Artists

Let’s hang out and journal together, trade stationary and stickers, and have a good time! Please note, we do not have a reservationtion, so we will do our best to find some good spots when we get there. The address is:

Join us for a Friday evening of creative practice\* and cozy conversation! Please visit the group page for details on event structure and what to expect: https://www.meetup.com/the-evening-art-society/?eventOrigin=your_groups Guests are welcome, though we request that you please let us know how many to account for. We don't want to run out of snacks! Kids are also welcome, with the understanding that this is a shared space intended to be comfortable for all and conducive to creative work. Reach out if you have any questions. We can't wait to see you! \*Because we ultimately just want to provide a safe, warm space for our community to enjoy on a weekly basis, our definition of this is pretty broad. Want to curl up with a good book? Working on the next great American novel? Looking for a café-like hum as the backing track to doing your taxes? You're also welcome here!

Collective's Winter White Party is BACK! Due to extremely popular demand, Collective is bringing it back again this January to help us get through the doldrums of January. Mark your calendars NOW! Collective rocks the best of the 80s, 90s, 2000s and today covering rock, pop, pop punk, alt and country hits. Voted "Best Local Band" 2022 & 2024 by readers of Arlington Magazine. FYI: Ned's charges a cover starting at 9. The band goes on at 9:30

Per Collective: Ooooh party people. LISTEN UP: we're doing something fun yet again. It's the only way we know how! On Friday Jan 23 Collective is holding a "Dark of Night" event at Rai's Rendezvous. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!?!?!? Come in black - your fanciest, your most emo, your most badass black leather...it ALL goes. And we're pulling a bunch of older Collective songs out of the shadows and putting them back on stage for ONE NIGHT ONLY. We can't wait to see you!

**_JOIN US FOR OUR FIRST MEETING OF 2026!_** We’re kicking off with a casual social hour at **Tours Le Jours @ Pentagon City**. All artists and creatives are welcome. Bring your supplies, grab some food and meet new people and vibe~ We’re looking forward to seeing you there🤎

Members of the public are invited to view the wonders of the universe through the telescopes of NOVAC volunteers at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. You do not need to be a member of the club or own any astronomical equipment to attend. Telescopes will be provided by the Smithsonian and pre-approved members of the NOVAC. No other personal telescopes are permitted at the event. The event will take place on the bus parking lot of the museum. **Please park your vehicle at the south end of the main visitors lot and follow signs and red lights to the observing site. As a reminder, parking during the event is free.** Have a cosmic question? One of NOVAC's astronomers or museum staff will be happy to help you. As the sky gets dark, be prepared to enjoy the wonders of the night sky! Don't forget to dress warmly. Please check the weather forecast. For lighting, cover a flashlight in red cellophane (the darker the better). Bring along water to keep hydrated. Note: This outdoor event is weather-dependent and may be cancelled because of significant cloud cover or precipitation.

Always an ArtHouse favorite, the next Katzen Museum opening looks like a good one. We always meet around 6 pm in the lobby to socialize where they serve some food and open a cash bar, and then go into the 3-floor museum around 7 pm. Underground parking is convenient but does cost now. Buses also service the venue. Here's the lineup: Ilana Manolson: The Air We Share *A Project Space exhibition* **Ilana Manolson, Artist** **Sarah Tanguy, Curator** *The Air We Share* invites viewers to look closely at the plants that thrive at the edges of human attention. Painter, printmaker, and naturalist Ilana Manolson celebrates and elevates species often dismissed as weeds, revealing their vitality, beauty, and essential roles within the ecosystems we share. This exhibition challenges the hierarchies humans impose on nature. Weeds, often maligned as invaders, stabilize soil, retain water, and offer shelter, medicine, and renewal. By placing them at the center of her compositions, Manolson reclaims their dignity and reveals their quiet power. As climate urgency intensifies, *The Air We Share* calls for renewed awareness of our interdependence with the natural world. Manolson’s paintings remind us that life not only persists but flourishes in the margins, and that every living thing contributes to the shared breath that sustains us all. ## Vital and Veiled: Valerie Brathwaite and José Gabriel Fernández **Valerie Brathwaite, Artist** **José Gabriel Fernández, Artist** **Jesús Fuenmayor, Curator** Two pioneering sculptors, Valerie Brathwaite and José Gabriel Fernández, reveal how abstraction can speak to identity, sensuality, and the complicated histories that shape the Americas. Trinidad-born Brathwaite channels the landscapes of her childhood and the ecological tensions of urban life into luminous organic forms. Her stones, flowers, and “soft bodies” pulse with what she describes as the vitality of nature, shaped from clay, plaster, cement, fabric, and color that suggest both the Caribbean’s exuberance and its fragility. Her lifelong engagement with materials creates an aesthetic language rooted in memory, movement, and an enduring concern for the natural world. ## The Magical World of Joan Danziger **Joan Danziger, Artist** **Jack Rasmussen, Curator** Enter a world of transformation—where imagination takes physical form; where wire, glass, and celu-clay become creatures of wonder; and where an abstract painter evolves into a surreal sculptor guided by her fascination with fantasy and dream imagery. ## Humanist Touch: Works from the Weber Collection Presented by the Alper Initiative for Washington Art **Joan and Bruce Weber, Collectors** **Laura Roulet, Curator** Assembled over four decades, these works from the Weber collection reflect Joan and Bruce Weber’s long engagement with contemporary DMV artists and galleries. When they describe their collection, a strong sense of community emerges, one enriched by personal ties to the artists and by the many conversations, visits, and encounters that shaped their choices.