Kicking off Union Market District’s two-week Street Fest earlier this month, DC’s creative community took center stage in a curated series celebrating the role artists play in conversation and their essential contributions to inclusive placemaking.
Still on view in La Cosecha is Salvador Rubio Rivera’s “La Neta.” Rivera’s debut solo show is a collection of stunning portraits of his Latin community in a fusion of art history, pop culture and his Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in Washington, DC. Rivera’s work is expressed through acrylics and mixed media, and vibrant airbrush works.
Creative Theory Agency’s “Gallery of Disruption” on Neal Place is an outdoor wheat paste installation spotlighting some of DC’s boldest visual voices in an evolving series that captures the spirit of Union Market District through spontaneous, on-the-ground portraiture. New moments are added in real time, transforming everyday interactions into a living, visual record of the neighborhood.
“Forever Fearless” is a bold exhibition curated by Maggie “O’Neill featuring 17 DC-based artists, each reimagining a statue as a symbol of courage, justice and transformation. Presented by Our Daughters’ Futures Fund (ODFF), the original sculptures serve as both a public art statement and proof of concept—a grassroots model that uses art as a tool for connection, education and civic engagement.
Union Market has long been a cultural anchor in the city; expanding its visual landscape through art feels like a natural and exciting way to connect with both local communities and global audiences.
CURATED SHOWS:
One of DC’s rising contemporary voices was showcased by Chela Mitchell Gallery in a bold new collection of paintings. Brooke Fierce Bronner’s mostly focuses on the relationship between the individual components of a thing and the overall structure that it presents at its face.
POP-UP GALLERIES:
ArtCor hosted “The Conversation Pit,” a participatory installation where visitors were invited into a living work of art. The experience kicked off with Jerald Cooper of HOOD CENTURY, marking his first DC appearance, and cultural worker, writer and Professor Maleke Glee led a talk on the intersection of art and visual communication. Additional featured artists included Bria Edwards, Omari Jesse and Maurice Wright.
Clarence James & Halim A. Flowers / Syncopation This collaborative art exhibition recently featured new and historical works by Clarence James and Halim A. Flowers that explore identity, freedom and expression. A centerpiece of the show was the premiere of a new documentary titled “Super Predator to Superhero” that serves as an epilogue—nearly three decades later—to the Emmy-winning HBO documentary “Thug Life in DC,” in which Flowers appears as a young man serving a life sentence in prison.
Maggie Michael and Dan Steinhilber /Preview In “Preview,” two nationally recognized artists and longtime community members of DC’s art scene shared recent and in-progress paintings and sculptures.
INSTALLATIONS:
Colorado-based Brooke Einbender, aka Mindbender, guided visitors into “The Unknown Zone,” an immersive pop-up exhibition. Suspended from the ceiling, reclaimed and reimagined doors transformed into kaleidoscopic portals that glowed with shifting color and light. The installation invited visitors to reflect on transformation, thresholds and unseen worlds within and around us.
Masseria / The Sculpture Garden by Dan Steinhilber In collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Nicholas Stefanelli, sculptor Dan Steinhilber transformed the courtyard of Masseria into a sculpture garden featuring new work.
Culture