DIY, Alive and Evolving at "Activation 2719"

The District has always prided itself for its “Do it Yourself” ethic.

The District has always prided itself for its “Do it Yourself” ethic. From the old-school straight edge, political punk days of Positive Force and Discord Records, to Go Go music, to Artomatic the city’s DIY ethic, well, saved this once blighted town from slipping into a suicidal-inducing dullsville. But twenty years ago, finding the cool stuff was all word-of-mouth, eye-popping music and art show flyers, and maybe the Washington City Paper—if you weren’t keyed-in, you missed it.

Social networking changed that, obviously. Not just because anyone, anywhere can follow events announced online via Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, and smartly designed websites, but because this generation of DIY necessarily embraces an unabashed business acumen that has turned D.C.’s historic revulsion to “selling out” on its head by necessity. 

Case in point, Activation 2719, a self-curated art show of eleven DC artists that opened February 20, at 2719 13^th Street (showing through March 12), an event in part promoted and produced by ReadySetDC, and, in a sense, “curated” by the No Kings Collective. Not only did Activation 2719 present artists “on the verge” – Decoy and Bryan Rojsuontikul come to mind – but unlike past DIY shows I’ve attended, the entrepreneurial spirit driving the event was every bit as provocative, and to my mind, as important as the art.

“The basic concept of ReadySetDC is to both showcase and create great things in DC,” said Justin Young, ReadySetDC’s founder and creative director who studied both art and graphic design. “We love the renaissance that’s happening in DC, that’s been happening a few years now; the population growth, the art community is growing, development is growing.”

Young’s broadly inclusive language might not bare its socially conscious teeth, say as Positive Force does to this day. But ReadySetDC’s manifesto reflects the opposite of the exclusivity of some prior D.C. “scenes.” Rather then being fashionably, artistically, and musically narrow – criticism past scenes have been accused of – ReadySetDC’s manifesto leaves deciding artistic merit to the viewers and the artists they spotlight or support—a rather democratic approach. Doing something cool? Cool. How can we help? is their ethic.

“Art, plus culture, plus [community] development,” is ReadySetDC’s simple equation, said Young.

Of course, some care was put into choosing the art for Activation 2719. But like all good DIY inspired scenes and events, 2719 left room for artists in various stages of experimentation and development, which was the curating goal of the No Kings Collective.

“This show is the most significant because we picked the artists that we personally liked, but we had them curate themselves,” said 2719 artist Francisco Esteban, also of the No Kings Collective.

Indeed, Esteban’s professional insight into the gallery world – he curated Art Whino satellite gallery shows for a year and a half – offered this nugget of wisdom, underscoring exactly why DIY in the art world is important. “Normally, you’re being curated by somebody else, or other times you don’t know who that person is. You don’t know why they like your work. Or maybe they don’t like your work, but the gallery told them to put you in the show.”

More to the point, the approach of 2719, I think, is an evolution in the DIY paradigm. Such scenes have always offered its artists an ephemeral incubation period to mature in, at least until the artists established themselves one way or the other or gave up. But unless you’re like the keep-your-head-low Discord Records, which has endured on the strength of a few best selling albums as well as cultivating new local talent, the scene usually fades. People grow up and have children. Eventually, the scene’s forgotten. Or perhaps it’s recalled fondly in some esoteric music or art criticism.

But ReadySetDC and No Kings Collective represent a new art/business model, one that’s trying to root itself in the continuity of community, reflected by a generational willingness to be creative and purposefully make a buck.

“Artists and everyone else need money, especially in DC since the cost of living is so expensive,” Young later wrote by email. “You have to be smart and creative with how you produce events. It takes money. It takes a lot of time, from organizing to promoting to chasing sponsors. If you do it right there are many rewards, including financially so that you can continue to create."

Back in the day, that often just wasn’t done until reality set in. Now, it’s reality from the start. Admittedly, it may just be an outgrowth of the Internet’s unsettled and fragmenting nature. And one could argue just about everything is DIY today. But I don’t think that’s quite right. This entrepreneurial spirit seems to me to be a natural reconciliation of street-level DIY. In other words, these new artists may survive the brief half-life of their scene by smartly incorporating the real world necessities of business into its DIY equation. Sure, they're still figuring it all out. But that it’s happening in D.C. is refreshing.