Artomatic made its return to the District for the first time in 15 years on Friday, kicking off its 25th anniversary by displaying art exhibits inside an empty office building in Northwest.
The artist-run, multimedia arts event took place inside the eight-floor building, located on 2100 M Street, with 300,000 square feet of space.
The first day of the event featured a performance by local singer Emma G.
On location for the kickoff event for @artomatic‘s return for @WTOP. @EmmaGmusic performs prior to @MayorBowser‘s remarks. pic.twitter.com/MwwASg14e2
— José Mauricio Umaña (@Jose_M_Umana) March 8, 2024
It was an opportunity for some artists to show their work. Sculptor Valerie Theberge showed her exhibit, which was 12 different pieces of carved foam with fiberglass and mortar stacked one on top of the other with patterns.
“It looks like sort of arbitrary rocks, and they’re very colorful and covered with glass,” said Theberge, who took part in the Artomatic event for the first time. “It’s sort of vibrant, colorful and alive.”
Antony Maderal, who has lived in Arlington, Virginia, for the last 20 years, built his sculpture out of computer parts and liked the benefit of having open space.
“I started tearing apart computers and other servers and printers and anything that I could find that had a circuit board in it, and displaying that in two dimensions,” he said. “When I saw this open space, I just wanted to make an installation and make something big.”
The kickoff event was briefly disrupted as protesters interrupted Mayor Muriel Bowser while she began speaking, calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. After they were removed, the mayor said incorporating local art will be a part of revitalizing downtown D.C. after Artomatic postponed in-person events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am just happy to welcome you to Artomatic. Welcome you to the creative capital of the world,” Bowser said.
Maderal, who considers himself a hobbyist, said that art is important to a local community, adding that there are lot of talented artists.
“There’s a lot of professional artists out there that really have a hard time making a living,” he said. “If the mayor is really serious about incorporating local art into the space, it’s a win for everybody.”
Artomatic will run through April 28 and they estimate that 100,000 people will attend the event.
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