On a recent warm and sunny Saturday afternoon, the streets were lively with springtime activity near the new street-view gallery Plain Sight on Georgia Avenue in Northwest D.C. Tempting aromas wafted outside of the restaurants in Park View and each beer garden and patio competitively blasted its speakers. Someone made a left on a red… Read more »
Read Our March 2021 Issue
THE ARTS & CULTURE ISSUE. We’ve officially made it one year as District Fray Magazine. In March 2020, we put out our first issue under a new name, and less than a week later, Covid-19 changed the world forever. Months later, mid-pandemic, our nation experienced a culmination of racial and social injustices resulting in collective support of the BIPOC community via the Black Lives Matter movement. In January, we welcomed President Biden and our first female vice president, Kamala Harris, into the White House. We’ve been honored to put forth a publication monthly that has been able to tell the stories of locals impacted by these events, and find ways to connect with our community despite the crippling impacts of the pandemic. And now, we bring you our Arts & Culture issue. This remains one of our favorite annual issues, near and dear to our hearts for many reasons. Chief among them, the District is brimming with talented creators, makers, artists, curators and other creative-minded individuals who keep our city relevant and make it beautiful.
Our issue features 21 creators and makers in the District and a stunning cover story by writer Colleen Kennedy about women-led Park View gallery Plain Sight, including interviews with founders Teddy Rodger and Allison Nance, and artist Halim A. Flowers. We highlighted local event production company Pakke’s latest collaboration with galleries Homme and Artgence, Union Market-based creative collective theTwelve, the turbulent relationship our city has with Brutalist architecture, and Studio Theatre’s commitment to inclusive and diverse works.
And while we of course celebrate women year-round, we are particularly excited to highlight 30 bad-ass female entrepreneurs during Women’s History Month. We also had the opportunity to interview two members of legendary, all-female punk rock band The Go-Go’s, the WNBA’s activist-athlete Natasha Cloud, tattoo artist and self-love advocate Imani K Brown, Shakespeare Theatre Company Associate Director Whitney White, local genre-defying artist Alli Vega of Scorpio, and the creative team behind female-focused Hotel Zena.
Plus, read about changing drink laws in the DMV, the current state of takeout, elevated home dining, how the music industry is bouncing back, the roller skating revolution, ways to get outside this spring and much more.
While so much of the past year has been challenging, we are grateful for the opportunity to keep telling and sharing D.C. stories. Thank you.
Monica Alford
Editor-in-Chief
FEATURED
30 D.C. Women Changing the Game
The work of women should be celebrated year-round, but for Women’s History Month, we wanted to highlight the achievements of women who have carved out their own roles as entrepreneurs, content creators, business owners and more. We reached out to 30 local ladies for inspiration and advice on what it takes to be a bad-ass… Read more »
21 D.C. Makers + Curators to Follow
Whether a creator, artist, curator or any of the titles the individuals on this list hold, they’re all integral parts of the creative fabric that make up the District. They shared their creative ethos, where they unexpectedly find inspiration and advice for other creators for our Arts & Culture issue this month. NABIL ABDULKADIR 44:21… Read more »
EAT
Next-Level Home Dining Experiences in D.C.
These days, the hottest table in town is in your own dining room. With restaurants operating at reduced capacities and varying comfort levels of being in an indoor environment, locals are looking to enhance their dining experience at home. Whether you’re scoring hot ticket meals or preparing restaurant-quality food in your own kitchen, check out… Read more »
The State of Takeout in the District
A year into the pandemic, restaurant owners and local delivery partners reflect on the challenges of the past year, how takeout is evolving and what they see for the future of delivery. “There is no way I would have predicted where we would’ve ended up.” Fresh off a stellar first year in business that brought… Read more »
DRINK
Open-Air Drinking + Cocktail Delivery Changes in the DMV
Local restaurants and bars react to the possible legalization of public drinking in designated commercial areas and alcohol delivery services. The bar and restaurant industry across America has taken a hard hit due to pandemic restrictions during the past year, and D.C. and Maryland legislators have proposed solutions to lessen the blow. In late January,… Read more »
How to Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day During a Pandemic
Last St. Patrick’s Day came at the very beginning of the pandemic, and plenty of people still went out to local bars and parties to celebrate, not yet realizing the serious impact that Covid-19 would have on the world. This year, March 17 will look much different for revelers, but that doesn’t mean you… Read more »
MUSIC
Punk Legends The Go-Go’s Talk Four Decades of Sisterhood, Resilience + Zero Fucks Given
I’m not sure there’s anything more punk rock than unintentionally becoming the first and only all-women band ever to write their own songs and play their own instruments on a No. 1 album. “We just happened to be five girls in a band together,” says The Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock. “Jane, how about you? Did… Read more »
