Georgetown GLOW 2018 Artists & Events Announced

By Editorial Team on November 26, 2018

Sixteen artists display 10 commissioned works for the fifth edition of Georgetown BID’s annual outdoor public light art experience, also to feature GLOW All Night shopping event, Book Hill’s Winter Wonderland, new walking tours & more.

Sixteen local, regional, and international artists will show 10 commissioned light-art works juxtaposed against the backdrop of Georgetown’s historic environs during the fifth edition of GLOW in Georgetown. Works will be lit from 5 pm – 10 pm nightly from Saturday, Dec. 1 – Sunday, Jan. 6, with a special closing event on the final night. In addition to the light works, GLOW 2018 programming includes a GLOW All Night festive shopping night, Book Hill’s Winter Wonderland event, and themed historic, food, photography, and curator walking tours.

Artists represented in Georgetown GLOW 2018 include: Tom&Lien Dekyvere (Belgium); Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky (New York City & Canada); Angelo Bonello in collaboration with Light Art Collection and Amsterdam Light Festival (Italy); Kanva Architecture, in production with Quartier des Spectacles Partnership (Montreal, Canada); Hou de Sousa (New York City); Toer (Netherlands); Massimo Uberti & Marco Pollice in collaboration with Light Art Collection and Amsterdam Light Festival (Italy); Robin Bell (Washington DC); and Johnny Dukovich and Klagsbrun Studios (Washington DC). An additional artist will be announced in the coming weeks.

“The installations for the 2018 edition of Georgetown GLOW focus on the interaction between space and place,” said Deirdre Ehlen MacWilliams, Georgetown GLOW Curator. “Each artwork is responsive to the historic and unequaled landscape of Georgetown, and conveys a sense of magic and warmth in DC. From positive sentiments we hope visitors fall in love with, to kaleidoscopes of color, light and sound, the artworks are hopeful, playful and interactive. As in years past, GLOW brings a renewed light to all during the holiday season.”

“We are very excited to be hosting the fifth edition of GLOW, Washington, D.C.’s premier light art experience, that’s become a winter tradition in our region,” said Nancy Miyahira, Vice President and Marketing Director for the Georgetown BID. “GLOW’s diverse mix of local, national and international artists represents the growing movement of light and technology as an art medium, and we hope it brightens our visitors’ experience (and senses) in Georgetown and beyond.”

In addition to the five-week exhibition, the Georgetown BID is hosting a GLOW All Night merchant shopping and dining event on Friday, Dec. 7, from 5 pm – 9 pm. More than 50 of Georgetown’s national retailers and small businesses alike will be open late, offering in-store promotions, trunk shows, pop-up shops, and product launches. The Georgetown Galleries on Book Hill are also hosting a Winter Art Walkthat night, with each gallery featuring a neon or light-art piece in their window.

For more holiday programming in Georgetown:

  • The charming Book Hill section of Georgetown is hosting a Winter Wonderland from 11 am – 4 pm on Saturday, Dec. 8, in the TD Bank lot (1611 Wisconsin Ave). Attendees can enjoy festive live music, food and drinks—including hot chocolate, cookies and mulled wine—plus kids’ activities, a s’mores station, ugly sweater competition, and photos with Santa for kids and pets with paws.
  • New this year, several local tour companies are offering more than 30 GLOW-inspired walking tours, tying the exhibition to history, food, photography, and art themes. Visit www.georgetownglowdc.com/walking-tours for more information.
  • The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown is hosting its first Christmas Tree Farm at The Yard in partnership with Bees & Trees Farm of Elkwood, Va. The pop-up farm will open to the public every weekend from 10 am – 6 pm from Nov. 24 through Dec. 16, offering freshly cut trees in addition to a collection of local products, such as jams, butters, teas, wreaths, and hand-painted ornaments. Customers can warm up with a cup of hot chocolate in front of one of The Yard’s fire pits.

