The upcoming community presentation on June 22nd at the Landon Park Recreation Center will provide a platform for Ward 5 residents to view and discuss the proposed design for the memorial. This event is not only a preview of the memorial but also an invitation for the community to contribute their voices to this landmark project.
The memorial aims to be a poignant reminder of the systemic racism and exploitation that have marred American history, while also celebrating the resilience and enduring legacy of those who were enslaved. Situated in the nation’s capital, this tribute will join the ranks of many other monuments and memorials, enriching the narrative with stories of those who have been historically marginalized. As the Nation’s capital, monuments and commemorative works have typically been focused on or reserved for commemoration to individuals or subjects of national importance within the monumental core, the original L’Enfant City, and mostly in Wards 1, 2, 3, and 6. Many of these subjects participated in slavery, systemic racism, and the mistreatment of, or took actions that suppressed equality for, persons of color, certain groups of people, and women.
In a historic move to acknowledge and honor the invaluable contributions of enslaved individuals who helped build the U.S. Capitol, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH), in collaboration with the DC Office of Planning (OP), has selected WGS Co-Director Michael Janis to design the Ward 5 Public Art Memorial. This significant project 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.
Janis, Co-Director of the Washington Glass School (WGS), has been actively engaging with the DC Ward 5 community to ensure that the memorial resonates with the local residents and accurately reflects the historical significance and human stories behind the Capitol’s construction. This community-centered approach underscores the importance of collective memory and inclusivity in public art.
DC’s Commemorative Works Program reviews proposals submitted by sponsors, but since the program was established in 2001 has received only a handful of applications for local subjects. OP’s Commemorate DC work includes technical assistance to community partners in Wards 4, 5, 7, and 8 to identify commemorative subjects and sites before supporting efforts in Wards 1, 2, 3, and 6. The Office of Planning’s partners are convening meetings with community groups and residents to discuss subjects to commemorate, appropriate sites, and concept designs of commemorative works. Concept designs will be reviewed by the Commemorative Works Committee who will make a recommendation on each proposal to the Mayor and District Council, who have final review and approval. A link to the 4 initial Commemorative projects here.
The DC Public Art Memorial is more than a work of art; it is a symbol of reconciliation, education, and recognition. It will invite all visitors to reflect on the past and encourage ongoing dialogue about equality and justice.
Join Michael Janis, the DC CAH & OP along with the Ward 5 community on June 22nd to participate in the outlining of a project that seeks to honor the past and inspire a future of inclusivity and acknowledgment. This is an important occasion for Washington, DC, and for the nation, as we begin this transformative initiative.
As the nation’s capital, Washington, DC is home to many monuments and memorials honoring individuals and events of national significance mainly within the monumental core, the original L’Enfant City, and mostly in Wards 1, 2, 3, and 6. Many of these subjects participated in slavery, systemic racism, and the mistreatment of, or took actions that suppressed equality for, persons of color, certain groups of people, and women. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH), in partnership with the DC Office of Planning (OP) selected WGS Director Michael Janis as the artist to create DC’s Ward 5 Public Art Memorial to commemorate the Enslaved People Who Built the US Capitol. Contributions of more than 200 enslaved people helped build the U.S. Capitol, an international symbol of Democracy.
Artists engaged by DC CAH to create the new Public Art
From 1792 to 1800 enslaved people, many from the Baltimore area, arrived in DC on Bladensburg Road and were forced to quarry stone, clear the building site, create sculptures, and work long hours in inhospitable weather six days a week.
DC Ward 5 Public Art Memorial
The Capitol would not have been constructed without their labor and craftsmanship, yet much of their history has yet to be documented and brought to light.
Michael has been meeting with the Ward 5 community groups and the first community presentation of the concept is scheduled for June 22, 2024, from 2-4 pm at the Landon Park Recreation Center, 2901 20th St NE, Washington, DC 20018.
Promotion of Public Art Project featuring Michael Janis “The Artist”.
If you are interested in participating – click link to sign up (at bottom of page) for updates from Commemorate DC. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to be a part of history!
RSVP now for a Habatat-Zoom event taking place this Saturday, November 16th, at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Join Aaron Schey (aka Mr Glass) Owner and partner of Habatat Detroit Fine Art, for an engaging update on the WGS Director Michael Janis, an innovative member of the esteemed Habatat Family. Janis, who showcased his work at Habatat’s Scope Art Miami booth this year, will provide insights into the latest developments in his career and sculpture.
