The DC Arts Center’s
Workshop Series
A monthly cadence of workshops focused on advancing your artistic and professional practice. Designed by artists for artists.
Greater access gives every artist more ways to realize their potential. That’s why The DC Arts Center is providing artists with more opportunities to learn from, and build meaningful relationships with, leaders in the profession. And if you’re an Artist Member — it’s free.
THIS MONTH
ARTISTIC PROCESS
Wednesday, April 10 - 4:00 PM
Swimming: Art & Poetry Workshop for Public Art Project
With Monica Jahan Bose
Please join us in co-creating artwork for SWIMMING, a new public art project that explores the deep and essential connections we have to water as our world faces increased flooding and rising sea levels due to climate change. Weather permitting, the event will be outdoors on the sidewalk. When installed in June 2024 at the Marie Reed Community & Aquatic Center in Washington DC, SWIMMING will feature a “pool” of art-embellished saris, along with a sound walk, performances, film screenings, and poetry readings. Artist and climate activist Monica Jahan Bose will discuss the project and then lead a poetry and art workshop where we will create poetry and art on saris inspired by the healing properties of water and swimming and inequities in access. SWIMMING is part of Bose’s art and advocacy project, Storytelling with Saris. Started over a decade ago, the project has fostered collaboration with women from Bose’s ancestral island in Bangladesh as well as residents of DC and people around the world.
Facilitator Bio: Monica Jahan Bose
Monica Jahan Bose is a Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist whose work spans painting, printmaking, performance, film, and interdisciplinary projects. Her social practice work highlights the intersection of climate, racial, gender, and economic injustice through co-created workshops and temporary public art installations and performances. She is the creator of STORYTELLING WITH SARIS, a long-term art and advocacy project with her ancestral village of Katakhali, Bangladesh. She has partnered with the International Center for Climate Change and Development to present a climate knowledge sharing and adaptation workshop in Katakhali. Her work has appeared in the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, Art Asia Pacific, the Milwaukee Sentinel, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, the Japan Times, and all major newspapers in Bangladesh. She has a BA in the Practice of Art (Painting) from Wesleyan University, a Diploma in Art from Santiniketan, India, and a JD from Columbia Law School.
This workshop is free and open to the public, though registration is required.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Sunday, April 21 - 3:00 PM
Documenting Your
Artwork
With Jerry Truong
In this workshop at The DC Arts Center (DCAC), Jerry Truong will teach the basics of documenting artwork. He will cover essential camera settings, discuss composition, and demonstrate how to photograph wall-based works. The session will include a Q&A period, providing practical advice for artists aiming to accurately capture their artwork.
Facilitator Bio: Jerry Truong
Jerry Truong is an interdisciplinary artist from Maryland, whose work delves into themes of history, memory, and trauma—themes deeply influenced by his family's migration from Vietnam to the United States. Truong holds a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine, and an M.F.A. in Visual Arts from the University of California, San Diego. In addition to his personal artistic endeavors, he has documented exhibitions and artworks for numerous notable institutions, venues, and artists in the DMV area. Many of his images have been featured in publications circulated nationally.
Free for Artist Members. $10 all others. Become an Artist Member today!
OUR DESIGN
The DC Arts Center is proud to present a cadence of monthly workshops, conversations, and events aimed at advancing artists in both their artistic and professional practice. The focus of these workshops is on artist-to-artist development — imparting clear and practical knowledge from artists leading the profession to creatives of all backgrounds and ability levels. The Workshop Series features offerings in three categories, Artistic Process, Collector Conversations, and Professional Development. Each session lasts for approximately one hour, and admission is free for Artist Members (just $10 for all others). All sessions are interactive and held in person at The DC Arts Center in Washington, D.C.
ARTISTIC
PROCESS
Whether you are looking to advance your own artistic process in a medium you love, or you’re looking to explore a new medium altogether, our Artistic Process workshops will provide you with new ways of creating. Join fellow artists in an interactive “doing” workshop as they walk you through their unique artistic process.
NEXT UP
Monica Jahan Bose, Storytelling With Saris
Swimming: Art & Poetry Workshop for Public Art Project
April 10, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Register here.
PREVIOUS
Pixie Alexander, The DC Arts Center Sparkplug Member
Exploring the Intersection of Movement and Art
July 16, 2023
COLLECTOR CONVERSATIONS
Meet and build relationships with some of DC’s most prominent collectors in our Collector Conversations workshops. These interactive dialogues offer artists the rare chance to meet and socialize with collectors of all kinds! These workshops are all about relationships and access.
PREVIOUS
Museum Walkthrough with Philip Barlow, Prominent DC Collector
May 7, 2023
Philip Barlow & Lisa Gilotty, Prominent DC Collectors
February 25, 2023
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Professional Development category offers artists the chance to advance their professional practice. Previous workshops have covered topics such as improving your artist statement and marketing yourself as an arts professional.
NEXT UP
Jerry Truong, Former Program Manager, The DC Arts Center
Documenting Your Artwork
April 21, 2024 at 3:00 PM
Register here.
PREVIOUS
Benedetta Castrioto, Curator, The DC Arts Center’s The Curatorial Initiative
Curating Labor and the Labor of Curation
March 2, 2024
Learn how you can join The Curatorial Initiative here.
Eric Celarier, Artist, Washington Sculptors Group
Elevating Your Elevator Speech
June 17, 2023
Danielle Glosser, Artist Advisor, Client Raiser
Top Ten Business Strategies for Artists
March 12, 2023
Jerry Truong, Former Program Manager, The DC Arts Center
Effective ARTiculation
December 4, 2022
Danielle Glosser, Artist Advisor, Client Raiser
Business of the Arts Q&A
November 6, 2022