Project description

Made in conjunction with Art F City and Beltway Public Works, this publication charts a partial history of the artist-run scene in Washington DC from the 1950s through to today. Most notably the project looks at the extraordinary transformation of legacy artist-run spaces such as Botswana, The Museum of Temporary Art and Hard Art, as well as the ingenuity of newer projects like Delicious Spectacle and Flex.

Partner Biography

Beltway Public Works is a cultural initiative made up of artists, curators, and educators active in the Beltway region and beyond who maintain deep ties to the area. BPW considers art to be a civic resource, like water or public transit, and is interested in championing the role of contemporary art in the lives of Beltway residents. Beltway Public Works evolved out of FURTHERMORE, a collaboration between Natalie Campbell, James Huckenpahler, Patrick McDonough and José Ruiz, with a growing list of partners.

Project Lead

Natalie Campbell is an independent curator and arts worker based in Washington, D.C.  She has curated and co-curated exhibitions at venues including the American University Museum (DC); the Center for Book Arts (NYC); the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design (Asheville, NC); School 33 Art Center (Baltimore, MD); as well as numerous temporary and publication-based projects. She studied Art History at Hunter College CUNY and has taught at the Corcoran School of Arts + Design at George Washington University and the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has been working with the DC Public Library and DC Public Library Foundation on exhibitions, arts policy and cultural programs since 2016.

Blair Murphy is a curator and writer based in Washington, DC and the Curator of Exhibitions at Arlington Arts Center in Arlington, VA, where she recently launched Assembly a regional biennial exhibition highlighting emerging and established artists based in the Mid-Atlantic. Her past curatorial projects include exhibitions at Trestle Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), DC Arts Center (Washington, DC), SPRING/BREAK Art Show (New York, NY), Field Projects (New York, NY), The Kitchen (New York, NY), Washington Project for the Arts (Washington, DC), and with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She was a Helena Rubinstein Curatorial Fellow of the Whitney Independent Study Program from 2014 to 2015 and holds an MA from Georgetown University and a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art. 

Links

http://beltwaypublicworks.org/