Ok. what the what is going on?
Notably involved in the arts community near Washington D.C., Janis has been actively creating public sculptures and exploring new artistic endeavors incorporating video technology.
Save the date for March 2024, as Janis will be showcased as a distinguished artist at the Lowe Art Museum in Miami. Additionally, experience his exceptional work during the Glass Coast Weekend in Sarasota, Florida, where he will be personally present to share his artistic journey. Your presence is highly anticipated!
All of us at the Washington Glass School & Studio Wish You and Family a Joyous Holiday Season! And a Happy Healthy New Year!
(L-R) Patricia De Poel Wilberg, Erwin Timmers, Christina Helowicz, Nancy Kronstadt, Kate Barfield, Tim Tate, April Shelford, Michael Janis, Trish Kent and John Henderson. Not pictured: Graciela Granek, Sean Robinson, Diane Cabe, Gabrielle Morris, Kyle Crosby, and Daphne Matyas.
Michael Janis & Tim Tate at Toronto’s Sandra Ainsley Gallery June 4 – July 30, 2022
Toronto, Canada’s famed Sandra Ainsley Gallery present the narrative glass artworks by WGS Co-Directors Tim Tate and Michael Janis. The show, titled “One Story is Not Enough” featured works by each artist as a solo, and a number of their collaborative wall murals.
Michael Janis’ imagery in frit powder is reflected in the gallery’s piano surface.
When Michael Janis and Tim Tate met, almost 20 years ago, they discovered a shared fascination of narrative sculpture- one that seeks to arrive at an image that is both unflinchingly candid in physical representation and psychologically evasive. Working together, they are interested in the simultaneous read of an immediately recognizable image that asks the viewer to linger over history and meanings that unfurl more slowly. Mark, line and material become an extension of touch in the act of representation. The relationship of hand to subject, negotiated through the material, can elicit a response of both visual and tactile.
“The Poetry of Everyday Objects” by Michael Janis & Tim Tate, 2021; Size:6H x 6W’; Cast Glass
With these confines they create work in many techniques, but if you stand slightly back and see their history a huge thread of interconnected stories weave through their work from day one. The beauty comes into focus and the viewer sees the edges of a world not dissimilar to this one, but so much more thoughtful.
Detail – “The Poetry of Everyday Objects”, Michael Janis & Tim Tate
They present this glimpse into that alternative world, seemingly unstuck in time somewhere between past and future.
Tim Tate, Lenticular series, 2022, each panel 41″H x 41″W, lenticular prints
Sandra Ainsley Gallery The Warehouse 100 Sunrise Avenue, Unit 150 Toronto, Ontario Canada M4A 1B3
Sandra Ainsley Gallery, Canada’s leading glass art gallery, presents a collaborative exhibition from Washington Glass School artists Tim Tate and Michael Janis titled “One Story is Not Enough“. The exhibition will feature their individual works along with joint pieces that highlight the narrative sculpture.
L-R: Tim Tate, Sandra Ainsley, Daniel Ainsley at the opening of “One Story Is Not Enough”.
Mark, line and material become an extension of touch in the act of representation. The relationship of hand to subject, negotiated through the material, can elicit a response of both visual and tactile.
Michael Janis’ kilncast glass L-R “The Color of Shadows” & “The Place Between Memories”
With these confines, Tim and Michael create works in many techniques, but if you stand slightly back and see their history, a huge thread of interconnected stories weave through their work from day one. The beauty comes into focus and the viewer sees the edges of a world not dissimilar to this one, but so much more thoughtful. They present this glimpse into that alternative world, seemingly unstuck in time somewhere between past and future.
On Friday, June 17, at 1 PM (Eastern time), the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass (AACG) will hold an online zoom MeetUp and Tim Tate and Michael Janis will tour exhibition and talk about their careers and process. Join the AACG to watch it live, or else catch it on YouTube after Friday.
“There’s A Big Hole In The Sky” – Collaborative sculpture by Tim Tate, Michael Janis, and Chris Shea.
The Venice Biennale is an international art exhibition featuring architecture, visual arts, cinema, dance, music, and theatre that is held in the Castello district of Venice, Italy every two years during the summer. This year’s Venice Biennale includes a collateral event – ‘Glasstress’ – held at the historic Berengo Studios in Murano, Italy.
The 59th International Art Exhibition features a sculptural collaboration between DC glass artists Tim Tate, Michael Janis and Brandywine metal sculptor Chris Shea, representing the USA.
