Wednesday, May 31, 2006

creative dc

A job in the arts brought me to dc. for the first few years i lived here most of the people i met were either artists, theatre people, or patrons. Downtown DC, with its brutal architecture was a foreign city to me. I never understood about "stuffy dc" it wasn't my world. I sometimes feel like i live in an entirely different place when i hear people talk about dc. things like; theres no culture here, theres no real history, there are no diners, there are no artists, everyone is conservative, its a transient city. all things that aren't prevalent from my perspective. I love my dc, despite the fact that it doesnt seem to be most peoples dc.

here is a blog about helping people find "creative dc".

5 comments:

wharman said...

This is great. Thanks!

Stef said...

Do you really think downtown architecture is brutal? Sure, the Hoover building looks like some toddler spilled his legos... but I tend to think most of the buildings I see on a daily basis (Penn Quarter / Gallery Place / Pennsylvania Ave area) are quite beautiful. A lot of this area reminds me of European architecture. Although if you mean the glass-and-ego K street type buildings, then I agree.

Thanks for this link. I'll have to check it out!

Sean Hennessey said...

its a modern style of architecture.
mlk is brutalism, for instance. hoover is a great example. i HATE brutalism.

50-70's stuff.
i guess i dont really consider the areas you mentioned "downtown". i was thinking more like west of 16th.

Amanda said...

Hey, thanks for the link! And it fascinates me that the popular criticisms of DC really don't resonate with you...I find it inspiring, actually. Obviously, I believe DC is a tremendously creative place, as well, but I do feel like you have to work to discover that fact. It took me a few years to find a creative community and then DC completely changed for me....that's part of the reason for my blog: to help newcomers tap into a creative life here sooner than later.
-Amanda, CreativeDC

wharman said...

I believe I saw your studio in Mt. Ranier a couple of weekends ago during the studio tour. I really loved your pieces. I look forward to keeping up with your work!