Photo by Brian Knight

I hope you were able to join us for the opening of I'm With the Band last night. As you can see, we happily greeted a packed house for most of the night. DJ Chris Nitti did a fantastic job keeping us grooving along and giving the perfect atmosphere to enjoy some concert photography. Kyle Gustafson, Martin Locraft and Nestor Diaz showed off some great work -- all of which is now up online in our Artist section above (and for sale! contact heather[at]tenmilessquare.com for details).

It's always great to meet so many new people at these events. Some (understandably) get so excited about seeing the art, and some take advantage of the opportunity to meet fellow photographers, artists and art lovers. (Of course, some of us just do it for the beer.) Keep an eye out for some TMS press soon, too. I got the chance to meet Betsy from DC Shot List last night, who took some photographs of the event for DC Magazine. This Sunday, find a copy of The Examiner for a short feature in The Eye, where I wax poetic on Kyle Gustafson's R.E.M. photo from the show.

I'm With the Band will be up at Dahlak until May 3 so you have plenty of chances to see them in person. Stop in for a $3 Stella or a delicious Eritrean dinner; they're open seven days a week, from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Image of Michael Stipe of R.E.M. by Kyle Gustafson

Get ready, TMS fans, we've got a slew of shows coming up for you in the next couple of months, starting off with an awesome set of concert photography by Kyle Gustafson, Nestor Diaz, and Martin Locraft at Dahlak in Adams Morgan. Details below -- hope to see you April 9!

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Check out the opening of Ten Miles Square’s newest exhibit, I’m with the Band, at Dahlak on Thursday, April 9th.

View the work of three talented, DC photographers who combine their passions for music and photography to capture the spirit and energy of local artists and headliners alike:

Kyle Gustafson
Martin Locraft
Nestor Diaz

Dahlak
1771 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(On the corner between Florida Ave and 17th Street)

Opening Reception:
Thursday, April 9th from 6 – 8p.m.,
Featuring DJ Chris Nitti
Suggested $5 donation

Kyle Gustafson has been used in several major publications including the Washington Post, Toronto Star, the Sun (UK), Heat Magazine, Twist Magazine, as well as DCist.com, NME.com, Rollingstone.com, Pitchforkmedia.com, and Huffingtonpost.com

Martin Locraft has been featured in DC Magazine, and his work has been seen on DCist.com, OnTap, the Onion, the GW Hatchet, and Arlington Connection

Nestor Diaz has had images in SPIN.com, Rollingstone.com, RVA magazine, Pitchfork.com and DCist.com

“Were it not for music, we might in these days say, the Beautiful is dead.” - Benjamin Disraeli

Not a Ten Miles Square production, of course, but since DCist Exposed is pretty much the mother of TMS and the origin of the photographers we often showcase, we're going to promote it loudly.

Friday, February 20
5 to 9 p.m.
Gallery at Flashpoint
916 G Street NW

The opening reception is free and will get crowded, so come early. See the work of over 40 amazing photographers and bring your checkbooks, because everything is affordably priced.

We'll see you there!

Photo by Brian Knight

I had a great time greeting all the folks that visited us at the Axiom building last night. (And Josh Yospyn's turtles are a big hit!) Come see the show again tonight from 6 to 10 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Axiom building. We're in apartment #408, right between a fantastic show curated by Sondra Arkin and Ellen Weiss (with work by Tim Tate and Pat Goslee, among other talents), and on the other side, the make-out room!

We got a sweet mention in the Washington Post print edition today, check it out here. Remember the entire show is free and includes a DJ and bands in the Half Street tent, and it's all just a couple blocks from the Navy Yard Metro. See the post below for the full schedule.

Here's all the updated info about the big event -- see you tonight!!

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Luck of the Draw: An Art & Music Experience
In the Capitol Riverfront Neighborhood

Friday, February 13
6 to 10 pm

Saturday, February 14
6 to 10 pm

Sunday, February 15
2 to 6 pm

The fun begins at the tent on Half Street, between L and K Streets SouthEAST.
@ Navy Yard metro (on the green line).
Take the Half Street exit and follow instructions from the friendly Clean & Safe folks.

