When I was asked to participate in Artist-Citizen, Washington, DC, I used the opportunity to retrieve an idea that had been lurking somewhere in my subconscious. I’ve been in DC for over forty years and maybe because I grew up in small towns in the South, when I came here in 1969 this was a big city to me. Fast forward to 2013 and the remarkable growth and renewed energy of Washington has been spectacular.
For a substantial part of those 40+ years I have been quietly aware that DC was home to myriad people who engage in world-class creative efforts that have their showcase right here at home; people who live, breathe and create in the city making the cultural fabric of the region varied and rich. Poets, actors, curators, critics, architects, dancers, directors and more share their creative efforts unconnected to the federal government and, possibly, better for it.
Illuminaries was born from that observation, a way to celebrate those who help shine a light on art, craft and on others without the requisite trappings of notoriety or the sometimes-shallow world of celebrity. These initial subjects — phase one of Illuminaries — selflessly pursue excellence in their individual realms while hard at work strengthening and bolstering the arts in the ‘other’ Washington.
Max Hirshfeld