Detail of Tate,Janis,Shea artwork showing cast glass and metalwork .
Chris Shea’s incredible metal work frames out Tim Tate’s lush fields of cast glass elements (detailed figures, flowers, insects) and in center, a glass sgraffito panel by Michael Janis.
A central concern in “There’s a Big Hole in The Sky” is that viewers need to abandon their apathy towards climate change. This monumental sculpture brings to light the effects of global warming on the earth as most areas will be facing frequent flooding. Despite the growing evidence of climate change, and humanity as the driver of that change, there remains a hardcore 20 percent or so that reject the whole notion of it and a healthy percentage that remain unconvinced that humans are causing it. And on top of those dismal statistics, many believe that climate change does not represent a threat to them. The artwork is an invitation to understand, to act, and to prepare. But if political solutions to climate change don’t materialize soon, it may also be an invitation to come to terms with loss.
Image of installation at Berengo Studios in Murano, Italy.
From Biennale Press Release
GLASSTRESS 2022
2 JUNE – 27 NOVEMBER 2022
BERENGO ART SPACE FOUNDATION
Venice, 2022
At the same time as the 59th Venice Biennale, the seventh edition of GLASSTRESS, scheduled from June 2 to November 27, 2022, brings together a group of important contemporary artists from Europe, the United States, Latin America, Africa and China in an ambitious exhibition that explores the infinite creative possibilities of glass.
The works will be housed in the Berengo Art Space Foundation in Murano, an old abandoned furnace transformed a few years ago into an evocative exhibition space. On display will be works by artists who have already collaborated and exhibited at GLASSTRESS with Berengo Studio, such as Ai Weiwei, Jimmie Durham, Tony Cragg, Monira Al Qadiri, Thomas Schütte, as well as first-time attendees Vanessa Beecroft, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Tim Tate, Paloma Varga Weisz and eL Seed, among others.
GLASSTRESS is a project by Adriano Berengo dedicated to promoting new connections between contemporary art and glass. Starting from its debut in 2009 as a side event of the Venice Biennale, over the years GLASSTRESS has made dozens of internationally renowned artists and designers passionate about the traditional craft of Murano glass blowing, who have tried their hand at creating suggestive and innovative works in glass with the support of the masters of Berengo Studio.
GLASSTRESS 2022 – ARTISTS
NEW ARTISTS
Vanessa Beecroft (Italy), María Magdalena Campos-Pons (Cuba), Judy Chicago (United States), Chiara Dynys (Italy), eL Seed (France), Leandro Erlich (Argentina), Ryan Gander (Great Britain), Michael Janis (United States), Alexander Evgenievich Ponomarev (Russia), Laurent Reypens (Belgium), Liam Scully (Great Britain), Chris Shea (United States), Paloma Varga Weisz (Germany), Osman Yousefzada (Great Britain).
RETURNING ARTISTS
Ai Weiwei (China), Monira Al Qadiri (Kuwait), Ayman Baalbaki (Lebanon), Tony Cragg (Great Britain), Jimmie Durham (United States), Jan Fabre (Belgium), Josepha Gasch-Muche (Germany), Kendell Geers ( South Africa), Marya Kazoun (Lebanon / Canada), Brigitte Kowanz (Austria), Karen LaMonte (United States), Tomáš Libertiny (Slovak Republic), Massimo Lunardon (Italy), Federica Marangoni (Italy), Prune Nourry (France), Anne Peabody (United States), Jaume Plensa (Spain), Laure Prouvost (France), Thomas Schütte (Germany), Sean Scully (United States), Wael Shawky (Egypt), Lino Tagliapietra (Italy), Tim Tate (United States) , Koen Vanmechelen (Belgium), Robert Wilson (United States), Rose Wylie (Great Britain), Erwin Wurm (Austria).
View of Green Community Gateway by Washington Glass Studio
The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) is a dynamic source of information, programs, books and services, among them is their Makers Program, that includes a Fabrication Lab. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library’s “Fab Lab”, complete with 3D printers, a laser cutter, soldering equipment, other machines is part of a new movement of public libraries embracing the “maker movement.” DCPL’s maker program is the largest of its kind in a public library, as they see the program as a force to bring together makers, artists, and creative people of all types and from all fields and backgrounds, encouraging cross-disciplinary cooperation. As part of the public engagement, the DCPL Makers & DIY Program is hosting a series of artists lectures at the newly refurbished MLK Memorial Library auditorium.
