensify. Seeming to toil as protagonists in universal struggles, the artist’s vulnerable linear structures have the power to elicit our empathy, though they ultimately lack the strength to preserve their own constitutions. Morse has exhibited work at TorinOver ’08, Torino, Italy, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA and the Mexican Cultural Institute, Washington, DC.

There will be an opening reception for the artists Saturday, January 31st from 6-8pm. Artists in attendance.

Additional information may be found at: http://www.connercontemporary.com

For further information or images, please contact Leigh Conner at 202-588-8750 or [email protected].

Conner Contemporary Art is located at 1358-60 Florida Avenue, NE –Washington, DC 20002 in the H Street Corridor/ Atlas Arts District. Parking available. H Street shuttle available during the evening.
Winter hours are Wednesday through Saturday 11-5pm or by prior appointment.