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Grand Opening of the Gateway Arts Center

March 21, 2010

Ani Kasten, Pete Duvall and Mila Kagan

Alec and Good-Looking People

The long-awaited grand opening of the shiny new Gateway Arts Center took place Friday and quite a shindig it was. First the political kissy-face where all the relevant Prince Georges County pols showed up to christen the ship, followed by open studios for the dozen or so lucky artists who have found new homes here and a reception for the public and the artists represented in the inaugural juried show featuring artists who live and/or work in the Gateway district, including moi. That’s the waiting-to-be-gentrified swath along Rhode Island Ave/ Rte 1 from Mt. Ranier, through Brentwood to Hyattsville. The GAC itself is at 3901 Rhode Island, Brentwood, about half a mile north of the little bitty traffic circlette in Mt. Ranier.

African American museum

In addition to studios, education facilities and galleries, the center is also the new home of the Prince Georges County African American museum.

John Hicks wall piece

Ani Kasten's work in her studio

Not gonna lie, I was kind of surprised at how impressed I was by the strength of the work. I just loved the big ceramic wallpieces by John Hicks, all beat up, pock-marked and decaying like abandoned buildings.

Lindsey Sherman's piece

the adorable Julia Morelli

And I have always been a fan of Ani Kasten, whose rough/refined vessels seem to be expanding in her high-ceilinged new studio space. Lindsey Sherman’s evocative small figures – ceramic covered with wax then stippled with red thread – are new to me and most welcome.

one of my monoprints

Leila Holtsman has a strong metal and ink piece, a good example of her talent for using metal in unexpected ways: Erwin Timmers’ glass wall pieces have an industrial context and great luminosity and Michael Janis’s is luscious, as always. And there’s lots more.

Alec looking sharp

his is a great new resource for local artists and for the community. The galleries are directed by our own Alec Simpson who is an artist and a veteran of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The center as a whole is run by the Gateway Arts district, led by Cheryl Dericotte, who gets a huge shout-out for bringing a project that had a somewhat tortured history to a very happy point. And you all should think about getting out to see it.

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