Through Sparkplug, DCAC brings together local emerging artists and curators without gallery representation or institutional employ and provides them with support, meeting space, legal and technical resources and exhibition opportunities. Members of the collective meet monthly to discuss their work, pursue exhibition opportunities, plan studio visits and explore common interests and challenges. Because the intention of the program is to foster the growth of emerging and early-career artists, the collective itself will persist as new members join and others leave. After the successful first three years of the program, DCAC is excited to welcome seven new members to the group. Rob Chester, Chajana denHarder, Todd Gardener, Joseph Hale, Chandi Kelley, Matt Smith and Dafna Steinberg were all invited to join after responding to an open call released in March of 2010. The seven new members, along with one continuing member, curator Blair Murphy, will carry the program forward for the next two years.

Current Sparkplug Members

Rob Chester
www.robchester.com
The son of teachers, he has practiced art all of his life. He studied painting in college, lived in the Netherlands, and Kansas City before moving to Uzbekistan with the Peace Corps. He currently lives and works in Washington DC.

Chajana denHarder
www.chajana.com
Chajana denHarder is an interdisciplinary artist who was born in the red light district of Amsterdam. She received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Chajana has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work investigates divergence and assimilation: change in form and the assimilation of self into other people, places and states of being. She currently lives in Washington D.C.

Todd Gardner
www. toddgardner.com
I am a painter. I create worlds where clowns and skeletons do combat, where robots take on entirely too human emotions, and every-day objects take on airs of reverence, and nostalgia. In creating these worlds, I find out a lot about myself and where I fit in the world that I inhabit.

Joseph Hale
www.josephhale.com

Chandi Kelley
www.chandikelley.com
Chandi Kelley graduated with a BFA in photography from the Corcoran College of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited in such places as The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Studio Gallery, Honfleur Gallery, Vivid Solutions, and The Katzen Arts Center at American University. She is a Co-Founder of the artwork subscription service, Project Dispatch. She lives and works in Washington D.C.

Blair Murphy
www.blairmurphy.com
Blair Murphy is a curator, writer, and arts administrator based in Washington, DC. She has a BFA in photography in Maryland Institute College of Art and earned an MA from Georgetown University’s Communication, Culture and Technology program in 2009 after two years of study focused on visual culture, critical theory and gender studies. Having successfully emerged from the thick haze of academia, she is pursuing new writing and curatorial projects in DC and beyond.

Matt Smith
www.matthewmsmith.com
Matt Smith was born and raised in Lima, Peru. He received a BA in geography from the George Washington University and a MA, also in geography, from the University of Maryland, College Park. The basis of his artwork is digital photography, but he is also beginning to incorporate other media in his art practice. During the day he is a researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Dafna Steinberg
www.dafnasteinberg.com

Past Sparkplug Members

<home>