Art-O-Matic is by far my favorite local DC event. Now, an annual event, this gathering of creatives takes place in an uninhabited building that has been donated so that artists of all kinds can take it over for about a month. The experience is unique in the wide range of art forms and mediums represented, all juxtaposed right next to each other.

This years event has over 600 visual artists and 300 performers participating with two music stages, a theater space, dance space, a poetry room, a film room, and a classroom. If you decide to visit during the peek hours you can see anything from open mic to burlesque or even fire dancers (my favorite part so far).

When I first moved to the DC area from Richmond, a town that has a tight-knit alternative art scene, I was astonished at the lack of art community in the area. After going to Art-O-Matic for the first time last year I learned that it is not that there is a lack of an art community, but that there are many little ones spread all over the DC area. Art-O-Matic which is completely run by volunteers and donations, does a fantastic job pulling together the scene and throwing an engaging and eclectic party.

I went Friday for Opening night and tried to take it all in.With 10 floors of stuff to do and see you just can’t. I highly recommend checking Art-O-Matic out, and if you can… a few times because it is such an overwhelming experience.

Friday, May 9 – Sunday, June 15, 2008
http://www.artomatic.org/

In the 6th Grade the big field trip was to the Science Museum of Virginia for an overnight sleepover. At the age of 12 this is a big deal, and every kid anticipated it for months in advance. Each class got divided in groups by gender and the girls got to sleep in one wing of the museum and the boys in the other, and despite the fact that we were there to learn about science the real goal at that age was to compile all your super-cool magazines and makeup to share with the other girls and talk about kissing and boys and trendy stuff. As my group hunkered down with flashlights and started pulling out their crackly issues of “Seventeen” and “Teen” magazines I reached deep in my bag and pulled out my issues of “Macworld” and “MacAddict” to a snickering audience of pre-teens. There seemed to be disconnect and I honestly did not understand why no one was as super-stoked as me. It was like the beginning the Blind Melon Video with the little Bumble Bee Girl tap dancing… which came out in 1993, the same year I went to the Science Museum.

This year will be my third SXSW Interactive in Austin Texas. If you are not familiar with SXSWi it:

celebrates the creativity and passion behind the coolest new media technologies. In addition to panel sessions that cover everything from web design to bootstrapping to social networks, attendees make new business connections at the three-day Trade Show & Exhibition.

If you want the equally accurate Ze Frank Version of what it is…

Patrick Haney points out on his latest post that Cindy Li likes to call it “geek spring break” but I feel like its a little like Web Disneyworld. People are always so enthusiastic when they say “I’m going to Disneyworld!”. Well, take that tone of voice and sparkle in their eye and picture me saying “Im going to South By South West!”. Yeah… thats about right.

So why do I get so excited? In addition to all the reasons that I was excited last year…. when I walk into the convention center in Austin its a lot like that little girl busting through the iron fence and dancing with all the other Bees. Seriously, you can tap anyone on the shoulder there and they will be interesting, engaging and passionate… and/or Bad-Ass.
Between now and March 7th the anticipation is only going to build. I can hardly wait… expect more SXSW themed posts. I can hardly contain myself.

There is web stuff happening all over this darn town.
Everywhere I turn there are things going on, happy hours to be had, talks being given… and oh the networking. A few weeks ago it snowed here. If you have ever been in DC when it snows you know its like the world is about to stop. Refresh DC was scheduled to happen that day. If you aren’t familiar Refresh it is:

a community of web designers, developers, and other new media professionals working together to refresh the creative, technical, and professional aspects of their trades in the Washington, DC, area.

The talk that Thursday was on Web Accessibility (a great talk by the way, given by John Croston) and despite the snow and panic, the room was packed. Standing room only. How awesome is that?

The themes of these events are predominantly technical. I like learning about how things work, so I go to a lot of them, but there always seems to be a void on the design end of the spectrum. AIGA and ADCMW hold fantastic events but they are really geared towards print designers. So after a lot of people saying “yeah we should do something for web designers” M. Jackson Wilkinson and Jason Garber did.

On Feb 29 Viget Labs (where I now work… did I mention that they we rock?) is hosting DC Design Talk. It is the first “talk” in a 3 part conference series geared for people who make websites. I am pretty excited about the focus being on design and it is shaping up to be a great event. Already there are a list of speakers that I anticipate learning a lot from.

