When I wear my other hat, I'm the Arts Editor for DCist.com, and the most exciting of all my duties is running the annual DCist Exposed Photography Show. This show and the photographers I've met through it are what allowed Ten Miles Square to exist at all.

If you've been in D.C. for any length of time, you should consider entering some of your photos. It's an opportunity to have your work hung in a fine art gallery, gushed over by hundreds of art fans, and even have it purchased and hung in someone's house. We hope it's an even that gets people as excited about photography as it gets photographers excited about making their work.

You have until January 7 to submit three photos, and our opening reception at Flashpoint will be on February 20. Get your work in now!

Logo design by Lynne Venart; photo by Angela Kleis

Photo by Danya Smith-Washington Post

Lavanya Ramanathan and Rachel Beckman have a great story that was published in Sunday's Style section on alternative art events, featuring four venues and their efforts to turn art into a massive cultural shared experience.

Our exhibition at Fight Club is featured with a great shot of Josh Yospyn's photos in the hard copy version, and some vibrant party shots online (like the one above), by Danya Smith. Along with the excitement of getting a mention (actually not one, but two this month) in the Washington Post, is being mentioned next to the Hirshhorn for their excellent After Hours parties, Civilian Art Projects for their one-of-a-kinda music/art events, and Art Whino for their eclectic contributions to the art scene.

Check out the rest of the article here.

Have you been checking out all the PixTour exhibits around town? If you'd like to see a handful with the photographers themselves (and me!), I'm hosting an informal bar crawl on Tuesday night, November 18, through the venues that Ten Miles Square curated around Columbia Heights and U Street.

Meet us at 7 p.m. at Red Rocks Pizza on 11th and Park to see Marie Kwak's photos, and get some nourishment before we head on our way. We'll walk by Room 11, which is Paul Ruppert's (not yet open) new wine bar on 11th and Lamont, and has some photos in the windows to admire. Then we'll stop in Wonderland for Pat Padua's exhibit and a cold beverage.

We'll try to sneak a peak in (closed at 7 p.m.) Sticky Fingers to view Parikha Solanki Mehta's photos (and you should definitely go back later to see them in person and grab a delicious baked good), then hit the metro to U Street. Next is Velvet Lounge for Angela Kleis' photos, over to Nellie's Sports Bar for James Calders' exhibit, and finally end at DC9, where duo Jack Whitsitt and Paivi Salonen have their work displayed.

Feel free to join us for the whole thing, or try to meet up with us at any of the venues.

Of course, don't forget Cesar Lujan's exhibit, Looking Sideways is still up at Big Bear Cafe through December 7, and part of PixTour. Check out the PixTour web site and make your own crawl through the exhibits, handily organized by neighborhood for you.

Photo by Max Cook

That has to be one for the ages, folks. We barely opened the door at 8:30 p.m. before the place was packed and a line formed down the entire alley (and we were worried it'd be hard to find the place). Thank you so much for coming out to support the nine artists in the Ten Miles Square exhibit, and huge thanks go out to everyone who helped pulled this monster of a night off.

Philippa Hughes and The Pink Line Project are, naturally, responsible for a massive part of the success, from finding the amazing venue to all the sponsors who supported us.

Everyone at Fight Club has put in a ton of work getting the exhibit space ready, the show hung, and manning the doors while 700+ of you guys tried to get in at once.

Duplex Diner supplied the 10 kegs of beer we drank in 3 hours. Nice work everyone. On the Fly had some delicious tacos and other treats after we all worked up an appetite. And Scion played a huge part in bringing everything together.

The Jones and DJ Anish kept the place rocking all night long.

Not to mention our nine featured photographers: Chris Chen, Tracy Clayton, Max Cook, Steve Goldenberg, Brian Knight, Cesar Lujan, Anthony Smallwood, John Ulaszek, and Josh Yospyn.

And if you didn't get out on Friday, or just want to see the show again, Fight Club will be open noon to 7 p.m. every day until next Sunday, Nov 23. Contact me using the form above if you'd like to purchase a print by one of these fine photographers.

This is us working hard to put the finishing touches on tonight's exhibition at Fight Club. You know all the details, so don't let a little rain stop you -- this is a party not to be missed!

We'll have The Jones and DJ Anish to entertain your ears, the work of nine talented photographers to entertain your eyes with images from D.C. subculture, plenty of beer and even a foodcart ready for when you work up an appetite. Not to mention the skaters showing you how it's done in the bowl.

Even the Washington Post considers us one of the major spots to hit during Fotoweek.

See you there!

Many thanks to The Pink Line Project, Scion, Duplex Diner, On the Fly, The Jones, DJ Anish, and of course, all the boys at Fight Club who helped us put this show together.

Fight Club
Enter through Blagden Alley (N St between 9th and 10th -- follow the signs)
8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.
$10 suggested donation

PixTour brings art to the people who are out and about. Take a walk, have a drink and a meal, and see the art of photography in Dupont, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, 14th Street, Anacostia and More. PixTour is an informal showing of photography on local walls and windows.

PixTour, a project of FotoWeek DC 2008, is showing the work of area photographers at 40 bars, clubs, restaurants, theaters, and shops around DC. The project was organized by Molly Ruppert and the Warehouse, with many photographers suggested by Ten Miles Square.

