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A view North from 55 M St. SE, home to this year’s Artomatic.

At age 10, Artomatic is bigger and better than ever.

This year’s event is based at 55 M St. SE, Monument Realty’s 10-story building on Half Street SE that also houses one of the Navy Yard Metro entrances. Artomatic does not charge admission and runs through July 5.

Nearly 2,000 artists have contributed an overwhelming amount of art to the event, ranging from Phodographic, a display of pictures taken from a camera mounted on a dog, to Rahul A. Saha’s enlarged version of the directions for macaroni and cheese. Artomatic also has a space for educational events, a stage for performances and a theater for screening local films. Some graffiti on the sixth floor stairwell probably best summarizes the event: “Too much art!”

In addition to the work of nearly 2,000 artists, Artomatic’s site also boasts large windows with a spectacular view of the Capitol, Nationals Park and the windows.

With a view like that, Artomatic will be the “place to be on July 4,” according to Artomatic Chair George Koch. No special planning has been scheduled for that day, but a chance to watch the fireworks minus the enormous crowd at the National Mall sells itself.

Artomatic was spontaneously created in 1999 when a DC developer donated the use of the Manhattan Laundry buildings on Florida Avenue NW to a group of artists who then invited their artist friends to exhibit. Soon the building was full of art displays, and more than 25,00 visitors stopped by during Artomatic’s inaugural six-week run.

Since then, the annual event has been based in all four quadrants of the city in buildings that Artomatic Chair George Cook describes as being in “sort of a development hiatus.” This can mean a recently constructed building that has never been occupied, as is the case this year, or it could be a recently occupied building that is slated for a complete remodeling.

More than 70,000 visitors are expected to pass through the turnstiles at the 275,000 square foot 2009 Artomatic home. Both numbers are records for the event.

Cook said Artomatic’s main goal is to create a community for area artists and to help build an audience for their work. All the artists participating in Artomatic have to volunteer at the event.

Because the artists have a stake in the success of Artomatic, the event tends to sell itself according to Cook.

“Each artists gets 10 friends or family members to come, and it goes from there. Clearly, our strength is in viral marketing,” he said.

The event can also pay dividends for the neighborhood, and the building serving as host.

“We’re bringing potential residents to the neighborhood,” Cook said. He added that one artist participating in this year’s event decided to move into a nearby apartment after touring 55 M St. SE and the broader neighborhood.

As Artomatic has grown and gained a strong foothold in the city, it has become easier each year to find a home for the event, Cook said. But they haven’t picked a place for next year yet.

“To the people who’ve got empty buildings, I’d tell them to make us an offer,” he said.

Visit www.artomatic.org for more information on the event.

A park-led development boom
The Mayor and other city officials showed up at the Capitol Riverfront on May 28, shovels and hardhats at the ready and carpet rolled out to a tent set up along the Anacostia River. It was time for another groundbreaking at the Capitol Riverfront, this time for The Park at The Yards located between Nationals Park and the Navy Yard.

The 5.4-acre, $42 million public park will open next summer and hopefully serve as an anchor for the developing neighborhood, if all goes to plan.

Three other parks will ultimately also pop up in the area: Canal Park between Second Street and Second Place SE and M and I Streets SE, which up until recently was best known for the huge fleet of school buses parked there, should be finished in 2011; Diamond Teague Park, right on the river and behind Nationals Park, will feature an environmental style of park and a floating walkway linking to the boardwalk at The Park at The Yards; and the already completed Tingey Plaza, a public space behind the Department of Transportation building that is being used for a summer outdoor film series and other events.

The Park at The Yards is the most important part of the park plan because it will feature lots of outdoor space for public use and allow residents to ride bikes or take a walk along the river.

“This has never been a part of the city that has been open to the people of the city,” said DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

The modern design of The Park at The Yards, with curvy, lighted benches and a stepped landscape down to the river boardwalk, will also complement the buildings that will someday be constructed in the area. Councilmember Tommy Wells was optimistic that this park will be a catalyst for the area and a new resident recruiting tool.

“It’s hard for people to envision this as a place to live and work because this has always been an industrial area. The Anacostia River’s always had a negative connotation,” he said. “When we put a new park in here and the Canal Park … people will begin to see the possibility which we had envisioned. This will happen.”

Half Street SE, now with beer
Nationals fans looking for something to do near the stadium on game day, your wait is over: The Bullpen has opened just across the street from the center field gate, offering much cheaper beer and concessions than the stadium and a chance to meet up with friends before heading in to watch the Nats find another way to lose a game.

I stopped by to see what The Bullpen was like on a less than ideal weekday night, shortly before a thunderstorm blew through the city. At first, I was literally the only customer in the place, but a good-sized crowd eventually braved the pouring rain and came out for a few drinks in the large tented bar area.

The outdoor space – a stage for musical acts, a food vending cart and a corn hole area – was not in use due to the weather, but it’s not hard to see how The Bullpen has already become a fixture, even if only temporary, amid the construction sites and uncertainty of the land around the ballpark.

Jason York, one of the operators of The Bullpen said they only have a lease to use the site for this season. However, if construction is postponed again next summer on the building that will ultimately occupy the space at Half Street and N Street SE, York hopes to try a sophomore run next season.

“People have seemed to like this place so far. They want to have a place to meet up before the game,” he said. “The only bad thing so far has been the weather.”