It’s going to be an amazing weekend. On September 12 and 13, over 175 Capitol Hill artists and crafts people will share their creative efforts with you in 90 different locations around the neighborhood. The two-day event happens rain or shine from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. A map will help you plan your route. It’s available in print or on the website, HillRag.com/art-walk-2026.
What started out as 25 Capitol Hill Art League members teaming up with the Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s walking tour program has grown into a huge art festival to kick off the fall season. “It is a free all volunteer grassroots effort,” says Art Walk Committee member, “Elizabeth Nelson, “that brings out the best of Capitol Hill.”
The Hill Rag along with Capitol Hill Arts Workshop’ Art League has produced the hottest contemporary art scene, and what is believed to be DC’s largest art walk. It’s a great way to meet and have conversations with painters, potters, photographers, jewelers, collagists, stain glass makers, textile and fabric, woodworkers, furniture makers, card makers, muralists and other creative people. Some artists are professionals while others may be showing their work for the first time. The free Art Walk gives them opportunities to shine.
Participants in last year’s walk like Erin Fleck say “After two years in a row, this is truly a highlight of my year. It makes doing pottery even more fun to think about how people on the Art Walk might want to see more in the next year.” Lisa Bernstein, painter, says “This Art Walk was the best-ever event for me. It is my third year doing the Capitol Hill Art Walk…I even got someone who wants me to give him art lessons!”
Tips for Buying Art
There are so many ways to enjoy the weekend. Many artists note that you can pick up some great bargains at the Art Walk. It is a chance for artists to price their work without the added costs of gallery commissions (galleries often take 40-50% of the sales price). Others say they are happy to give “community” pricing to encourage neighbors and friends to buy their work.
It’s a real opportunity to start or add to your art collection. The best advice is to look with both your eyes and heart. Collecting is an act of individual expression. Buying art should make you happy and never be about future investment. The pieces you end up cherishing are those that remind you of what drew you into the piece in the first place.
Four Artists to Know:
Here are a very small sample of the remarkable artists who are showing this year. Check the full artists list at the Hill Rag website; many have Instagram accounts that show even more of their work.
Heather Duncan. Flower Power
Heather’s paintings are bold and bright. A long-time Hill resident and former Maury Elementary School art teacher, Heather’s art journey started during Covid, when she felt she “needed to reimagine the world we were in.” “I started by doing paintings of the iconic Washington monuments in different bright colors and selling them online,” Heather says. Now she teaches art through the Department of Parks and Recreation. She will be at 9th and East Capitol with unframed paintings and cards and a few of her large flower paintings, that are inspired by Georgia O’Keefe’s work.
Mark Carson, Woodworker
Mark will be sharing space with eight other veterans on the corner of 5th and A Street SE. He is a professional percussionist retired from the Air Force Band, which is what brought him to the DC metro area. He still plays with some local musical institutions but is enjoying more time creating beautiful objects out of wood. “I was looking for something to do early on in my military gig, and stumbled into a woodworking shop on base, and I was hooked,” says Mark. His exquisite wood writing pens are made from exotic wood. Mark plans to have a variety of objects including keepsake boxes, cutting boards, and other kitchen items at the Art Walk.
Ugna Buivydaite, Resin and Cement Home Goods
Ugna lives across from the Car Barn, and this is her second year participating in the Artwalk. She has been in the US for 15 years and purchased her Hill home two years ago. A self-taught artist, she draws on the cultural experience of her homeland, Lithuania which shares a maritime border with Sweden, “I like Nordic designs and the need for pretty organizational objects like trays and bowls,” she says. Ugna plans to have hundred pieces ready for the ArtWalk.
Paul Beckett, Making a Point
Paul will be showing his original prints and cards at his home church, the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church. His medium is pen and ink in the pointillism style. Think French artist, Georges Seurat. Raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, Paul enjoys his time on Capitol Hill and in Harrison, Maine, in the Lake Sebago area. “Many of my pieces come from being in the beautiful Maine lake area,” he says. It is a long effort to create one of his art pieces, but he says he finds it quite meditative and rewarding. “In these times,” he says, “it is even more important to have this creative outlet.”
Here’s one other special note for the kids (and adults). Adam Godet will be doing joinery demonstrations throughout the day. He will have woodworking tools that kids can try and will demonstrate their use. Kids need to be supervised by an adult. Adam, a highly regarded artist in the DMV craft world, can be located at 1301 E Street, NE, in his workspace at the back of his home.
But there’s still more. In addition to all the table set-ups on the sidewalks, in front yards, and alley ways, St. Marks and the Presbyterian Church are hosting artists. The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop is also hosting their ceramic studio and other artists who teach and study at the workshop. It’s going to be a great weekend. See you out there.
Upcoming Events:
“55th Annual Labor Day Show,” Glen Echo Park, 400 artists from the mid-Atlantic region open the weekend event with a reception, September 4 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm that is free. One of the largest art shows of this kind in the DMV is open September 5 through the 7th from noon until 6:00 pm.
“DC Art Now and Kick off of Art All Night,” DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, 200 I Street, SE, September 10, from 6:00pm to 8:00 pm, opening reception and celebration of the finalists for the FY27 Art Bank program. Art All Night is 2 -night festival of visual and performing arts throughout the DMV, see https://www.dcartallnight.org/ for all the sites and schedules.
“Windows and Doors”, Capitol Hill Art League members only show at the Frame of Mine Gallery, 545 8th Street SE, 25 paintings and photographs with this non-juried theme, that runs through September.
“Look Alive,” Georgetown University Art Galleries, Rafael Lozano-Hammer with E. Brady Robinson, “Studio Hours and After Hours” faculty exhibition at 3635 Prospect Street, NW. Opening reception September 18, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Free to public with live music and light refreshments.
Rindy O’Brien writes about Capitol Hill’s art and cultural scene and can be contacted at rindyobrien@gmail.com
