When is the next Artomatic arts festival?

Good morning, DMV! It’s Thursday, April 30.

I’ve long been wondering about the Artomatic arts festival: When is the next one? The last Artomatic in 2024 was fascinating.

The event featured more than 1,400 artists, with galleries, stages, film rooms and hands-on activities filling a 300,000-square-foot empty office building in downtown D.C. It drew about 70,000 attendees over its seven-week run.

I went once. I wish I’d gone twice or more. The abandoned offices felt on the one hand weirdly eerie. On the other, it was exciting to see the work of artists allowed to play freely and create.

Some background: The first Artomatic was in 1999 in the Manhattan Laundry buildings on Florida Ave. NW.

“Thanks to Washington, D.C. developer Douglas Development, the use of the buildings was donated to a group of artists who invited their friends to exhibit,” says the Artomatic fact sheet.

“Those friends, in turn, invited their friends — and so on — until every nook in the building was filled with paintings, sculpture, installations, and art of every description. The artists coined the name ‘Art-O-Matic’ to acknowledge the spontaneity of the event and its location in the old laundry building. (The Artomatic spelling was modernized in 2004.)”

More than 25,000 people attended the inaugural six-week event. Artomatic says the festival comes together because of the generosity of developers, artists, and other volunteers. The event has been held every few years across the DMV, including in Crystal City, Virginia, and Hyattsville and Potomac, Maryland.

“Every artist wants to be seen, heard and experienced. What we do is provide the opportunity for that to happen,” Artomatic co-president George Koch said at the organization’s happy hour yesterday at Busboys and Poets in the Takoma neighborhood of D.C.

Artomatic says they’re aiming for an event this summer or fall.

“We have not found the magic building yet,” James Albright, the other Artomatic co-president, told the audience at the happy hour.

The organization says its building committee is meeting with local governments and businesses to find the right space: “Keep your fingers crossed … Remember, we’re looking for an empty but functional building — at least 100,000 sq. ft. and within a half-mile walk of Metro.”

Artomatic is planning happy hours every last Wednesday of the month at Busboys and Poets, in Takoma/D.C. Check it out. Their enthusiasm is infectious.

“The event allows us to build community among artists and build an audience for artists,” George said.

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Since February, several of you have sent in your bird photos and stories. Here are some of those pics, including some from winter.

Ed Olenic sent in this photo he took last Thursday evening at Little Huntington Creek, near Mount Vernon, Virginia.

“I’ve been watching the pair of adult bald eagles occupying this nest raise eaglets each spring,” he wrote in his submission.

“This year I’ve seen just one chick. Last year there were two. The parents are very attentive, with one always in the nest while the other searches for food.”

Jessica Baker, 39, of Alexandria, Virginia, took this photo in early March.

“Each morning I walk my dog through Ben Brenman Park in Alexandria. It’s always a lovely, peaceful walk, and the pond hosts a wonderful variety of birds,” Jessica wrote.

“I got lucky with this hawk — it was being chased by crows and flew right past me to land in this tree.”

Alexa Hayes, 38, of Dupont Circle, captured this image in early February, just days after I was laid off and launched my Daily Dose.

“The red-tailed hawk that lives in the Dupont area finally visited my tree!” she wrote in her submission.

“It was so gorgeous and intense, seeing these animals up close is such a treat. There’s so much joy to find in nature if we just keep an eye out for it.”

Share your recent photos of life in the DMV here.

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CORRECTION: I mistakenly wrote that Busboys and Poets is in Takoma Park, Maryland. A reader wrote to point out it’s in the Takoma neighborhood of D.C. — which I knew, but my head was in a muddle. Thanks to all of you readers who are my fact checkers and copyeditors!