  • The annual Swedish Christmas Bazaar returns to the House of Sweden (2900 K St NW) Saturday, Dec. 1 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.  Sponsored by the Swedish Women’s Educational Association and supported by the Embassy of Sweden, the free bazaar will feature Swedish arts & crafts, crystal, textiles, artwork, books, and decorations, plus Swedish Christmas carols performed by the Santa Lucia Procession, home baked goods, and Swedish sandwiches. Click here for more.

  • Head inside Four Seasons Hotel’s cozy lobby for Light Up the Season, showcasing festive decorations by DC’s top local designers to benefit the Children’s National Health System. The hotel’s Bourbon Steak restaurant also transforms, with a Bourbon On Ice patio featuring three heated ice domes, each with their own theme, plus snowy lawn games like light-up bean bag and ring toss. Neighboring ENO Wine Bar will also offer weekly ice wine tastings and an Alpine menu.
  • Throughout the entire holiday season, Georgetown’s holiday décor and lights make it one of the city’s most festive neighborhoods. As attendees tour the public art works, they are also encouraged to take a self-guided tour of the uniquely decorated merchant windows in the seventh annual Holiday Window Competition, in which Georgetown’s small businesses square off in a friendly competition to win top holiday decor honors. Beginning December 7, visitors vote for their favorite store window by “liking” its photo in an album on Georgetown’s official Facebook page. The winner is crowned at 5 pm on January 4.
  • The Washington Harbour Ice Rink at 3050 K St NW is DC’s largest outdoor ice skating venue—and a must-do to fully experience the holiday season in Georgetown. Skate alongside the Potomac River and enjoy a hot beverage from a rink-side restaurant.

2018 ARTISTS AND PROJECTS

Courtesy of Georgetown GLOW.

Rhizome, Tom&Lien Dekyvere, Belgium
Location: Grace Church (1041 Wisconsin Ave NW)
Rhizome is a site-specific installation that is part of a series that has travelled the world over the last six years. This installation demonstrates the fusion and obstruction of geometric patterns that grow in and through one another. The juxtaposition of the artwork between nature and technology is seen through metaphoric symbols of sound and vision. The use of color with visible light creates an intriguing composition between technology and nature, and structure and organism.