Viget Labs is a web development and consulting firm who can boast a well known web app such as Squidoo in their projects section. They have four “labs”: strategic consulting, application development, online marketing, and interactive design. A few weeks ago I spent a couple of hours in their very impressive Falls Church office, peaking over the shoulders of their designers and kicking back in their “fishbowl” lounge. They have fun. They innovate. They practice web standards. They design Bad-ass websites. They flourish.

These guys have been on my radar for a while now. Last June their Team Viget site caught my eye on CSS Import with their sexy java-script skills. Upon further investigation I realized… “hey these guys are right around the corner from me”. They have since been featured on galleries all over the web including the Web Designer Wall’s Best of CSS Design 2007. Back in August I literally walked into DC Barcamp and met Rob Soulé a member of the Viget Design team, who then went on to co-lead a fantastic presentation on the “Challenges we face as Designers”. Interested in the team’s enthusiasm and community involvement I added the Four Labs Blog to my RSS reader and followed along from afar.

The concept of a company’s brand has really evolved in the last few years. What used to be considered a logo and a tagline has transformed into a full blown experience. Not only does a strong brand transcend the products and services a company provides, but it amplifies the attitudes and personalities of the individuals creating them. When you walk into Viget not only do they have swank offices that just shout “web 2.0″… there is an indescribable vibe amongst their team. A buzz. A feeling of anticipation and excitement. The word “viget” comes from Princeton University’s motto “Dei sub numine viget” and means be strong or vigorous; thrive, flourish, be active, be effective.

I am very excited to say that this Monday will be my first day as a Web Designer at Viget Labs.

In the last few months (what many are referring to as) the DC “Tech” community has really ramped up. I first started seeing it after Barcamp and since then there has been the addition of lots of interesting events in the DC area and even the online formation of the DC Tech Community on Ning.

First off I want to say I hate calling this the “DC Tech Community”. While yes it is sort of “techy” I think it paints the picture of Urkel-esque socially inept nerds who sit around and code all day and then go home and have LAN parties. While there is nothing wrong with that (I do have a few friends that fit that bill.. and I love them to death) the people who show up to these events don’t all really fit that MO. I would prefer to call this community the “We Know our Way around the Web” kids. They are back-end developers, front-end developers, designers, marketers, lovers of social media, twitterers, and business owners. Most of them know there shit and some of them like to act like they do. Everyone shows up to meet new people and they all have one thing in common… they are hungry to learn.

Thats what has me so addicted to many of these events, I love to learn… and there are people willing to teach out there. Everyone has something to offer and these events provide a casual atmosphere to make those connections in.

I have a LOT of print designers ask me how I learned web design (html, CSS, IA, User Experience) and other than the tutorials on the web, a few books and sheer determination I have to give all the credit to my friends. I have friends who were willing to teach me (and thank god for their patience). A lot of times a great first step in learning something new is just meeting the biggest bad-ass out there doing what you want to learn and find out if they are willing to teach you.

So come on… get out there.. there is so much to learn! If you are interested in finding an event to take part in near you try upcoming.org. Some events to check out…

RefreshDC (local and National)
Refresh is a community of web designers, developers, and other new media professionals working together to refresh the creative, technical, and professional aspects of their trades in the Washington, DC, area.

Barcamp (All Over)
an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from participants

NextDC (local and NYC)
Our mission is to connect young people both socially and professionally who have a stake in future of tech and new media in Washington DC.

MashmeetDC (local and National)
A Gathering of those interested in the world of social media.

Web Standards Group (all over)
The Web Standards Group is for web designers & developers who are interested in web standards (HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, XSLT etc.) and best practices (accessible sites using valid and semantically correct code).

Social Media Club (all Over)
is being organized for the purpose of sharing best practices, establishing ethics and standards, and for promoting media literacy. This is the beginning of a global conversation about building an organization and a community where the many diverse groups of people who care about social media can come together to discover, connect, share and learn.

Type Directors Club (all over, but mostly NYC)
Love Type? well so do these people.

Art Directors Club (local and Global)
People who love design.. you don’t have to be an “art director”

Did I miss any? Please feel free to add on!