Category Archives: Arts & Humanities

All Departments, Arts & Humanities

Makeover for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Two electric vehicle charging stations are sporting new designs with vinyl wraps commissioned by the City of Takoma Park. In the Takoma Park Community Center parking lot, a flock of hummingbirds have gathered in a colorful design by graphic designer Jay Shogo.  The project is part of the City’s public art programs designed to get art into the streets where everyone can enjoy it.

 

The downtown charging station has turned green with windmills and electric cars to symbolize the importance of addressing climate change. Located on Carroll Avenue near the Laurel Avenue intersection, the wrap was designed by graphic designer Cindy Herrera. Go check them out and charge up!

 

 

 

 

 

Arts & Humanities, Uncategorized

TAKOMA PARK HOLIDAY ART SALE THIS SATURDAY!

Pottery by Tanya Renne

Why shop for holiday gifts in a mall or on Amazon when you can support local artists and our creative community?

The 13th annual Takoma Park Holiday Art Sale makes that goal easy and affordable with more than 30 local artists and artisans gathered at the Takoma Park Community Center on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 10 am – 4 pm. There is no admission fee, and you will find a broad array of creative gifts for your friends and family (and yourself!), including paintings, pottery, photography, handmade clothes, jewelry, toys, and more.

The City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Commission hosts the Holiday Art Sale each year to support the local artist community. It has become a tradition in Takoma Park that has expanded into a juried event featuring vendors from across the D.C. area, says photographer Rob Rudick who helps organize the event.

“I like getting all of these great artists together,” he says. “We have some vendors who come back every year, but we also bring in new vendors so there is something new every time.”

During the Holiday Art Sale, the Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library also will hold their annual fundraiser from 10 am – 3 pm where people can support the library by buying new or used books at low prices in the Community Center’s game room.

 

 

Arts & Humanities

Join Us for a Latino Music Concert this Friday!

Patricio Zamorano and his band of talented musicians will perform their energetic and committed Latino music in a concert titled “Through the Wall: Trova Music and Soul from the Southern Cone.” The concert will kick off at 7:30 pm this Friday, Sept. 21, at the Takoma Park Community Center Auditorium, 7500 Maple Avenue.

Through “trova” music, the band combines songs that get feet moving with music representing both the history and the present experiences of Latin America. The band also composes their own songs with lyrics focusing on solidarity, social justice, cultural identity, and the long struggle for dignity and a better life for all the peoples of the Americas.

El Salvador’s Ambassador to the United States Claudia Ivette Canjura de Centeno will be attending the concert and will share some of her thoughts.

The concert is free with a $10 suggested donation to support the performers. You can find more info here. We hope to see you Friday night!

Arts & Humanities, News

METROPOLIS ART EXHIBITION EXPLORES GRIT AND BEAUTY OF CITY LIFE

         The Ladder by Erin Antognoli

 METROPOLIS Opening Reception:   

Thursday, Sept. 13 from 7 pm–8:30 pm

Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park

METROPOLIS EXHIBITION EXPLORES GRIT AND BEAUTY OF CITY LIFE

TAKOMA PARK – As the population in rural areas continues to decline, cities across the United States are booming. Construction cranes tower over the landscape as city dwellers confront both the benefits and challenges of living closely together.

Four artists convey those trends in METROPOLIS, a new group exhibition with a free opening reception on Sept. 13 from 7 pm-8:30 pm in the galleries of the Takoma Park Community Center. Sponsored by the City of Takoma Park, the exhibition will be on view until Nov. 4.

Armed with her Holga camera, Erin Antognoli explores city streets and takes multiple images of different scenes on a single frame of film, crafting reimagined streetscapes that seem to convey a swirling world of unconscious thoughts or dreams.

Sara Anne Daines photographs murals and street scenes from across the world, including the United States, Iceland, Portugal, and Morocco. She captures slices of city life that others walk past, preserving a record of the unbridled creativity of many street artists.

Influenced by his love for graffiti and video games, Benjamin Ross uses paint markers, pens, and acrylic paint in large paintings with brash strokes and chaotic scenes inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Ross has shown his work in local exhibitions and at Art Basel Miami Beach.

Kanika Sircar fashions clay sculptures that convey a sense of timelessness, as if these cryptic vessels could be relics from a distant past or portend some unknown future. Her work has been influenced by swooping lines of graffiti, crumbling walls, and the melancholy of urban decay.

For more information, go to www.takomaparkmd.gov/arts or contact Arts Coordinator Brendan Smith at brendans@takomaparkmd.gov or (301) 891-7266.

 

Arts & Humanities

Third Thursday Poetry Reading Features Glen Echo Poets

The Glen Echo Poets will read their original work at the next Third Thursday Poetry Reading, including Nancy Arbuthnot, Saundra Maley, Anne Sheldon, and Matt Westbrook. Stay for the reception and learn more about the 30-year history of the group and the collaborative process they use to write their poetry.

Takoma Park Poet Laureate Merrill Leffler also will read some poems about civil rights as part of the City of Takoma Park’s month-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. This free event will be held at 7:30 pm on Thursday, April 19, in the Takoma Park Community Center Auditorium at 7500 Maple Avenue.

To learn more about other upcoming We Are Takoma arts and culture events, go to www.takomaparkmd.gov/arts or sign up for our weekly e-newsletter here.