G40: The Summit

Post by Sarah Aburdene and photos by Stephen Elliot

Art Whino has teamed up with the Crystal City BID and Vornado to present G-40: The Summit, a month long art exhibition and event series featuring over 500+ artists from around the world. An artistic interpretation of the G-20 political summit, the G-40 brings leaders of the New Brow genre of contemporary underground art together in an effort to explore, discuss and grow this movement whose influence ranges from contemporary urban to street art, skate, and graffiti.

G-40: The Summit presents a dynamic new gallery experience bringing visionary artists from across the world to Crystal City. It will remind you of a street arts festival—but instead of being on the street (do you really want to be outside in the cold??!)—it takes place on 5 floors of an office building, taking up 75,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space.  There is a lot of art and a lot of talent.  I was blown away not only by the sheer quantity of art (over 2,000 pieces), but by its quality and diversity.  The floors are divided by region—showcasing the works of artists from DC, New York, California, as well as international.  Each floor has 10-30  “showcased artists” who activate the space with murals and installations.

Throughout the month there will be musical and visual performances, lectures, free art classes and more.  From live mural paintings to resident DJ’s, such as 18th Street Lounge’s Ancient Astronauts who flew in from Germany to perform at Saturday night’s Grand Opening (FREE!) on March 6. Rumor has it that Run DMC and Grand Master flash will perform live at the G-40’s closing….
This is not another Artomatic.  Unlike Artomatic where one must sift through the expanse of floors in the hopes of finding a piece of art you really love, the G-40 is a curated event—AKA the sifting is done for you.  The depth and breadth of the art is mind boggling.  For all you aspiring art collectors, this is the place for you to start collecting. Prices range from $20 to $6,000.  You will find works from the freshest and rawest talent from around the world as well as from very established artists, including Norman Rockwell’s granddaughter, Daisy Rockwell, France’s ANKO, and Cut Throat from Texas. The New Brow movement is growing and expanding worldwide  Currently, this urban street art movement exists without much literature or founding in “traditional” institutions, yet it includes some of the most highly recognizable and sought-after art in the world and will inevitably become a major player in the intellectual and mainstream art world.

G-40 The Summit

Come out to Crystal City and take a look for yourself!

http://www.artwhino.com/g40/

Event Locations:

223 23rd St. Arlington, VA 22202

Metro Accessible and plenty of parking
For more info go to: http://crystalcity.org/accessible/parking

Floors:

1 – Show information / performance area / mixed use
5 – New York metro area artists
6 – All Encompassing
7 – California artists
8 – Washington DC metro area artists

Event Schedule:

Open Hours:

Grand Opening Reception
March 6th, 8pm – Midnight

Wednesdays & Thursdays: 5 – 10pm,
Fridays: 5pm – Midnight
Saturdays: 12pm – Midnight
Sundays: 12pm – 6pm
Mondays & Tuesdays: Closed