April 18-24, 2024

One of the many positives about living in this area is the plethora of art museums within easy reach. Many are free, such as the National Gallery of Art, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Art Museum and Renwick Gallery, and Hirshhorn. Others have an admission fee – the Kreeger, Phillips Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, and Hillwood. These popular museums have permanent collections as well as special exhibits year around, featuring internationally known artists whose art is considered priceless by collectors and critics alike.

We often forget that those renowned artists weren’t always famous. They had to get started somehow, and probably labored in obscurity for many years before being “discovered.” A new and unique effort, Art in Daily Spaces, provides local artists with an opportunity to show their work, not in formal galleries, but in locations that customers may frequent on a daily basis – a coffee bar, hair salon, gym, and restaurant. A local non-profit, Community Art for Everyone, or CAFÉ, applied for, and received, a small grant from ArtsFairfax to fulfill a mission to bring the community and local artists together. Under the leadership of Hannah Joo and Jim Albright, CAFÉ sent out a “call” and selected ten artists whose works are on display at seven Annandale locations through May 12. Each artist selected received a small stipend from CAFÉ.
At the Opening Night reception at the Mason District Government Center, several of the artists spoke about their creative process. Susan Yennerell, an educator, said that this is her first show, and explained how her approach changed when she met her biological father for the first time. Growing up with wonderful adoptive parents, she nevertheless felt something was missing, and now she has been able to fill that gap, creating new memories through art. Her show, including a huge paper ball called PB 39, is featured at Ramp, a gym and wellness center at 7232 Columbia Pike, along with paintings by XIM3NA, a younger artist who uses simple family surroundings – her father mowing the lawn, a backyard barbecue – as inspiration for her acrylic canvases.

Shona D’Cruz, also an educator, said she started with paint and moved to mosaics and glass. A vivid floral glass mosaic hearkens to Georgia O’Keefe, and an ethereal pale green branch with small white flowers seems to hover every so lightly in the frame. Originally from India, Ms. D’Cruz also showed a street scene of mosaics; in front of each door was a tiny pair of shoes which, she noted, reflects her homeland, where shoes are removed before entering the house. Her creations, along with fellow artist Helen Pappas, are featured at Beanetics, in the Annandale Shopping Center, 7028 Columbia Pike. Next door, at Hair Unik, 7034 Columbia Pike, you can view creations by Lasitha K. Gunaratna. At Seven Hair Line, 7116 Columbia Pike, the display is not by a single artist, but by community members who gathered for the dedication of the Eileen Garnett Civic Space last October and created map-like reminiscences of downtown Annandale. Six of the seven locations are within a two-block area of downtown Annandale, and the art can be viewed during business hours. The seventh location, at the Mason District Government Center, 6507 Columbia Pike, features paintings by Jane McElvany Coonce and ceramics by Kessler Ulberg. For more information, contact artindailyspaces@gmail.com.

The arts encompass many other forms – prose, poetry, music, dance, architecture, theatre – all of which are available inside the Beltway, no river crossing necessary! High school drama departments are presenting their traditional spring musicals, and the free summer concerts in Fairfax County parks will begin in mid-June. This month, the Providence Players are featuring “Surviving Grace,” a play by Trish Vradenburg that chronicles a daughter’s moving story, sometimes brutally honest, caring for a mother with Alzheimer’s. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., at the James Lee Community Center, 2855 Annandale Road in Falls Church, through April 27. I already have my tickets for next Friday. Remember, performers rely on having an audience. Otherwise, it’s just another rehearsal!