Tag Archives: DC Kid Free

December 7, 2019 · 1:52 pm

Scenes from AURORA: The Spirit of Northern Lights at ARTECHOUSE

As the seasons change, so do the exhibits at ARTECHOUSE, all of them a reflection of the time of year in some way. This winter, AURORA: The Spirit of Northern Lights celebrates the season with digital art installations and activations inspired by the natural phenomenon that is most prominent during the darker, colder months.

Like other exhibits at the Southwest DC gallery, this one consists of a large-scale light installation in the main room along with several smaller ones. They are all interactive and beautiful, the icy blue, purple, green, and occasionally soft yellow colors giving everything an ethereal feel.

On the walls of the main room, guests can grow leafless winter trees, guide snowballs, and make snowflakes with their own movements detected by sensors. Other areas have been transformed into arctic oases — an ice cavern twinkles with light as you move about, ice patterns form on the walls of frosted forests as you stand nearby, and you can immerse in colorful light projections of dancing skies. As Sasha said, “It makes me feel like I have powers!”

Visitors of all ages can have fun with this one. And along with the illuminated art installations, there are treats for everyone, too. The bar will be open during the day (12pm on Tues/Wed, 11am Thurs-Mon) and in the evenings, serving both delicious, exhibit-inspired cocktails and mocktails. They plan to have hot chocolate for warming up, too.

AURORA: The Spirit of Northern Lights is running at ARTECHOUSE December 7 – January 5. Family-friendly hours are 10am – 5pm, and 21+ hours are 5-10pm Sunday – Thursday, and 5-11pm Friday and Saturday. Admission is $16-20/adult, $13-15/senior, $8-10/child (cheaper if you purchase in advance online). They are offering a 20% discount package for 2 adults + 2 children, Sundays through Thursdays. You can also get a deal through CertifiKid.

UPDATE on the 20% off: The deal will auto-populate when tickets are requested for Sunday-Thursday daytime entries within bar hours – as the deal comes with a holiday drink for all (hot chocolate)! This deal should be in effect on the following schedule: Sunday/Monday/Thursday 11am through 4pm entries, Tuesday/Wednesday 12-4pm entries.

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Filed under 2019, 2020, All ages, Art, DC, Exhibit, Seasonal, Weekdays, Weekend, Winter

Tagged as ARTECHOUSE, Children's Activities DC, DC Art Exhibits for Children, DC Art Installations, DC Date Night, DC Holiday Season 2019, DC Kid Free, December 2019, DMV Winter Activities with Kids in, Family Fun, Fun Things to do with Kids in the Washington DC Area, January 2020, Winter Break in DC 2019

June 25, 2019 · 7:36 pm

Immerse in Infinite Space at ARTECHOUSE

Experience infinity (and beyond!) at ARTECHOUSE this summer

ARETCHOUSE has made its mark on the DC art scene with exhibitions that fuse art and technology, and encourage visitors to not just view it, but experience it. The latest, Infinite Space, is no exception. Exploring the concept of infinity, the exhibit asks, “…if finitude is the only absolute truth in life, how can we imagine structures and patterns that repeat themselves into an imperceivable horizon? How do we frame imagined realities that represent something beyond our perception of life and of linear time?”

Owen neverending

Yes, that’s a lot to contemplate, especially for a kid. But you really don’t have to think about it too deeply to experience and enjoy Infinite Space. The exhibit is comprised of several major installations, including three infinity boxes, an infinity room, a hall of mirrors, and large-scale projections on the walls of the main room, images generated by a machine using data sets ranging from human memories, photographs of Mars, cultural archives, and sea surface activity. All of the works are immersive in some way, and visitors can, in a way, be part of the art and delight in it from within.

Artist Refik Anadol explaining how it works

You can step into the infinity boxes with changing digital designs reflected on all sides (except the open front), including the ceiling and floor, and see yourself floating within them. It’s also interesting to get an “outside-the-box” perspective, too. You can walk through a maze of mirrors with multiple versions of you walking along with you. A whole infinity room surrounds you with digital patterns, all reflected onto mirrored walls, seeming to go on forever and eliciting that rubber-knees sensation when you look down and feel like you’re standing on a precipice (or maybe that’s just me). You can also relax on a beanbag in the main room, watch the images sweep over the lofty walls, and ponder what it all means to you.

Contemplating infinity

Infinite Space is running at ARTECHOUSE through ~~September 2~~. Update: The exhibit has been extended to September 15! Family-friendly hours are 10am -5pm, and evening hours are 5:30-11:30pm for ages 21+ when exhibit-themed cocktails are served. It’s recommended for ages 6+, but all ages are welcome, and I think younger children would like it, too. Admission is $16/adult, $8/age 2+.

Put this on your summer activity list, for sure. In the meantime, here’s more of a glimpse…

“In Peak Bloom” at ARTECHOUSE is a Fantastic Celebration of Spring

The newest digital art exhibit at ARTECHOUSE, the gallery in Southwest DC known for its fusion of art and technology, may just be my favorite yet. Perfectly timed to open on the first day of spring, In Peak Bloom is a fantastic celebration of the season and its beauty, and visitors are encouraged to join in through interactive works that are delightful and enchanting, unique and profound.

Of course, cherry blossoms are featured in some of the installations. Digital projections of the flowers float along the walls of the main room along with other vibrantly colored blooms. Like many of the works at ARTECHOUSE, you can engage with the imagery, directing it back and forth and in swirls as you move your arms. Owen looked like a conductor as he stood in front of the floral scenes waving his hands around. And the floor painted a glossy black looks like water with images from the walls above reflected on it. It’s quite a stunning scene to take in from the balcony above or even standing (or lounging) within.

