For immediate release: March 26, 2008

Artomatic media contact: Marina Reiter, 202-271-4748
NoMa BID media contact: Leslie Braunstein, 703-234-7762

Calling all artists: Time to wash off those paintbrushes and tune up your guitars. Registration will open online Thursday, March 27, at noon for artists who want to participate in Artomatic 2008.

The annual art extravaganza, to be held May 9 through June 15, 2008, will be the largest Artomatic to date. Hosted by the NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID), Artomatic 2008 will be held on nine floors (more than 200,000 square feet) of the Capitol Plaza I building. The building is located at 1200 First Street, N.E., just one block west of the New York Avenue Metro station, in Washington, D.C.

Registration for Artomatic will be $90 per visual artist — such as painters, photographers, sculptors and graphic designers. Each visual artist is required to serve three volunteer shifts (approximately 15 hours total) to help stage the event. Artomatic is an unjuried show, so all artists are welcome to participate, from professionals to beginners. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and will end once space is filled. Full details on registration, exhibit space, installation and hours of the event will be on the Artomatic Web site at www.artomatic.org.

Performers — such as those who present music, dance, theater or poetry — are also invited to register and take part in Artomatic. Details for performers will also be available on the Artomatic Web site at www.artomatic.org.

Artomatic is expecting about 1,000 local and regional artist participants and 50,000 visitors at this year’s event.

“We are looking forward to seeing what the creative energy of the area’s arts community can bring to the event and to the NoMa neighborhood,” said George Koch, chair of Artomatic.

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished indoor space into an exciting and diverse arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays and sales by hundreds of artists, the event features free films, educational presentations and children’s activities, as well as musical, dance, poetry, theater and other performances.

About Artomatic: Artomatic is a creative community that collaborates to produce and present a free arts spectacular. Participation is open to all, from recognized artists to undiscovered talents, who work in a variety of arts forms. In partnership with the development community, Artomatic transforms unused building space into a playground for expression, serves as a catalyst for community growth in up-and-coming neighborhoods, and helps to grow our creative economy. The nonprofit Artomatic organization is headed by a volunteer Board of Directors and is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.artomatic.org.

About the NoMa BID: NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. Private developers have invested almost $2 billion in 2007–2008 alone, with plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Web site at www.nomabid.org.