You can find Ten Miles Square curated shows at the following venues:

Big Bear Cafe -- Cesar Lujan
Wonderland -- Pat Padua
Red Rocks Pizza -- Marie Kwak
Sticky Fingers -- Parikha Solanki Mehta
DC9 -- Jack Whitsitt and Paivi Solonan
Velvet Lounge -- Angela Kleis
Nellie's -- James Calder

Warehouse is also featuring more PixTour at their gallery (with one photo from each photographer who volunteered for the project), along with an exhibit by Byron Peck, famed Washington muralist, with a reception on Friday, November 21, 6 to 10 p.m.

(Photo by Brian W. Knight)

Thanks for everyone who came by Big Bear Cafe last night for the opening reception of Looking Sideways, with photographs by Cesar Lujan. The full show has now been uploaded to our Artists section, so feel free to relive it in all its electronic glory.

The exhibit will be up at Big Bear until December 7, so stop by any time, have a cup of their excellent coffee (I'm partial to their cappuccino), partake in some free wifi, and peruse the show at your leisure. Each of Cesar's photos are for sale in various sizes, framed or unframed, so just drop me a line through the contact form above and I'll be happy to give you more information.

Looking Sideways is a part of PixTour, a project for Fotoweek.

We've got everything ready for our second Ten Miles Square show. We're going at it hard over the next few weeks, starting with Bloombars, then Big Bear Cafe -- part of PixTour, which we'll have more about later -- and finally with our blow-out show Fixation at Fight Club for Fotoweek DC. Stick with us through November for these excellent shows (and through December, when we plan on taking a much needed short break!)

Join us this Saturday for Looking Sideways; details below:

*****

Ten Miles Square and PixTour presents:

LOOKING SIDEWAYS
Photography by Cesar Lujan

Big Bear Cafe
Corner of 1st and R Streets NW
(Bloomingdale)

Opening Reception
Saturday, November 8
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

About the exhibit: Cesar Lujan takes images that present a bit of a role reversal. Rather than landscapes and settings merely providing context for people and their actions, Lujan sees the idle presence of people creating the context for what becomes the real main characters here: impressive architecture and unusual urban scenes. (If Lujan's work looks familiar -- it should. He was also selected to present a short series of photos in our Fotoweek DC exhibit at Fight Club. Come to Big Bear for the full perspective on this talented photographer's work.)

About Big Bear Cafe: When it opened in July 2007, Big Bear became a hub of the burgeoning Bloomingdale neighborhood. It caught our attention as a supporter of local arts, and Ten Miles Square is now proud to be exhibiting its second photography show there. Did we mention they make a fantastic cup of joe?

About PixTour: This program for Fotoweek DC was conceived by Molly Ruppert of Warehouse. She contacted 50+ venues all over DC (bars, restaurants, clubs) and worked with Ten Miles Square to match each one with a local amateur photographer. The rest of the exhibits won't be up until the festival starts on November 15. We'll have a web site with more information about PixTour soon.

http://tenmilessquare.com/
http://bigbearcafe-dc.com/
http://www.fotoweekdc.org/

We're finally ready to announce our exciting exhibit as part of the Fotoweek DC festival. Ten Miles Square has partnered with The Pink Line Project to present Fixation with work by nine photographers. Check out the pertinent details below and RSVP at our Facebook page.

Opening Reception:
November 14 from 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Live music by The Jones and DJ Anish
$10 suggested donation

Fight Club
1250 9th Street NW
Washington DC 20001
(enter through Blagden Alley on N Street between 9th and 10th Streets)

Photographers:
Chris Chen
Tracy Clayton
Max Cook
Steve Goldenberg
Cesar Lujan
Brian Knight
Anthony Smallwood
John Ulaszek
Joshua Yospyn

These nine photographers each create a narrative with a short series of images, building the viewer a bridge between the image of our Nation's Capital and the people actually living inside it. Their photographs inspect our city's subculture and the people who thrive in it, whether it is the pure ecstasy of a public baptism or the discovery of an elusive quiet moment as 18th Street rages nearby. Some create their own scenes, driven by the absurdity or crucial absences in our cityscapes. Others sneak in the backdoor of highly defined alternative lifestyles, finding characters dolled up for primetime, squeezed in the underbelly of the D.C. club scene. What they all have in common is a fixation on the individual in the hands of a much bigger picture.

In association with:
Fotoweek DC
Scion
Duplex Diner
The Jones

Whew, after we closed the Move Along exhibit on Sunday, we got swept straight into the Next Big Thing and nearly forgot to wrap our first one up. As you can see above, we had a fantastic opening, greeting probably a couple hundred people on Friday night. The freezing rain understandably kept a few folks away on Saturday, but a steady stream came through all day on Sunday. (See more great photos by Brian Knight here.)

All in all, I'd say our first show went pretty darn well. We definitely want to thank John Chambers at BloomBars for hosting our show. We heard so many compliments on the venue -- it's a great space with tons of potential, and we're honored to be part of its history.

Secondly, I'd like to thank Tracy Clayton, Pat Padua, Katy Ray and Matt Smith for being part of the first Ten Miles Square show. I see big things from these guys.

Buckle up because we have not one, but *three* big events coming up in November. More to come soon.