Halcyon Hosts Arts Lab Open House
By • January 25, 2018 0 818
Georgetown-based nonprofit Halcyon, which evolved from the S&R Foundation of Sachiko Kuno — Halcyon’s chair — and Ryuji Ueno, showed off its new Arts Lab at a Citizens Association of Georgetown evening event Jan. 23.
Built as the Fillmore School, the building, at 1801 35th St. NW, which later served as the Georgetown campus of the Corcoran College of Art, was purchased by S&R in 2015 for $16.5 million. It now houses studios for Halcyon’s first cohort of artist fellows; a dance studio named for Septime Webre, Halcyon’s artistic director for performance (also Hong Kong Ballet artistic director and former Washington Ballet artistic director); and the “one-room” Mysa School.
The Mysa School sprang up when parents of Hyde-Addison Elementary School students were told their children would be bused to another neighborhood during Hyde-Addison’s renovation and expansion, currently underway.
The Arts Lab program, “supporting emerging artists seeking social impact,” is a counterpart to Halcyon Incubator, a social entrepreneurship program currently in its seventh year. In addition to studio space from October to June, the artist fellows receive funds for materials and living expenses, attend classes and talks and are mentored and critiqued by established artists. They, in turn, mentor D.C. high school students. The six fellows who are not D.C. residents are provided with off-site residential accommodations.
The eight fellows are: documentary photographer and multimedia storyteller Kristin Adair; French-born installation artist Chloe Bensahel; Antonius Bui, who works in hand-cut paper and textiles; video and soundscape artist Hoesy Corona; sculptor Stephen Hayes; Estefani Mercedes, who is creating a research-based project; Georgia Saxelby, another installation artist; and performance artist Sheldon Scott.
Halcyon CEO Kate Goodall invited attendees not only to visit the studios and chat with the fellows, but to register for workshops in jewelry making, digital media and dance — including 10 Wednesday-evening sessions of “The Rose Method,” led by Washington Ballet principal Morgann Rose — at the Arts Lab this spring. Registration information is available at halcyonhouse.org.
