Locals who want to learn the history behind some of D.C.’s murals will have plenty to see during a bus tour scheduled to roll through the District this weekend.
The “D.C. Murals Guided Bus Tour” is scheduled to begin outside of the Carnegie Library (801 K St. NW) on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 10 a.m., according to its Eventbrite page.
During the tour, Perry Frank, Ph.D., and Cory Stowers — the duo behind local art blog D.C. Murals — will point out some of the city’s most recognizable public paintings.
“D.C.’s current murals began as socially conscious art in the late 1960s, and now may be abstract and decorative, quasi-advertisement, computer generated, or graffiti inspired,” the event listing reads. “Riders will disembark for closer looks at the political, commemorative, angry, and celebratory expressions of city concerns.”
If there’s anyone who knows about the District’s public art, it’s Frank and Stowers. For more than 20 years, they’ve catalogued murals throughout the city. The duo is also working on a new coffee table book called “D.C. Murals: Spectacle and Story.”
Tickets cost $30.
Five local artists will debut new murals during a ceremony in Blagden Alley this afternoon.
Attendees can witness the ceremony and view art from muralists Bill Warrell, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Rozeal Brown, Aniekan Udofia and Cita Chelove between M and N and 9th and 10th streets NW today at 4 p.m.
The event is meant to mark the opening of the “D.C. Alley Museum,” an outdoor collection of murals “that features D.C. artists open 24/7 without restrictions.”
“As the lead artist I have committed my entire career to this city’s artistic wellbeing, first as a curator and now joining my fellow artists,” said Warrell in a statement. “A coalition of painters from the region have been coming together in my studio and we have created the DC Alley Museum here in Blagden Alley.”
The outdoor exhibition was assembled with “generous support” from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities’ public art program.
Photos via Shaw Main Streets
This drawing is at the northeast corner of 14th Street and Wallach Place NW, on Wallach. Who does he resemble? Anyone? The lettering on his forehead is FAIV. Google "FAIV" and you get several options. What am I missing? (Luis Gomez Photos)
