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Artomatic provides a mechanism for emerging and established artists to have the chance to work with and learn from one another. The diversity of artwork and performances attract a broad range of people, providing a forum to build institutional connections; linking public and private schools, universities, community development organizations, human service organizations, corporations, foundations, and cultural organizations.
Artomatic Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that organizes Artomatic events." Artomatic Inc". Tax Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved October 9, 2018." Form 990-EZ: Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". Artomatic Inc. Guidestar. December 31, 2016. Artomatic, Inc was incorporated on April 22, 2005." ARTOMATIC - Initial File Number: 251266". District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Government of the District of Columbia. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
Artomatic Inc is overseen by a volunteer board of directors, led by Co-Presidents Jamila Canty and Olivia Garcia." Board of Directors". Artomatic. Retrieved April 14, 2020. Artomatic hired Natalie Graves Tucker as its first executive director in October 2019.
The second Art-O-Matic was held from September 29 to October 28, 2000. This time, it was held in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Northwest Washington, in a then vacant building that had at various times been a Sears and a Hechinger. Artist Tim Tate's "artwork at Artomatic 2000 was seen by the curator of the Smithsonian's Renwick Museum, and that show both got his work into the Museum's permanent collection, and his sales at the show provided the seed money that started the Washington Glass School."
October 31 to November 30, 2002 saw the third Art-O-Matic, in a former EPA building in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood of Washington, D.C., at 401 M Street SW, adjacent to Waterside Mall (the EPA building and the mall were both later demolished). At this Art-O-Matic, for the first time, the Figure Models Guild of the Washington, D.C., area sponsored open Figure drawing events. There would be live, often nude, models posing, and artists drawing.
The fourth Artomatic, as it was now spelled and has been spelled since, was held from November 12 through December 5, 2004, at the old Capital Children's Museum in the H Street Corridor of Washington, D.C. Blake Gopnik, art critic for The Washington Post, wrote that the majority of the show's work was mediocre or worse, and decried the waste of money and effort that could have gone to worthwhile, professional arts activities in Washington, D.C.
The fifth Artomatic was held from April 13 to May 20, 2007. This was the first time Artomatic was held outside Washington, D.C.. It occupied two floors of a vacated office building in Crystal City in Arlington County, Virginia. The space had previously been occupied by the Patent and Trademark Office.
Artomatic returned to Washington, D.C., with the sixth iteration, held from May 9 through June 15, 2008. This time, they occupied 10 floors of Capitol Plaza I, a new – not yet completed – office building in the NoMa neighborhood.
In February 2009, Artomatic collaborated with the Pink Line Project for "Luck of the Draw: An Art and Music Experience." This event attracted over 1,500 people and was held at the Capitol Riverfront Neighborhood. Also in this seventh version of the event, several artists received interesting letters from someone who called himself "The Benefactor", causing both admiration and alarm in several of the artists.
The seventh Artomatic was also the tenth anniversary event. It ran from May 29 to July 5, 2009 in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It occupied a brand new building, 55 M Street SE, in a development near the new Washington Nationals Nationals Park located right over an entrance of the Navy Yard Metro Station. Over 76,000 visitors attended.
The eighth Artomatic was held from May 18 to June 23, 2012, in Crystal City, Virginia. It was held in a vacant office building..
The ninth Artomatic was held in New Carrollton, Maryland, from October 30 to December 12, 2015.
The tenth Artomatic was held in Potomac, Maryland, in November 2016. Diane Tuckman, a pioneering silk artist and author on the same genre exhibited and taught classes at this Artomatic.
The eleventh Artomatic returned to Crystal City, Virginia running from March 24 to May 6, 2017. It was staged using seven floors of an empty office building.
The artfair organizers wanted to mark the 20th anniversary year in a meaningful way. However, 2019 came and went without finding a location to host the exhibition, so anniversary plans were moved to 2020, only to be upended by the outbreak of COVID-19. It was announced that for 2020, the production of Artomatic would be a totally online exhibition.
The organization remained in existence to promote local art, but had not been able to hold any in-person events until 2024, when a twelfth Artomatic was announced, to take place in Washington, DC from March 9 to April 28, 2024. The 2024 Artomatic is in the largest building ever at over 400,000 square feet. The opening remarks ceremony by Washington, DC mayor Muriel Bowser made national news when her remarks were interrupted by Gaza protesters who rushed the stage.
In 2005 the Fraser Gallery of Bethesda, MD exhibited "Artomatic Top 10." The show was curated to exhibit the work of the top ten artists selected by the gallery director from the 2004 Artomatic, and included work by Mark Jenkins, Michael Janis, Tim Tate and others. The show was selected as a "Hot Pick" of the week by The Washington Post. Also in 2005, the Anne C. Fisher Gallery in Georgetown selected an exhibition selected from Artomatic artists titled "10 Most Wanted." The exhibition was curated by Fisher and by F. Lennox Campello, and included work by Frank Warren, the creator of the PostSecret project.
In 2007, three art galleries in Bethesda, Maryland, put on a coordinated selected show of artists who had taken part in Artomatic. The galleries mounted the art for their monthly Bethesda Art Walk of January 12, 2007.
In 2009, this was repeated by the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda, with a second curated exhibition of Artomatic artists.
Smaller events and partnerships have also happened in following years, including a small display in the oldest wing of National Airport in 2011 and select Artomatic artists were featured with poetry by BRASH at Studio Gallery on R Street NW in Washington, D.C., in 2010.
In 2013, thirty-five artists who participated at Artomatic 2012 were curated by juror F. Lennox Campello to show work at the PEPCO Edison gallery in Downtown Washington, D.C.
Artomatic has also partnered with art groups from other cities and countries, specifically glass studios from England for the 2009 iteration, in order to bring work from elsewhere into the DC art scene. The 2009 Artomatic included of one of Washington, DC's Sister Cities: Sunderland. Thirty seven artists and businesses from Sunderland participated in Artomatic including glass artists and musical acts.
History
The first Art-O-Matic, as it was spelled then, ran from May 21 to June 19, 1999. It started as a fairly spontaneous event in the Manhattan Laundry buildings on Florida Avenue in Northwest Washington. The location, in an old laundromat, accounts for the name. The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities acquired about $25,000 of artwork from this show for permanent display in the capital's public buildings through its Art in Public Places program.
Licensed events and partnerships
The Artomatic concept has been licensed out to other places, including Frederick, Maryland, in October and November 2011, and Toledo, Ohio, in April 2015.
Notable artists
External links
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