Proving that the politics of D.C. isn’t just confined to the downtown area, a new gallery show opened this week in Dupont Circle with hopes to fill “the void of political content” that has existed in recent years in Washington’s art scene.

“Political Climate,” which runs through Feb. 14 at the Conner Contemporary Art gallery, is the brainchild of independent curators Stephen Phillips and Faith Flanagan, who want Washington’s artists to “think more about politics.” The show features pieces by 11 area artists that highlight issues from child pornography to the clash of Muslim and Western cultures.

Washington “artists aren’t dealing with political events as much as we want them to,” Phillips said. “We invited artists to pick something that bothered them on the social, national and international level. … Many of these pieces express frustrations toward the political system.”

Conner Contemporary Art is located at 1730 Connecticut Ave. NW and is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, e-mail the gallery at info@connercontemporary.com.

— John McArdle