(1979) Volume 2, Number 2

              vol 2 wo 2 march 1979 profile washington project for the arts performances films video gallery shows artists bookshop workshops and symposia publications outdoor public art works as well as visits to artists studios—this is what the washington project for the arts does and much much more the wpa is one of the many organizations established in ma jor cities across the u.s devoted to the solution of special problems posed by various new artforms of the seventies founded in 1975 by alice denney as a resource and per forming arts center serving the greater metropolitan area of washington,1 d.c it is housed in an 18,000 square foot three-story building donated by the d.c department of housing and community development alice denney en visioned the wpa as a center that would provide services and space to painters filmmakers dancers video artists musicians sound artists actors photographers sculptors and writers as well as performance artists environmental artists and art publishers serving as the principal art service organization in the district of columbia focussing on professional non traditional and non-commercial appraoches to contem porary art as well as purely experimental art forms the wpa is dedicated to serve and educate the washington art commu nity as a local as well as a national showcase serving as a bridge to bring art from all regions of the country as well as worldwide to the district of columbia located at 1227 g street n.w the building has a total of four rooms of gallery space two theater spaces a scree ning room a lounge administrative offices and an artists bookstore this allows for a wide range of activities imme diately accessible to residents in all areas of washington being conveniently located across from the metro center subway station due to redevelopment the department of housing and community development has guaranteed ¦ accomodation • in new sites and currently the w.p.a is negotiating a new site for its galleries out of doors wpa has recently been awarded an empty lot in the center of the city on a temporary basis for a public art program in which alice aycock bob wade and rockne krebs will be exhibiting large public pieces for the delectation of the d.c downtown community these monumental environmental site-oriented public art works will be on exhibition for two months each a series of outdoor performances by a national selection of performance and body artists including dancers and mimes will also complement this project open city an invitation to the public to visit artists studios on the weekend of january 26 - 28 and the weekend issn 01 60-0699 ' of february 2 - 4 proved to be quite successful a map was provided to all those who wished to partake of this two weekend opportunity to visit actual contemporary artists studios and it was a great success bookshop the artists book shop has been open since 14 july 1978 and has provided the metropolitan dc community with a unique opportunity to buy publications not carried any where else self-published works by artists as well as periodi cals and small presses which include poetry and literature the shop has done well thanks to al nodal assistant direc tor who has put much energy into attracting a large array of current artists bookworks a poetry series is also in the near future which will provide the community with poetry rea dings on a regular basis performance a very intense program of performances in dance theater poetry readings and intermedia seem to occur twice a week at wpa the talent conies not only from washington but from all parts of the u.s it is an exciting program that supplements the legitimate theatre renaissance in the district . it also brings otherwise inaccessible talent to the metropoli tan area for the enjoyment of all the theatre areas are spa cious and lend themselves to the most professional presen tations the space is the envy of many alternative spaces throughout the u.s