CrossLines INTERVIEW: S P A C E Lab

May 26, 2016

We are INCREDIBLY excited to help spread the word about CrossLines: A Culture Lab on Intersectionality! 40+ artists are taking over the Smithsonian Arts & Industries Building THIS Memorial Day Weekend: 2 days of art, music, performance, and dialogue, free and open to all. It's a MUSEUM OF THE PEOPLE, brought to you by the SmithsonianAPA; RSVP here and read on: we had #CrossLines artists bring us to their neighborhood Metro station to chat all things intersectionality – meet S P A C E Lab.

"In the laboratory of our own community, trial and examination result in inventive creativity that IGNITES social progress." S P A C E Lab is a community of artists (founded by Aja Adams, Ani Bradberry, and Michelle Stearn; the collective also includes Sekayi Dez) building safe + open platforms for expression. Their contribution to CrossLines is part of a larger collab: you can view their neon + projected installation during BOTH/AND, a multimedia music + movement E X P E R I E N C E , helmed by Makers Lab (supporting + building queer communities by creating spaces that celebrate life, art, and queer culture), and featuring add'l work/beats/life from Ayes Cold, Kerim the DJ, Asha "BOOMCLAK" Santee, and Patience Sings. RSVP for BOTH/AND here.

What do you hope people will take away from your contribution to CrossLines, and from CrossLines in general? We hope to bring together multimedia art and multidisciplinary thought into one evolving experiment. In an effort to emphasize the symbiotic nature of our community, the video projection and sculpture work in conversation with the music performances to create an atmosphere that challenges perception and encourages celebration.

We invite you to challenge your own truths upon the back of what we've created. There is healing in motion. There is curiosity in color. There is life in culture.

This piece is not only meant to entice the senses, but to get people questioning their own bounds of reality. Each vibration sends waves to the subconscious, and each wave holds a different message for different people.

We challenge our people to manifest their own perceptions of the piece while also engaging in their own humanity. Motion resonates itself upon our metaphysical bodies in so many ways, and it's up to the viewer to stand in the moment unafraid to feel anything and everything they can.

We hope people get a glimpse of how the past, present, and future of culture intertwine. What is “culture,” anyway? It’s surely not a pre-defined set of values set by institutions, nor should it be commodified for consumption. Why? We think culture is alive, it's US: culture is people and how we interact with one another and our surroundings. Culture is also spirit: the way this spirit manifests through us as individuals can bring new energy and new perceptions of “culture” itself. We’re excited to see how other individuals express their own spirits at CrossLines, because inevitably these expressions will interweave with what we’re bringing, creating a totally fresh type of oxygen, stirring up the air a bit with sound and light, and other invisible, inaudible (but still perceivable) waves.

What can we expect from you at CrossLines?

Aja + Michelle: You’ll see us at crosslines projecting light, culture, history, and color onto the walls. We are inspired by movement, and how it allows us to transcend and ascend from the darker realities, and celebrate light. We know that the Arts & Industries building was lying dormant for some time, and are excited to bring living, breathing movement to its previous stillness – stirring up the dust of both the historic building and our old (mis)conceptions of our own personal histories. Among many others, these words influenced our research and creation leading up to the debut at CrossLines:

Ancestral & self-imposed masks | Elemental balance
Transcendence | Transformation
Tension & release |All of the above

Sekayi: My representation at CrossLines is within Aja and Michelle's projection. I am featured in my element dancing, making shapes, and moving to the beat of my ancestors. We are all so inspired by motion and I set out to embody culture, color, rhythm, and jive within the grander vision for the event.

Ani: Continuing our collective thoughts on introducing radical movement and life to the Arts & Industries building, a tabletop neon piece will sit near the projection equipment to visualize the breath present in our use of technology. Using the natural materials of wood and neon gas in harmony with industrial materials of hand-blown glass and electricity, the piece symbolizes our delicate daily interactions of urban and organic existence in Washington D.C., including our uniquely beautiful and diverse human interactions. This piece is aimed to intensify mindfulness for our surroundings and our city, which is constantly under threat of cultural and historical overwriting. With carefully controlled current, the gas glows dimmer than the average neon tube, creating a misty and ethereal blood-like aura rising from the wooden base. This piece stands in defiance of urban sterilization and roots our shared blood into the environment we share.

Tell us about NoMA/Gallaudet. What does this station represent? What makes this station - and the area served by it - unique?

This station is a kaleidoscope.
Its identity is a circle made up of shards of mirrors reflecting one another.
In a kaleidoscope, one image is broken into intersecting pieces that make a whole.
That whole is a distorted reality, of course.
Around our neighborhood, humanity breaks into shards just like that.
They intersect at acute angles, yet somehow the degrees add up to 360.

