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In Pictures | Love, Hope and Street Art opening reception @ Honfleur Gallery

Honfleur Gallery was off the chain (link fence) literally! One of the best art exhibitions I’ve attended in a long time! A great merge of street art, gallery presentation and sense of community! Kudos to all the artists and the team at Ward 8 nonprofit, ARCH Development, particularly Duane Gautier who for the first time ever, curated an exhibition. Great job guys!

If you love the creative vibes, consider a donation to ARCH, they do great work and have been serving the Anacostia neighborhood for over 35 years! This is a tiny nonprofit that has a HUGE impact on the east of the river arts scene. Support them!

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT WHICH RUNS THROUGH NOV 17TH - FREE ADMISSION!
Love, Hope, and Street Art is a physical manifestation of Luis Del Valle’s philosophy that artistic development is a critical element in community development. It improves quality of life by providing tools to modify behaviors through channeling self-expression into productive work and inspiring and motivating individuals, creating friendly competition grounded in positive behaviors. Love, Hope and Street Art is a multisensory experience that educates visitors about the visual language of street artists. Viewers are engaged to better understand street language through explanations of the symbolism of street art. 

In the exhibition, the evolution of graffiti from tagging, throw-ups, and burners to the corporate boardroom is displayed and interpreted. Beyond Luis Del Valle’s personal contributions to the installation, the artwork is provided by artists DECOY, Cory StowersAsad Walker , and HKS 181, each of whom have created 10-15 years of street art (typically deemed illegal by authorities) and are now exhibiting in galleries.