Courtesy of Georgetown GLOW.
Twilight Antiques and Thrift, Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky, New York City & Canada
Location: Near Meigs Park (28th & M St NW)
Twilight Antiques and Thrift pays homage to the many small businesses in Georgetown. The artists, Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky, have created a life-scale representation of an antique and thrift store in the form of a glowing lantern. Lining the shelves of this translucent shop are 500 hand-assembled lanterns–each a reproduction of an object that relates to Washington, DC, and can actually be found in Georgetown or part of the artists’ collection.
Each evening a lighting program will begin with the lanterns being lit one by one, as if being stocked by a ghostly shopkeeper, until the whole store is brightly lit. Once fully lit, each lantern will turn off, slowly extinguishing the store by the end of the evening. For the final night of GLOW on January 6, visitors will be welcomed into the store and allowed to select a free lantern to take home.
Courtesy of Georgetown GLOW.
Run Beyond, Angelo Bonello in collaboration with Light Art Collection and Amsterdam Light Festival, Italy
Location: Rooftops along the 3300 Block of M St NW
Presented in partnership with LSM, EastBanc, HITT Contracting, The Tavern by Sweetgreen, and Escape Room Live Georgetown
Run Beyond is a monumental rooftop installation that is about the jump we strive to take in our lives–the jump to freedom. The artist does not define the freedom we each seek and take risks to achieve. That is up to each of our experiences, needs and interpretation of this work. Each of the 10 figures light up in a timed sequence to create the illusion of an individual taking the great leap to freedom.
Courtesy of Georgetown GLOW.
Entre les rangs, Creation and Execution: Kanva Architecture; Production: Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, Montreal, Canada
Location: Georgetown Park Plaza (3276 M St NW)
Presented in partnership with Georgetown Park/Jamestown
Entre les rangs is a sensory stroll through an urban field. Visitors are immediately drawn to the expanse of long, waving crystalline stems planted in the heart of Georgetown. As they wander along the winding path, they’re rewarded with lights that echo their walk. The installation is a tribute to fields of wheat that shimmer in the wind as the seasons pass, with thousands of flexible white stems topped with white reflectors that capture the rhythm of the surrounding urban space and reflect its life. The installation’s changing nature—depending on wind, precipitation, light and human interaction—encourages visitors to return.
Courtesy of Georgetown GLOW.
Prismatic, Hou de Sousa, New York City
Location: Georgetown Waterfront Park (Near Intersection of Wisconsin Ave & K Street NW)
Prismatic is a kaleidoscopic of light, color, and space that frames a myriad of perspectives. The site-specific artwork is unique on all sides, encouraging the public to explore the exterior, as well as meander through its translucent interior. Iridescent cords weave between a lightweight steel lattice, producing a dynamic visual effect known as a moiré. As visitors turn their gaze or walk about the space, patterns in the background and foreground continuously converge and delaminate, resulting in the perception that static surfaces are somehow in motion.
Courtesy of Georgetown GLOW.
Social Sparkles, Toer, Netherlands
Location: Francis Scott Key Park (34th & M St NW)
Social Sparkles is a kinetic work that is activated by passersby moving under, within and through the artwork. The installation consists of suspended elements that wait calmly until someone enters. Then in a magical instant the cloud-like elements are activated, creating a swarm of light that beautifully fills the air above. The artwork creates a lively interaction between participants, light and movement.
Courtesy of Georgetown GLOW.
Today I Love You, Massimo Uberti & Marco Pollice in collaboration with Light Art Collection and Amsterdam Light Festival, Italy 
Location: Washington Harbour (3000 K St NW)
Presented in partnership with The Washington Harbour/MRP Realty
Today I Love You. A sentence excelling at splendid simplicity. A magical sentence, which seems to come from a beautiful dream you don’t yet want to wake up from. The message has been fixed in time, making it possible for the visitor to enjoy the comforting words over and over again. But it also raises the question: You might love me today, but what about tomorrow?
Courtesy of Georgetown GLOW.
Faces and Places, Robin Bell, Washington, DC
Location: BB&T Building (1365 Wisconsin Ave NW)
Faces and Places is the creation of DC artist Robin Bell, who has made a series of site-specific videos capturing the people and places of Georgetown. The artwork is a custom projection focusing on the connections between people and this iconic neighborhood. While celebratory of Georgetown, the piece also weaves the brightness and hues of winter into the subject matter.
Courtesy of Georgetown GLOW.
Rainbow Friends, Johnny Dukovich and Klagsbrun Studios, Washington, DC
Location: Book Hill (1662 33rd St NW)
Rainbow Friends takes inspiration from the Tuesday Night Drawing Group at Klagsbrun Studios in the Book Hill area of Georgetown. In the autumn of 2017, the subject of Georgetown GLOW came up during one of their drawing sessions. The group wanted to contribute and created the Radiant Rainbow Racer installation in a month’s time for the small park in front of their studio. The artists are now officially part of GLOW 2018 with the installation Rainbow Friends, consisting of three animated figures with coordinating colors and lighting patterns, “waving” to passersby on Wisconsin Avenue, “talking” amongst themselves, and welcoming all to Georgetown. This interactive piece allows visitors to change the colors of the figures by tweeting.

An additional installation illuminating a portion of the C&O Canal in Georgetown will be announced in the coming weeks.

Georgetown GLOW is funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities (DCCAH), an agency supported in party by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) recognizes the following sponsors for their generous support of Georgetown GLOW 2018: LSM, HIIT Contracting, EastBanc, Georgetown Park/Jamestown, and The Washington Harbour/MRP Realty.
(via Georgetown BID.)

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