Performance schedule in the Half Street tent:

Friday, February 13
DJ Sequoia
6:00 pm rifle recoil
7:00 pm Layne Harrett
8:00 pm Extremities
9:00 pm Sejayno

Saturday, February 14
DJ Gold
Dance: Katrina Toews
6:00 pm BanjerDan
7:00 pm Violet
8:00 pm Blue Sausage Infant
9:00 pm Nkeng

Sunday, February 15
DJ Anish
Dance: Contradiction Dance
2:00 pm Shadow Farm
3:00 pm Doug Stailey and Dan Barbiero
4:00 pm Pilesar
5:00 pm Janel & Anthony

Visual artists:
Albus Cavus, David Barr, Andrea Collins, Sherill Anne Gross, Rebecca Katz, Carolina Mayorga, danny phantOM, Tariq Rafiq, Andrew Wodzianski, Alexandra Zealand.

"RED: St. Valentine bled for us"
Curated by Sondra Arkin and Ellyn Weiss:
Sondra Arkin, Chuck Baxter, Joan Belmar, Kristina Bilonick, Scott Brooks, Tory Cowles, Betsy Damos, Richard Dana, Don Daniels,Tom Drymon, Susan Finsen, Pat Goslee, Leila Holtsman, Judy Jashinsky, Tracy Lee, Anne Marchand, Lynn Putney, Veronica Szalus, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Anita Walsh, Ellyn Weiss, Brian Williams.

Photography exhibit curated by Ten Miles Square:
Erin Antognoli, Amber Baum, James Calder, Chris Chen, Jason Colston, Max Cook, Brett Davis, Angela Kleis, Brian Knight, Marie Kwak, Amber Wiley, Pat Padua, Barry Schmetter, Alexandra Silverthorne, Matt Smith, Paivi Salonen, Steve Strawn, Sanjay Suchak, John Ulaszek, Brandon Wu, Josh Yospyn.

A collaboration between:
The Pink Line Project, Artomatic, and Capitol Riverfront BID.

Venues:
Velocity Condos, Axiom at Capital Yards, Onyx on First

After three quick shows in a row to break in Ten Miles Square last fall, I took a little break, but it's time to get geared up again.

Artomatic and Pink Line Project asked me to curate an entire condo in one of the buildings where they're holding a huge art and music event over Valentine's weekend in the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. Ten Miles Square will feature the whimsical, clever work of 22 photographers, so stop by and see us!

Friday: 6 to 10 p.m.
Saturday: 6 to 10 p.m.
Sunday: 2 to 6 p.m.

Free!

Artists:
Erin Antognoli
Amber Baum
James Calder
Chris Chen
Jason Colston
Max Cook
Brett Davis
Angela Kleis
Brian Knight
Marie Kwak
Amber Wiley
Pat Padua
Barry Schmetter
Alexandra Silverthorne
Matt Smith
Paivi Salonen
Steve Strawn
Sanjay Suchak
John Ulaszek
Brandon Wu
Josh Yospyn

It's been awhile since I updated the site, but I can tell you I've got a few projects in the works, so stick with me and we'll have some exciting stuff going on soon.

In the meantime, check out these opportunities:

DCist announced the winners of the 2009 DCist Exposed Photography Show this week, and they are a fine looking bunch. Mark your calendar for February 20, 2008 when they'll have the exhibit opening at the Gallery at Flashpoint, 5 to 9 p.m.

FotoWeekDC (which I'm still volunteering for) is working hard to become an organization with projects running all year-round. Right now you can enter your photographs from the campaign, election, and inauguration of Barack Obama in their fotobama contest. Winners get sweet prizes, like their image hung in the Newseum, printed in a limited-edition book, and big cash prizes. Get all the details here.

One of our favorite local blogs, Prince of Petworth, is having his own photography contest for fun, exciting shots from this upcoming inauguration weekend. Check out the details here.

Know of other stuff going on? Send them to me at heather [at] tenmilessquare.com!

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.