A Magical Evening at Georgetown’s Art All Night
By • September 30, 2024 0 572
Story by Lucy Cullen and photos by Daisy Bateman
Wisconsin Avenue was buzzing all the way from the Georgetown Community Library on R St. to the Georgetown Waterfront Friday evening for the annual Art All Night celebration. Neighborhood residents and art fanatics around the city participated in the annual late-night art festival (part of a city-wide event) hosted by Georgetown Main Street (GMS).
With a total of 19 locations participating in Georgetown, the family-friendly event featured live music performances, art installations, painting workshops and much more. Despite the on and off rain throughout the night, the Georgetown community did not hesitate to turn out in full force. The activities at the Georgetown Community Library were filled with young kids watching a cake decorating demonstration or painting their shoes, while adults enjoyed learning mocktail recipes and watching a live band. Patrons donned glow necklaces and bracelets, lighting up the whole neighborhood.
Farther down Wisconsin Avenue, the African Union had multiple artists and vendors on display, with assorted African cuisine tastings. Visitors could also try Ethiopian coffee, watch a performance of the masinko, a traditional Ethiopian instrument, or a dance by the Tribal M Dance Group. Patrons were weaving in and out of different rooms, taking in everything presented to them.
The Georgetown Lutheran Church also held activities Friday night, hosting the Night Market by Neighbors DC and showcasing the congregation’s Global Cross Display. There were musical performances, as well as a caricature artist. The Phoenix, a family-owned boutique, had Oaxacan Alebrije wood carvings on display by the famous Jimenez family, who is known as the original family to popularize the carvings as an art form in Oaxaca.
What seemed to be garnering most of the attention, however, were the art galleries, specifically L’Enfant Gallery on the corner of Wisconsin Ave. and P St. NW. With a line out the door, visitors were eager to roam through the gallery’s maze of paintings, sculptures, furniture and more from the 17th century to date. The gallery’s owner, Peter Colasante, started L’Enfant Gallery with only five pieces in his collection, and now the gallery has been in business for about 50 years.
“We’ve had over a thousand people tonight,” Colasante told The Georgetowner. Throughout the night, Colasante was asked about pieces such as a George C. Lambdin portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant from the 1870s and an antique glass collection, a testament to the vast range of art showcased in the gallery.
Other galleries along Wisconsin boasted wooden sculptures at Addison/Ripley Fine Art, 3D projected structures at Klagsbrun Studios, and contemporary Congolese art, at Gallery Article 15. The artist on display at Gallery Article 15 was Houston Maludi, from Kinshasa, DRC, whose exhibition was defined by the colors at opposite ends of the electromagnetic spectrum: red and blue. Maludi’s art is chaotic when viewed from far away, yet as you get closer, the finer details become clearer and multiple stories within one painting emerge. Maludi explained that as perspective changes, the details the viewer notices.
Art All Night was the first time Maludi shared his art in Washington D.C. Translated from French to English by the gallery’s owner Elizabeth Jaffee, Maludi said, “It’s my first time here, in Washington D.C., so it’s a great opportunity to talk to people and introduce my artwork.”
A complete list of the Art All Night 2024 activities can be found here.
