Tuesday, April 9, 2013
'The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears' has been praised by literary critics.
Author of “The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears,” Dinaw Mengestu, will discuss his work Tuesday evening at the Arlington Central Library. His novel tells the story of an Ethiopian man who immigrates to Washington, D.C., where he works in a convenience store. His work has won rave reviews from The New York Times and other literary critics. Admission is free. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. The lecture is from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at 1015 N. Quincy St., the Arlington Central Library.
Monday, April 8, 2013
The art installation can be seen on Wilson Boulevard.
Rosslyn got yarn bombed this weekend, courtesy of the Guerrilla Stitch Brigade. The stitch brigade is made up of 100 volunteer knitters and crocheters from the area who spent 20 weeks this winter stitching together the pieces for the yarn bomb installation, according to a news release from the Rosslyn Business Improvement District. The art installation is on display on trees along Wilson Boulevard, between the Rosslyn Metro Station and the Artisphere cultural arts center at 1101 Wilson Blvd. More than 1,000 stitched geometric shapes cover the trees.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Cultural arts center has had its share of successes and failures, Arlington Economic Development Executive Director Terry Holzheimer said.
The Artisphere is having something of an identity crisis. Originally conceived as a cultural arts center, county leaders concede that things haven't exactly worked out as planned. The facility didn't bring enough people in to support a bar and restaurant, providing space for area businesses to have a residency didn't work, and it costs the county more than $1 million a year just to keep the doors open. "We're rethinking it now," Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer told Patch. "There's not sufficient funding to create a world-class cultural center." But that doesn't mean arts won't be a part of the Artisphere's future. [More: Artisphere: What Does Success Look Like?] The facility opened in October 2010 under the …
Arlington Economic Director Terry Holzheimer: Scope of project needs to be scaled down and its purpose broadened.
So, what should the Artisphere be? It's the conversation that perhaps started two-and-a-half years late — and it started Tuesday with a few big questions. What does success look like for Rosslyn's cultural arts center? Should the public facility be limited to the arts? Elected officials began wondering aloud as to what the county's end game should be for the Artisphere on Tuesday after Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey questioned increasing the county's subsidy to a struggling facility while cuts are being proposed to social safety net programs. [More: Arlington Leaders 'Rethinking' Artisphere] Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer said one thing it won't be is the Strathmore of Rosslyn. "That isn't possible. It…
Monday, April 1, 2013
Elvis, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and Alfred Hitchcock fill this Spring collection.
Last month, I got a chance to meet Ben Mankeiwitcz, the Turner Classic Movies host and curator, who is actually from the DC area, and was here promoting this year's TCM Classic Film Festival, running from April 25-28 in Hollywood. If you haven't heard, they have a festival, and Cinema Siren can attest to the fact that they feature both great movies and great guest stars. This year, they'll include Polly Bergen, Ann Blyth, Mel Brooks, Jane Fonda, Mitzi Gaynor, Tippi Hedren, Max Von Sydow, Eva Marie Saint and Mickey Rooney, just to name some of my favorites. When I talked to Mankeiwitcz, he said those who attend are some of the most knowledgeable movie fans in the world, but surprisingly diverse in age. He said one fan who expertly …
Monday, March 18, 2013
The Call, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Stoker, Upside Down, are all out this week.
I'm sitting outside the Verizon Center, once again fighting for parking this week with the sports fans next door to my screening movie theatre. It reminds me, even when it matters, sometimes the winning team is a fluke, sometimes it's well deserved… As Cinema Siren is meant to "guide you through a sea of celluloid," I'd like to direct you toward the more deserving teams of filmmakers releasing something this busy week at the multiplex. With spring break upon us, this early March weekend offers an odd mix of genres, with each vying for the top spot at the box office. Best of luck to them, they'd be replacing or be added to a top 10 where only two have even 50 percent positive reviews, and some of which are so bad they should be benched like…
Friday, March 15, 2013
New underground initiative kicks off with an open house from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Crystal City is taking an artful approach to liven up its underground shopping district: Art Underground launches this weekend. The Crystal City Business Improvement District, or BID, is working with area businesses to improve the image of the underground Crystal City Shops and to bring more exposure to its mazes of shopping, dining and art. “We sort-of know what it looks like now, but in two years it could be so much bigger,” said Angela Fox, the BID's chief executive. “We’re excited to see how it morphs and grows.” Art Underground kicks off from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday with an open house that will allow visitors and guests to tour the Gallery Underground, view photography taken from all over the world, and participate in an ArtJamz mega-…
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The Kennedy Center will play host to the Tony Award-winning "The Book of Mormon" from July 9 through Aug. 18.
Updated 2 p.m. March 12 The Kennedy Center will have tickets available for sale to the general public Thursday, according to spokesperson Stephanie O'Neill. Tickets went on pre-sale to Kennedy Center members Feb. 27 and to American Express card-holders March 6. "We are not sold out," O'Neill said when Patch inquired about availability. O'Neill said she did not know how many tickets remained. "We will certainly have tickets on sale," she said. You can purchase tickets at the Kennedy Center box office (2700 F St. NW Washington D.C.), at (202) 467-4600, or by visiting www.kennedy-center.org. Original Post Tickets to see "The Book of Mormon" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will go on sale for the general public at 10 a.…
Monday, March 4, 2013
Doesn't amount to a hill of beans; two out of 5 stars.
By the time the bombastic yet tragic minor-keyed Lord of the Rings-type theme music swelled to accompany Jack The Giant Slayer's climactic battle scenes, I was tempted to flamboyantly roll my eyes in slow motion. I couldn't have cared less. This new release, that was slated for last summer and tellingly sat on the shelf until now, is exceedingly straight-ahead, uninventive and laden with special effects. It leaves the audience feeling like it spent an evening at an expensive restaurant expecting to taste some delicious, innovative dish, only to find themselves digesting a bland, flavorless Betty Crocker casserole. Not only is the cuisine uninspired, ultimately, it doesn't amount to a hill of beans. | See What Other Movies Are Playing at …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The gallery features international designers and contemporary pieces and will be on display until mid-May.
International designers have come together to produce a gallery of over 100 eco-friendly and useful every day household items. The Next Wave: Industrial Design Innovation in the 21st Century, on display at the Artisphere in Rosslyn and put together by Curator Douglas Burton, attempts to spotlight the international side of the Washington metropolitan area. “There are people from every part of the world based (in the greater Washington area),” Burton said. “I think it's important that those people, and the people that are native to the area, see that Washington is a major international player like New York, Chicago and L.A." Designers from the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and the United States have …
Janet
8:47 am on Wednesday, April 3, 2013
I concur with Libby Garvey's excellent suggestion that the Artisphere could become a community center for Rosslyn. more ›