Year of the Scorpio: Inside Alli Vega’s Room, Year + Process
Alli Vega’s Zoom window depicts that of an artist: a floating head belonging to a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, surrounded by “quarantine plants.” A lone pot faces a window, absorbing direct rays, while others sit neatly on a hovering wooden shelf just above her bed in the background. Next to the succulents on the… Read more »
Venues Reflect on a Year Without Live Music
Around this time last year, waves of live event cancellations began to crash throughout D.C. Even as nonessential businesses like music venues shut down and many events were rescheduled, we collectively held our breath for the pandemic to be a blip on our radar so we could get back to concerts, comedy shows and other… Read more »
CULTURE
Union Market’s theTwelve on Shared Experiences + Interconnectedness
It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention. It should be added that creativity, then, is invention’s sister. The need to express, the need to share, the need to turn the insides into the outsides and simultaneously light, burn and extinguish some ephemeral fire gives birth to creativity. A year in, and pandemic life… Read more »
Studio Theatre on Reimagining Access to the Arts
“I always say I’m in the business of empathy.” Reginald Douglas, associate director of Studio Theatre, is speaking about the importance of promoting inclusivity and diversity at the 14th Street Corridor space known for its contemporary works. “My job is not to make pretty light cues and pretty musicals and good dance numbers and good… Read more »
Artgence + Homme: Where There’s Art, There’s a Story to Share
When you think of an art collector, who do you picture? How do you imagine the process of curating and buying art? A new collaboration invites you to picture an experience that’s exciting and deeply meaningful – and yourself in the role of that collector. D.C. gallery and boutique Homme; Paris, France-based Artgence; and… Read more »
MORE CULTURE
The Survival of the Brutalist: D.C.’s Complicated Concrete Legacy
In late December, former president Donald Trump signed an executive order aiming to eliminate new federal buildings built in the style of Brutalism and modernism. Brutalism, especially in the District, is an inextricable part of the area’s landscape. And while the executive order has since been overturned, its existence in the first place is curious,… Read more »
STC’s Whitney White Approaches the Classics Through a Contemporary Lens
For Whitney White, classic works of theatre like those by Shakespeare and Arthur Miller not only stand the test of time, they tell the stories of today. After directing James Baldwin’s “The Amen Corner” at Shakespeare Theatre Company in February 2020, White was hired as an associate director at the theater, where she helps develop… Read more »
Imani K Brown Fights for Community, Boundaries + Sense of Self
We live in an era where it’s increasingly difficult to carve out and find safe spaces, much less have enough emotional energy left over to create them for others. And yet, Imani K Brown has found a way to do both seamlessly, earnestly and unapologetically. The tattoo artist, illustrator, author and Japanese street fashion enthusiast… Read more »
LIFE
Hotel Zena Highlights Inclusivity + Female Empowerment
Hotel Zena’s facade is guarded by two fierce, larger-than-life warrior guardians. They look sternly over Thomas Circle, protecting what is inside: an oasis dedicated to supporting and celebrating women. The hotel, which opened in October 2020, is focused on inclusivity and female empowerment. While women’s history is celebrated every month at Hotel Zena, the hotel… Read more »
Ask Alice: The Unsung Benefits of Creativity
Creativity tends to have a boxed definition, ironically – a definition that does not allow it to be, well, creative. To be creative is to be in a state of flow and enjoyment. Anyone can be creative. You do not need to be good at it for the benefits to make themselves known. Taking time… Read more »
The Arts & Culture Crossword
Think you know a lot about art history or D.C.’s art scene? Put your knowledge of arts and culture to the test with this puzzle featuring local and national museums, theaters, and works of art. Hint: Reading all the articles in our March 2021 issue will help you out. See the answer key here. Print… Read more »
PLAY
Leading the League: The WNBA’s Natasha Cloud on Breaking Barriers + Inspiring D.C.
We no longer associate athletes with just their sport or team. The bar is set high, and we see these public figures for who they are: their personalities, their charity work, the impact they’re making in their communities. And in a city like D.C., we applaud that in a major way. I make sure to… Read more »
Spring Has Sprung: 10 Ways To Get Outside in the DMV
After a winter of Zoom everything – meetings, workouts, happy hours – it’s time to get outside this spring. As the days get longer and the District warms up, take a break from your computer screen for some fresh air. Whether you choose to take a safely distanced workout class, hike on a new trail… Read more »
You Spin Me Right Round: D.C. Roller Skating 101 in 2021
Okay. I admit it. I succumbed to the hype of trending TikTok videos. Deep in the throes of pandemic summer, I scrolled for hours – literal hours – through videos of gorgeous ladies (and funny dudes) on roller skates, tube socks meeting tanned thighs, floating down California boulevards with the wind in their hair. Apparently,… Read more »
