Hill Talk: H Street Showcases Its Up-and-Coming Art Scene
A dozen art venues on H Street Northeast will open their doors to the public for free on Thursday as part of CHAMPS’ “ARTventures on H.”
CHAMPS, the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, organized the art walk as a way to promote the H Street corridor’s burgeoning art scene. Visitors can pick up a passport at any of the 12 galleries and theaters and get a stamp for each place they visit from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Stamps are good for small discounts at eight neighborhood restaurants until 9 p.m., as well as that night’s showings at the Atlas Performing Arts Center and the H Street Playhouse.
Studio H and City Gallery, both galleries that Phil Hutinet is involved in, will be open Thursday night beyond their normal hours. Hutinet said visitors to Studio H will get a sneak peek at local graffiti artist Tim Conlin’s show, which opens officially Saturday, while visitors to City Gallery will see Capitol Hill photographer Gayle Krughoff’s nighttime pictures.
“I think it’s going to encourage a lot of people who may have been putting this off to come out and see everything all at once,” Hutinet said.
Other venues showing artwork Thursday are Conner Contemporary Art, G Fine Art, Bryant K. Adams, Jorge Velazquez, H Street Playhouse, Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sova Espresso & Wine, Gallery O/H, Industry Gallery and Evolve Urban Arts Project.
Julia Christian, CHAMPS’ executive director, said that it was easy to get H Street artists and businesses involved and that word about the event spread quickly. The Facebook group “ARTventures on H” and twitter.com/ARTventuresOnH provide up-to-date information about the evening.
“Everything’s really been done by e-mail, and all the advertising we’ve done has been through social networking and the Internet,” Christian said.
If venues involved see increased traffic Thursday, Christian said, she hopes her group will be able to build on the night’s success, holding similar art walks periodically on H Street or around the Hill.