An alternate happy hour: make art!

When I first moved to DC as a lawyer years ago, I used to go to happy hour all the time (and I organized a few happy hours in those days!). Happy hour seemed to be (and still is) something that young type-A professionals in DC can really relate to. It's a way to unwind from work while allowing you to get to bed at a reasonable hour to do it all over again the next day. I still enjoy a good happy hour on occasion. But after a while, even happy hour starts feeling a little routine. I'm always on the lookout for opportunities to change things up a bit. So when I heard about the Brentwood Art Exchanges's Art After Work, I was intrigued.

Every other Thursday from 6:30 – 8:30 (starting this week), you can drop in and learn how to make art for happy hour, while sipping some adult beverages, of course. And as we all know at Pink Line Project, participating in the arts in any way is scientifically proven to make you happier! You definitely don't have to be an artist to join Art After Work. You just have to be open to the idea that making art is a fun thing to share with friends, and not a bad way to meet new and interesting people in a super casual, nonthreatening atmosphere. 

Another thing I like about Art After Work: at $15, it's priced with a mission to promote art and make art more accessible to everyone. More Pink Line points! Guests are introduced to an art project with instruction on art media and techniques, then welcomed to the land of creativity without pressure. The gallery provides just enough refreshments to get started, and guests are invited to bring their own bottles of wine or beer (keeping the cost low for everyone.)

Brentwood Arts Exchange is located on the first floor of the Gateway Arts Center, the hub of Arts District along Route 1 from the edge of DC to Hyattsville. There guests will find plenty to be inspired about while they peruse the Brentwood Arts Exchange’s contemporary art gallery before heading to the two-hour class held in the gallery’s intimate classroom.  The gallery changes shows every two months, and really mixes it up – from prominent artists to artists you’ll wish you’d heard of before.  

You’re free to experiment with the gallery’s array of art materials with as much or as little guidance as you’d like.  And, with titles like “Super Juicy Land/City/Space/Other-scapes”, “Fearless Drawing”, “Abstract Triptych Paintings”, “Urban Art Projects” and more, it’s clear the activities presented in Art After Work go far beyond the average paint by numbers classes found elsewhere with wine and little cubes of cheese.  The art in Art After Work is fun – and makes it easy to be creative.  Casual conversation starts early and you’ll never have known how easy it is to talk about art, or anything else that the art inspires.  The open atmosphere (and the wine!) welcomes guests to talk with their friends and others, or quietly focus on their masterworks – however they feel.  

Classes are held every other Thursday and run from 6:30PM - 8:30PM.  Guests must be 21 years of age or older.  The next class meets on Thursday, November 1 in the Brentwood Arts Exchange Classroom in the Gateway Art Center at 3901 Rhode Island Avenue in Brentwood, MD 20722. (301) 277-2863.  Email questions to phil.davis@pgparks.com.