In a smaller room, you can make an image of a cherry tree bloom through connection with others. Powered by biometric sensors in four circular pads on the floor, you stand on one while other people stand on the rest, and touch hands (or lock arms or hug), and the tree goes from a pre-bloom white to a flourishing pink. Created by Korean-American artist Lisa Park, the work is inspired by Park’s experiences living abroad in the US and feeling detached from family and friends back home in Korea. It shows how connection and physical contact between people helps them thrive.

There is a nod to Japanese culture with an area of shoji screens, panels of translucent paper and wooden frames used as doors, windows, and room dividers in traditional Japanese design. In this exhibit, some of them have shadowy plant scenes on them, indicating their use as windows, while others are backlit so you can make shadows appear on the other side. (Great for photo ops, and kids will undoubtedly have fun in that area — Owen and I did!)

The maze of shoji screens leads to a wonderful, wild installation of “musical” plants, three planters of live hanging ivy that respond to contact. Each plant makes a different sound from nature — tweeting birds, croaking frogs, and either chirping insects or chattering monkeys (I couldn’t quite tell). You walk below and gently touch a leaf or stem to hear them sing. And multiple people touching them is like a little symphony of nature.

Finally, there’s the Enchanted Garden, a room full of whimsical designs created from a mix of natural and recycled artistic mediums. An augmented reality (AR) app accompanies the installation to tell the story of The Rabbit in the Moon, a legend from Japanese folklore. Right now, it’s only available on android phones, and there are a couple available there to access it. The AR will be available on iPhones soon. But even without the AR, it’s neat to wander around and explore details of the art.

Put In Peak Bloom on your family’s must-do spring activity list — it’s one you’ll all enjoy! Kids are welcome during all-ages daytime hours, but evenings are for adults only. The bar is open during these hours, and ARETCHOUSE always serves unique and tasty exhibit-inspired cocktails.

In Peak Bloom
Where: ARTECHOUSE | 1238 Maryland Avenue SW, WDC
When: Daily, March 20 – May 27, 2019
All Ages Hours: Sun-Thurs 10am – 7pm, Fri-Sat 10am – 5pm
After Hours (Age 21+): Sun-Thurs 7-10pm, Fri-Sat 5:30-11:30pm
Admission: $16-20/adult, $8-10/child

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Filed under 2019, All ages, Annual, Art, DC, Exhibit, Seasonal, Spring, Weekdays, Weekend

Tagged as ARTECHOUSE, Cherry Blossom activities, Children's Activities DC, DC Art Exhibits for Children, DC Art Installations, DC Date Night, DC Exhbits, DC Kid Free, Family Fun, Fun Things to do with Kids in the Washington DC Area, In Peak Bloom, March 2019, May 2019, Spring 2019

March 15, 2018 · 10:59 am

It’s a Cherry Blossom Dream this Spring at ARTECHOUSE

ARTECHOUSE, the Southwest DC gallery specializing in creative works that merge art and technology, has been celebrating the seasons through large-scale installations that reflect the time of year with stunning visuals and neat interactives. And it probably comes as no surprise that the newest one, the spring exhibit, features one of DC’s seasonal favorites: Cherry Blossoms.

Sakura Yume // Cherry Blossom Dream offers a new way to experience our city’s famous flowers. They might not be real in this digital environment, but they’re beautiful as they float along the lofty walls of the gallery’s main space along with colorful clouds of light created by your movements. Like past installations there, sensors are carefully placed to let you manipulate the art by waving your arms or walking along the wall where the images are projected.

More activations invite guests to interact with the art. You can virtually feed koi fish and make cherry blossoms bloom on an interactive table. There is a hall with paper lanterns hanging above that light up as you walk under them. Orange dots on a wall can be rearranged as you “move” them.

My favorite element — and the one I think will be a fave of most guests — is an interactive table that projects beautiful blossom and Japanese-inspired images and lets you play with light and color. Hands and fingers become paint brushes as you create big swaths of color or make butterflies appear out of gray backgrounds. It’s mesmerizing and therapeutic and just really delightful to see.

All ages, children and adults, will appreciate this Cherry Blossom Dream. Kids are welcome during daytime hours 10am – 5pm, but evenings 5:30-11pm are for adults only. The bar is open during these hours, serving tasty and gorgeous exhibit-inspired cocktails. And on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 5:30-7pm the Bloom Food Immersive Experience, a bento box style meal will also be available.

Sakura Yume // Cherry Blossom Dream
Where: ARTECHOUSE | 1238 Maryland Avenue SW, WDC
When: Daily through May 6, 2018
Hours: 10am – 5pm (all ages) | 5:30-11pm (21+)
Admission: $15/adult, $8/child | $85/Bloom Food Experience

Scenes from Parallel Universe at ARTECHOUSE

The newest exhibit at ARETCHOUSE, the gallery that specializes in creative work that merges art and technology, is as wild and immersive as its previous installations, probably even more so. Parallel Universe by Ouchhh is exactly as they put it: “…a psychedelic, eye-of-the-storm experience of whirling fractals and light beams.”

Guests of all ages are welcome, though it’s recommended for 12 and up, and I would agree with that. This installation is a little more intense than the last few, kind of like a rave minus the drugs and the dancing, with trippy visuals, bright flashing lights, and loud thumping music. It’s a cool experience — I dug it — but it may not be for everyone, especially children who are sensitive to a lot of stimuli.

For this reason, I’m keeping this post about it simple — you can get a preview in the images below. Take tweens or teens who would like this kind of adventure, or make it a KidFree outing and go in the evening when you can enjoy the funky cocktails, too!

Parallel Universe
Where: ARTECHOUSE | 1238 Maryland Avenue SW, WDC
When: Through March 4, 2018
Hours: 10am – 5pm (12+) | 5:30-10:30/11:30pm (21+)
Admission: $15/adult, $8/child

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