Washington Glass School is proud to share that several of our artists are featured in the groundbreaking exhibition “Women Artists of the DMV”!
This fall, curator and artist F. Lennox “Lenny” Campello launches a historic 16-venue, 300+ artist survey across DC, Maryland, and Virginia—celebrating the creativity and impact of women artists in our region.
WGS artists, including April Shelford, Trish Kent, Diane Cabe, Erin Antognoli, Patricia de Poel Wilberg, and Kate Barfield are amongst the talented voices included in this unprecedented show—equal parts cultural intervention and historical record.
The recent order from President Trump to rescind DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs has led to a noticeable downplaying of Black History Month across government agencies. The U.S. State Department, for instance, has prohibited public events or messages celebrating the month, which has been a staple of American culture since the 1970s.
Michael Janis’ design for DC Ward 5 Memorial
In contrast, local organizations in Washington, DC, are stepping up to honor Black history and contributions. The Lamond Riggs Library Friends, in collaboration with the DC Office of Planning, is hosting Foundations of Freedom: Recognizing the Enslaved People Who Built the U.S. Capitol. This special event will introduce WGS Director Michael Janis’ design for a new DC Memorial to Honor the Enslaved People Who Built the U.S. Capitol for Ward 5. Along with DC’s Office of Planning staff, Michael will offer an overview of a public art proposal. The program will include storytelling, a discussion of the design process, and a Q&A session to engage the community.
Thursday, February 6, 2025 from 1 pm – 3 pm @ Lamond-Riggs DC Public Library, 5401 South Dakota Ave NE, WDC.
Concept 1 design by Michael Janis for DC’s OP & CAH TAP project in Ward 5
WGS Co-Director Michael Janis’ public art design (concept 1 & 2) for DC’s memorial to the Enslaved People that built the US Capitol has many steps before the Mayor’s approval. One can see -and vote! – on the two concepts online :https://engage.dc.gov/JD4865#tab-50371
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH), in collaboration with the DC Office of Planning (OP), awarded Janis the commission create the significant project that aims to shed light on the often overlooked role of over 200 enslaved people whose labor laid the foundation for one of the most iconic symbols of democracy.
Photo of first community input event in Ward 5 site, April 20, 2024
With social injustice a common theme around the world, we are also currently witnessing the injustices committed against our natural environment. Like our ancestors, we sense nature’s vastness, yet we lack the same respect those indigenous peoples had for nature as a sentient being. We take the Earth’s vastness for granted. What we experience as nature pushing back is nature seeking balance.
Michael Janis: Transformation; cast glass, ceramic
With this exhibit, Fragile Beauty, 33 DC artists seek to bring a sense of balance to an array of environmental injustices. Their art and their vision advocate awareness, mindfulness, consciousness, and stewardship, offering pathways towards personal partnership with our planet. They tell their stories with painting, sculpture, prints, photography, and installations. They inform us of both the joyful and the sorrowful, the woeful and the hopeful. Their work will challenge, enlighten, and inform your sense of wonder for exploring the beauty, power, and magnificent mystery of our home planet. We thank these artists for their commitment to illuminating the importance of nurturing and protecting the fragile beauty of the place we all call home.
Fragile Beauty is the first juried art exhibition initiated by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The new Juried Exhibition Grant provides support for DC artists to exhibit their creative vision to the residents of Washington, DC.
-Jarvis Grant
Featured artists: Tammy Barnes, Jeffrey Berg, Monica Jahan Bose, Elizabeth Casqueiro, Gloria Chapa, Michèle Colburn, Chris Combs, Shaughn Cooper with Kelsye Adams, Frank Hallam Day, Anna U Davis, R.A. Dean, Julee Dickerson-Thompson, Cheryl D. Edwards, David Allen Harris, Michael Iacovone, Michael Janis, Noel Kassewitz, Sally Kauffman, Barry D. Lindley, Patrick McDonough, Regina Miele, Steven Muñoz, Werllayne Nunes, Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, Lisa K. Rosenstein, Carly Rounds, Amanda Sauer, Alexandra Silverthorne, Ira Tattelman, Roderick Turner, Jessica van Brakle, Dawn Whitmore, Bahar Yürükoğlu.
