I’m a huge fan of daytime activities.  Anytime I can take in a show, exhibit or party and be home by 9PM, I’m thrilled. So when my good friend invited me to join her at CurationDC, a day party turned art show complete with live music and drink specials, I was happy to join her.

CurationDC, hosted by Washington-based event planners Marshall “Britt” Wright and Jarrett Walker, seeks connect young party goers and art fans with visual artists and musicians. In the room I found 20-somethings hoping for a good Saturday “turn up” with artistic flair as Johnny Graham and The Groove, a collaboration of talent from Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC, serenaded the crowd with musical selections from Michael Jackson to Drake and Fetty Wop.

Lovely young professionals decked out in their finest summer sundresses and top-siders mingled around the sun-soaked room with ceiling to floor windows overlooking downtown Washington talking politics, pop culture and, of course, art.

Three visual artists were featured at this edition of CurationDC including Delaware-based painter, Alim Smith who paints as YesterdayNite. By painting portraits of pop icons like Snoop Dogg, Spike Lee and The Fuguees to name a few, and remixing their images with bold colors, brush strokes and angles, Smith creates a nostalgic appeal that resonates perfectly with the “80s babies”. Since I typically shy away from adding portraits, stylized or otherwise, into my personal art collection I bought a book containing prints of Smith’s work instead.

CurationDC has the potential to invigorate the art scene in DC by cultivating a space for the budding art enthusiasts to collide with emerging talent, even if only in brief encounters. Best of luck to Wright and Walker on continued success with this event.

Afterwords
In our brief conversation, YesterdayNite gave me a sneak peek of his upcoming project. This young artist is one to watch, follow him on Instagram @yesterdaynite.