Walking around Artomatic last month witnessing over 800 artists take over eight floors of an abandoned building in downtown DC was in and of itself a spiritual experience–so much beauty bursting from the urban ruins!
For seven weeks, what was once a place to worship corporate success transformed into a temple for art. Some of that art either leaned into or questioned spirituality. A few artworks skirted political themes.
How this unique art event came about twenty-five years ago is also a kind of resurrection story. Artomatic’s founder and interim president, George Koch, has brought dead commercial real estate back to life to showcase artworks that may never hang in a formal gallery. There’s no barrier to entry for artists. Visitors can define “art” for themselves.
Some background from The Washington Post:
Artomatic was born in 1999 at 14th and Florida in the former Manhattan Laundry, conceived as a massive, un-curated, open-entry art exhibition — open to all comers — with a twofold mission, according to Koch: ‘to build community among artists and build an audience for art.’ Since then, there have been 10 more shows. . . .
This particular edition of Artomatic turned hundreds of former offices into tiny galleries in DC’s Golden Triangle business district.
It was impossible to see it all, even after two separate afternoon visits. Much of the artwork that caught my eye, was, ofcourse, spiritual in nature. I also met some spiritual artists at the workshop I offered on the final day.
More stories about some of these DC-related artists will grace these pages in the coming months. Click on the photos below to learn more about the artists behind the images featured here.
Featured Image: Ric Garcia Studio
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