Fragile Beauty May 9 – July 1, 2022 Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm ET
Opening Reception Thu, May 12, 2022 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT Masks are required
Environmental Justice Juried Exhibition Grant now open!
DC’s Commision on the Arts + Humanities invites District-based artists to apply for their new Juried Exhibition Grant! (Note: Must be a resident of Washington, DC)
Application deadline: Friday, January 21, 4:00 pm
Exhibition dates: May 9 – July 1, 2022
Exhibition theme: Environmental Justice. In their work, artists may address local and/or global questions of ecology, environmentalism, biodiversity, climate change, stewardship, the relationship of climate justice to social justice, and/or other related concepts and issues.
SYNERGY features visual arts applicants for the FY20 Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program (AHFP) general support grant. On display are pieces submitted by the artists that represent their individual style and body of work. This exhibition allows grant review panelists an opportunity to evaluate the applicants’ works in a gallery setting, while at the same time showcasing the broad scope of the District’s dynamic art scene to the public.
Free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.
GALLERY HOURS
Monday – Friday
9 am – 6 pm
CLOSING RECEPTION
Friday, July 19, 2019, 6 – 8 pm
I Street Galleries
200 I Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
The Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program (AHFP) provides general funding support of up to $10,000 to individuals who demonstrate exceptional creativity. These grant funds are intended to encourage the creative contributions of the District’s established and emerging individual artists and humanities practitioners and further cultivate the District’s dynamic cultural sector. The works in this exhibit will be evaluated by a DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) review panel.
About CAH
Established in 1968, CAH supports programs that promote progress in the arts and humanities through grants, professional opportunities, and other services to individuals and nonprofit organizations in all communities within the District of Columbia. CAH is the designated state arts agency for the District of Columbia, and is supported primarily by District government funds and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
FY20 Art Bank Program (ABP) –In support of local visual artists, District art galleries, and District art nonprofit organizations, CAH acquires fine art from metropolitan artists to grow the Art Bank Collection. Artwork in the collection is owned by CAH and loaned to District Government agencies for display in public areas and offices of government buildings. The Art Bank Collection, which started in 1986, has over 3,400 artworks.
CAH seeks grant applications from qualified artists and District art galleries or District nonprofit organizations representing metropolitan artists for the acquisition of works of original two- and three-dimensional artwork including, but not limited to:
Paintings;
Drawings;
Mixed media works;
Prints;
Photographs;
Fabric arts;
Ceramics; and,
Sculptures.
For the purpose of this grant, metropolitan artist is defined as a legal resident of Washington, DC, or a legal resident within a 50-mile radius of the Washington, DC boundaries, for at least one (1) year prior to the application deadline.
Application Release: Friday | May 3, 2019 Application Deadline: Friday | July 19, 2019 | 4:00 pm ET
Click HERE for info on how to submit for DCCAH Art Bank.
DCCAH Staff Contact: Ron Humbertson, Art Collections Registrar | ron.humbertson@dc.gov
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities presents a visual arts exhibition featuring some of the District’s finest visual artists. Works by WGS artists Michael Janis and Tim Tate are featured in the exhibit.
SYNERGY
Opening Night – Friday, July 7, 2017
This exhibition, curated by the DCCAH, features artists applying for the FY 2018 Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program (AHFP). “Synergy” captures the broad scope of the District’s dynamic art scene and provides an opportunity for the artists to express their visions directly to the panel of peer reviewers evaluating their applications and to the public.
Opening Night Details Friday, July 7, 2017, 6 – 8 pm I Street Galleries 200 I Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003 RSVP here
GALLERY HOURS Monday – Friday 9 am – 6 pm Exhibition Closes Friday, August 11 at 6 pm
Read more via East City Art: https://www.eastcityart.com/features/dmvwomen2025/
