Dupont Circle Business Hit With Graffiti (Purposely); ArtJamz Opens Permanent Studio Location!

DUPONT CIRCLE -- Heralding its next step as a rapidly growing homespun District business, the group painting party pioneer known as ArtJamz feted the launch of its first permanent studio location in Dupont Circle on Wednesday evening, with an all-night celebration attended by over a hundred friends and happy customers.

Photo: Anchyi Wei / ArtJamz.

Photo: Anchyi Wei / ArtJamz.
When the series first launched in the summer of 2010 inside Gallery 31 of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, ArtJamz had but a single, simple purpose: to help Washingtonians eat, drink, and create.

Photo: Anchyi Wei / ArtJamz.
As we first reported back then, company founder Michael Clements was guided by the notion to let “people get their hands dirty" by doing something instead of simply observing it. "If you go out, you have the same choices: dinner, drinks at a bar or bottle service at a nightclub," said Clements back in June 2010. "If you want to ‘get artsy,’ you can see a play, a band, or go to an art opening; but you are always on the outside looking in. I want to get people involved."

Photo: Anchyi Wei / ArtJamz.
And such a message clearly struck a resounding chord with area residents, as ArtJamz has been selling-out sessions at various locations throughout the city ever since. On some weeks, you might have found the company’s signature easels at a downtown museum. And on others, they could be center stage at a busy suburban shopping mall.

Photo: Anchyi Wei / ArtJamz.
But such constant moving proved somewhat logistically limiting for the rapidly growing business, which resulted in Clements’ decision to find a permanent home for ArtJamz. The end result? A freshly painted (of course!) 800-squarefoot studio at 1742 Connecticut Ave, NW, complete with its own private bar and graffiti-inspired sign.

Photo: ArtJamz.
The company, of course, will still continue to host pop-up events about town (including a return to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in the spring). However, the new space will also allow ArtJamz to more consistently host weekly painting sessions, as well as private parties and corporate team building gatherings.

Photo: Anchyi Wei / ArtJamz.
Unleashing your inner artist just got a whole lot easier!