The station’s identity is somewhat fragmented too, like the kaleidoscope. After all, the station has cycled through so many names – NoMa, Gallaudet U, New York Ave, Florida Ave – as if the area itself were grappling with its own identity crisis. But there's beauty in the way the fragments intersect. Every day when we walk through the station we choose to aim our gaze between the lines of development – past the 5+ monstrous apartment complexes replacing entire communities, past the corporate chains to serve newly arriving residents – and we see people. We see family-owned corner stores and family-occupied underpasses, we see communities gathering and people sharing with one another. We think it’s time to turn our attention towards the humanity of these quickly-changing areas to amplify the silent voices.

Thank you, S P A C E Lab.
all photos by Dusty, for A Creative DC
interview by Jeremie Lecuyer
click here for the full CrossLines artist lineup
and watch this/we'll see you this weekend:

CrossLines INTERVIEW: AVI GUPTA

May 24, 2016

We are INCREDIBLY excited to help spread the word about CrossLines: A Culture Lab on Intersectionality! 40+ artists are taking over the Smithsonian Arts & Industries Building THIS Memorial Day Weekend: 2 days of art, music, performance, and dialogue, free and open to all. It's a MUSEUM OF THE PEOPLE, brought to you by the SmithsonianAPA; RSVP here and read on: we had #CrossLines artists bring us to their neighborhood Metro station to chat all things intersectionality – meet Avi Gupta.

Avi Gupta's photography draws on his childhood in an immigrant family in the Washington, DC area. We're drawn to the quiet scenes he presents: a scroll through his Instagram, @brownisgood, is at once zen and question-raising; below, images from an ongoing series titled In One's Element.

"Gupta's parents emigrated from India to Arlington, Va., in the mid-1970s, not anticipating they would spend most of their lives away from home. They met at a party in their 20s. 'Dad spoke Bengali and Mother spoke Hindi,' says Gupta, 'so they had to communicate in English.'

When Gupta recalls growing up in the U.S., he says he identifies most with the feeling of being the 'other.' 'I didn't feel American or Indian. I didn't feel a sense of place, of belonging,' he says." – Kainaz Amaria, NPR

What can we expect from you at CrossLines? Can you briefly describe why you chose to include this particular piece in the exhibition? “Heritage” is a photograph of an ordinary found situation. Printed on cotton fabric and showcased in a freestanding display case, the project addresses “heritage” as artifact, and the struggle to maintain or preserve inherited culture.

What do you hope people will take away from your contribution to CrossLines, and from CrossLines in general? For me, geography is defined by culture, and art permeates culture. There are fewer venues in D.C. for exhibiting artists now then there were ten years ago, this seriously affects the culture of the nation’s capital. CrossLines is a great example of a very talented roster of artists with culturally varied viewpoints, shining in solidarity.

Tell us about the Georgia Ave/Petworth Metro Station. What does that station represent? What makes that station - and the area served by it - unique? The station mainly serves Petworth, Upshur, Pleasant Plains, and Parkview, where I currently reside. Like any neighborhood in D.C., Petworth is wading through a sea of socioeconomic change, but unlike most of northwest Washington, the aggregate of past and present development waves are still quite visible. The area hasn’t been completely whitewashed. Yet.

Thank you, Avi.
all photos by Dusty, for A Creative DC
interview by Jeremie Lecuyer
click here for the full CrossLines artist lineup
and watch this/we'll see you this weekend:

INTERVIEW: BECKY OF BE CLEAN

May 19, 2016

Hi, I'm Becky Waddell and my little skincare shop is called Be Clean. We're located at the O Street Artist Studios in the adorable Bloomingdale neighborhood. My husband and I moved to DC about three years ago and spent our first few years in Brookland (surrounded by local artists and makers), but we've recently moved to the H Street area. I love being within walking distance to some of DC's most exciting local shops, restaurants and culture.

I launched the online shop about a year and a half ago and opened the studio last May. The studio appears to be 1 year old! I just realized that :)

What's the Be Clean elevator pitch, and how has it evolved since the launch of the shop? Be Clean is a small batch and vegan skincare shop that carries a selection of natural products and accessories crafted in the USA. We hope the the intentional and handmade nature of most of what we carry will encourage our community to slow down, experience and participate in their self care routine -- something that so many of us rush through in the morning and neglect at night. Over time, we've grown to appreciate a more nuanced approach to skin and body care and have added thoughtful accessories that contribute to a mindful lifestyle. In that growth, our desire to plant roots in DC, instead of operating strictly online, has really taken hold. To me, contributing to and creating a physical community that supports and celebrates acceptance, collaboration and self-care is a natural extension of the shop.