Image of Community workshop at Washington Glass School.
On Saturday, May 21, 2022, from 1:00pm – 2:00pm, Michael Janis, co-director of the Washington Glass School, will give a lecture on how the Washington Glass Studio created the “Green Community Gateway” with art made with the help of the community in Ward 7.
The “Green Community Gateway”, public art sculpture marks the symbolic entrance to the Kenilworth/Parkside section of DC’s Ward 7. Through a series of glass “quilting bees”, Washington Glass Studio brought together neighborhood residents, students of the high school, and the staff of the newly constructed Unity Healthcare facility to make glass art that would become an integral part of the arch.
This lecture program will take place in the auditorium at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20001. Register at bit.ly/labsclasses.
The renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC, originally designed by Mies van der Rohe, the landmark library was rejuvenated by Mecanoo and OTJ Architects.
In Washington, DC- the perfect thing to do is visit a museum! The Phillips Collection’ new exhibit “Inside Outside Upside Down” features works by WGS artists Tim Tate & Michael Janis! Below is installation view, “Inside Outside, Upside Down” at the The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, July 12 – September 17, 2021.
Photograph by Gregory R. Staley. Image courtesy of The Phillips Collection.
Or… if one can’t get to the museum- take a virtual online 3D tour! Click HERE to jump to Phillips Collection online tour.
Image of 3D tour courtesy of The Phillips Collection.
Virtual Opening and Awards Presentation July 16, 2021, 7-8 PM
Join The Phillips Collection as they celebrate the opening of “Inside Outside, Upside Down” and announce the prize winners of our juried invitational. Click HERE to jump to Phillips Collection Opening Event RSVP page.
Tim Tate, “Justinian’s Oculus”
This juried invitational celebrates The Phillips Collection’s 100th anniversary in 2021, building on the legacy of founder Duncan Phillips and his commitment to presenting, acquiring, and promoting the work of artists of the greater DC region.
Michael Janis, “How We Take Care of Each Other” 2021, kilnformed glass, glass powder imagery
Inside Outside, Upside Down makes vivid the turmoil, strength, and resiliency of the human spirit in the face of the past year’s global covid-19 pandemic and social upheaval. All artworks in the show are recent works produced between March 2020 and February 2021. Works by WGS artists Tim Tate and Michael Janis have been selected for the exhibition.
mMichael Janis, DETAIL “How We Take Care of Each Other”, 2021
Jurors Phil Hutinet, Founding Publisher of East City Art Abigail McEwen, Associate Professor of Latin American Art, University of Maryland Elsa Smithgall, Senior Curator, The Phillips Collection Renée Stout, DC-based Artist
Guest Curator Renée Stout is an internationally renowned artist who has been based in Washington, DC, since 1985. Originally trained as a painter with a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, Stout currently works across a variety of media, including painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, photography, and installation. She is the recipient of many awards, including an Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Award and the Women’s Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award.
Featured Artists Cathy Abramson Simone Agoussoye Maremi Andreozzi Carol Antezana Desmond Beach Julia Bloom Michael Booker Kimberly Brammer Nikki Brugnoli Florencio Campello Carlos Carmonamedina Sandra Chen Weinstein Peter Cizmadia Wesley Clark Dominick Cocozza Robin Croft Sora DeVore Sarah Dolan Mike Dowley Nekisha Durrett Tae Edell Bria Edwards Kate Fleming Chawky Frenn Amelia Hankin Michael Hantman Leslie Holt Michael Janis Jane Kell Jean Jinho Kim Katherine Knight Ara Koh Kokayi Gary Kret Kate Kretz Catherine Levinson Kirsty Little Kim Llerena Aaron Maier-Carretero Timothy Makepeace David Mordini Barbara Muth Werllayne Nunes Zsudayka Nzinga Jennifer O’Connell John Pan Judith Peck Shedrick Pelt Kristina Penhoet Marta Pérez García Lydia Peters Junko Pinkowski Dominick Rabrun Mojdeh Rezaeipour Marie Ringwald Janathel Shaw Joseph Shetler Nicolas F. Shi Tim Tate Julio Valdez Jessica Valoris Ian White Richard L. Williams Jr. Colin Winterbottom
The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC.
Inside Outside, Upside Down is organized by The Phillips Collection.
This juried invitational is part of the museum’s centennial exhibition, Seeing Differently: The Phillips Collects for a New Century.
