By The People 2019

What started in 2018 with one weekend grew in 2019 to a nine-day festival welcoming over 38,000 visitors in all four quadrants of Washington, DC.

Visitors experienced an all-local art fair, an installation on a barge traveling up and down the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, emerging and established artists presented side by side in a Smithsonian museum, and so much more.

Perhaps most importantly, over two dozen satellite partners all over the city, from large museums to locally owned shops, galleries, and nonprofits, took By The People into all eight DC wards, Maryland, and Virginia. More than ever, the festival included something for everyone.

  • "What's wonderful about the By The People festival is that it really in its title suggests that we are responsible for the quality of our civic discourse and the quality of fun we can have in shaping it.""

    Hank Willis Thomas, By The People 2019 Installation Artist

  • This floating installation not only created a visual intervention along our city's waterways, but also served to push the boundaries of where, how, and through what vehicle art can be presented in D.C. These art-driven interruptions in our daily lives are a gift which sparks hope for a more equitable future.""

    Nicole Dowd, Former Director of Arts Programs, Halcyon

  • The building was filled with music and art and a vibrant mix of people exploring important questions about our present and our future on the National Mall - a great overlap between our mission and that of the festival.""

    Rachel Goslins, Director, Smithsonian's Arts + Industries Building

  • Khalil Joseph's work being shown during By The People marks a shift towards D.C. being a destination where internationally recognized artists are interested in showing their work. BLKNWS, the same work being shown at the 58th Venice Biennale, was also shown here, free and accessible to anyone who visited By The People.""

    Jessica Stafford Davis, Curator, By The People 2019

By The Numbers

Installation Artists, Performers, & Locations

Festival Hubs

Union Market
Smithsonian’s Arts + Industries Building
Floating barge installation

Satellite Partners & Special Locations

Anacostia Arts Center
Capitol View Neighborhood Library
Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center
Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at GW
CulturalDC
Culture House DC
DC Arts Center
Eaton DC
Gallery 102
Greater Reston Art Center
Hedonist Buddhist at Washington Project for the Arts
IA&A at Hillyer
Inter-American Development Bank
The Kreeger Museum
Lee’s Barbershop
Nubian Hueman
Petworth Arts Collaborative
The Phillips Collection
Prince Georges African American Museum and Cultural Center
SPAIN Arts and Culture Center
VisArts
Washington Studio School
Zenith Community Arts Foundation at H-Space

Installation Artists & Performers

Ada Pinkston*
Agora Dance
Alexis Gomez
Althea Rao*
Big Ugly Truck
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington
Charlie Maybee
Codes
Culture Shock DC
Emma G
Estefani Mercedes*
For Freedoms
Halim Flowers*
Hank Willis Thomas
Jessica Mehta*
Joao Pina
Jonathan Rosen
Kahlil Joseph
Kelli Rae Adams*
Kokayi*
Konshens the MC
Les the DJ
Marjan Moghaddam
Martha Jackson Jarvis
Naoko Wowsugi
Nicoletta Darita De La Brown
Noah Scalin
Rania Hassan
Shanna Lim
Stevie Famulari
Tariq Darrell O’Meally*
Tsedaye Makonnen
Victor Ekpuk

*Denotes a Halcyon Arts Lab Fellow

Art Fair Artists

Dina Anchin
Nicanor Aquino
Alexandra Arata
Tara Barr
Curtis Bergesen
Reggie Black
Madison Bolls
Michael Booker
Emma Childs
Julia Chon
Marion Colomer
Nancy Daly
Mary Early
Dominique Fierro
Katherine Fleming
Anna Fine Foer
Taylor Fox
Tejuan Friend
Pamela Gwaltney
Lynne Hanson
Elyse Harrison
Scott Hutchison
David Ibata
Peter Ibenana

Monroe Isenberg

Art Fair Artists (Continued)

Charles Jean-Pierre
Freddy Katana
Allison Keilman

Micheline Klagsbrun
Gary Kret
Barbara Liotta
Kim Llerena
Nora Maccoby
Aaron Maier
Nate Mann
Matthew McLaughlin
Lisa Noble
Nara Park
Kristina Penhoet
Katie Pumphrey
Christine Ruksenas-Burton
Hannah Sarfraz
Sarah Black Sadler
Azadeh Sahraeian
Anna Sellheim
Joseph Shetler
Maureen Smith
Dafna Steinberg
Madeline Stratton
Martin Swift
Brittney Washington

Dialogue Speakers

Ahmad Ashkar
Lauren Biel
Eric Kessler
Laura Hayes
Ryan Kelly
Steven Taylor
Karen FInney
Mark Ein
Zach Leonsis
Erik Moses
Reese Waters