You're also a writer – can you give us some background on how you got your start contributing to print and online publications? And how has that affected/helped grow Be Clean? While I feel that "writer" is a title I have yet to earn, writing is something that has always been one of my most cherished outlets. I can't think of a time in my adult life when I wasn't contributing words somewhere, whether they were academic, opinion-based, or creative. Most recently, though, I was given an opportunity to write for Martha Stewart's online platform, and I have sought out really special writing projects with Chickpea Magazine. I adore this publication and the creative spirit they embrace in their ad-free quarterly. It has helped me grow, both personally and from a business perspective, because my articles tend to focus on outreach and collaboration. For example, I brought together some of DC's most vegan friendly restaurants, bloggers and thinkers for a beautifully curated plant-based Thanksgiving. The images, energy and conversations made for an article that, to me, really celebrated what's possible when people come together. Expanding beyond the "skincare" box and embracing community through writing has helped Be Clean grow, and I hope it continues to do so.

Independently-owned retail in DC is by no means few and far between...but its footprint does feel tiny in comparison to national/corporate-owned entities, and therefore the consumer-education piece is necessary for the survival of those businesses. How do you go about tackling this? How are you spreading the word on Be Clean, and is there much of a difference between your in-person and online customer base? I wish I had a sophisticated and insightful answer to this question, but I don't. I am still learning how and when to share the shop with DC, and the online shop with the world. But I will say that I try very hard to cultivate relationships with the lovely people that frequent Be Clean. So many folks that come to the shop do so because they're hardcore #greenbeauty lovers, and that's really cool. But the best thing about the studio space is that I am able to take the time to get to know my customers (and they can get to know me)... I rarely have anyone who just pops in and pops out. Instead, I have had many quiet afternoons transformed because a customer walked in a stranger, and walked out an hour later after we've chatted about everything from new brands to recipes to work and everything in between.

Personally, I find that level of engagement very rewarding. I'm invited to participate in a rather private routine in someone's life, and having the chance to create a space where people feel comfortable to explore their skincare concerns and needs keeps me energized. I hope that our customers feel the same way!

Both for the online shop and the studio, I try to work with bloggers and local folks who are excited about what they're doing, excited about what we're doing, and excited about what we can do together. I hope to grow our connections this year, as there was a lot of learning happening the first year.

Your shop is located at 52 O St - what was the process of finding and GETTING that space? We were actually visiting O Street to learn more about a potential woodworking space for my husband, who developed a love for building tables in our 500sf apartment. When we saw sweet little Unit 308, we had to take a moment to collect ourselves because we both fell in love with the little sun drenched + paint splattered nook. Be Clean found its DC home that morning, and while there are always financial considerations, we love this space and hope to have the privilege of being at 52 O for a long time.

What have been some benefits of being there? You're in close proximity to other creative businesses, as well as artists, musicians, etc. Can you talk about any collaborations or resource/experience-sharing that have come from being under the same roof? Being at O Street means I am constantly reminded that being a successful artist and business owner requires constant hard work, empathy and creative space. I am extremely lucky to be on the same floor as Virginia from DeNada, Vesna from Mint Lola, Veronica from Veronica Revilla, and Abby from Pitchfork Studios. These women constantly inspire me... from Abby's commitment to her creative vision, Virginia's #bosslady work ethic, Vesna's simply gorgeous accessories and Veronica's commitment to maintaining a community in the building. I'm forever thankful for the building and the people inside.

52 O Street Open Studios are this weekend! What's going on at Be Clean, and who else in the building should people make sure to check out? Open Studio days are the best! Most of the tenants will be there sharing their work and creative space, and so many people come out to explore. Be Clean will be offering skincare consultations, super secret special promotions, and of course, yummy snacks. You should check out everyone with an open door -- we all have stories to share!

Because we can't end this without asking for skincare advice: what do we need to know for the Spring/Summer transition? Listen to your skin! If your skin is feeling out of whack, make gentle adjustments in your routine. For example, many people experience dryness in the winter and use a heavier serum or balm to help nourish, but once temps and humidity increase, that nourishing serum becomes too much. In that case, it may be time to try a lightweight or SPF-based option instead. Of course, it's also the perfect time to transition your deep, warm perfumes, nail polish and lip colors to lighter and brighter options... this switch up might be my favorite part of spring and summer :)

follow @becleanshop on IG + Twitter
for more info on 52 O Street Open Studios, click here