Inside this Arlington garage, you'll find a whimsical art gallery
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Friends Artspace's current exhibit, "Beginner's Mind." Photo: Courtesy of Ethan Hickerson
Tucked away in a residential neighborhood in Arlington sits a futuristic-looking garage in which you won't find your expected Subaru or pile of lawn chairs but … an art gallery.
Why it matters: Community is important to curator Margaret Bakke. So much so that when she opened her own gallery, she did it right at her own Northern Virginia home.
- But Friends Artspace is also unique in that it features distinctive works not usually found in the area, Bakke tells Axios.
What they're saying: "I say it's a fine art gallery with a bent toward collectible design," she says — collectible design being any kind of decorative arts, crafts or objects with a bend toward utility and function.
- "[Because] sometimes you run out of wall spaces."
Driving the news: The gallery's current exhibit, "Beginner's Mind," runs through Saturday. It's the gallery's 10th show and is inspired by the Japanese term "shoshin."
- "[It's] a Buddhist way of life that means coming to the world without any preconceived notions, an openness and a childlike mind," says Bakke.
- Hence why all the featured work has a childlike playfulness — think lit-up snail figurines or whimsically colored pottery. (And, as the gallery's site points out, all the featured artists are "ex-babies themselves.")
State of play: Bakke, who was born and raised in D.C. and has a background in printmaking, launched the gallery in 2021.
- She majored in studio arts at Columbia in New York before working at the university's LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies, she tells Axios, then returned to D.C. to work as an art advisor.
When she started hunting for her own D.C. gallery space during the pandemic, she realized a lot of places were moving toward pop-up or appointment-only venues.
- At the time, she was designing her home in Arlington and discovered local zoning laws allowed her to build a free-standing garage on the property, she tells Axios.
- So, she figured, why not just put the gallery there? And Friends Artspace was born.
And why the name? Gallerists will often name their spaces after themselves, says Bakke, but she wanted to center the artists and liked the "community feel" of the word "friends."
Fun fact: Bakke's sense of design doesn't just extend to curating exhibits — she also has a sick, art-packed house.
Reality check: Bakke is quick to dispel the notion that D.C.'s art scene is subpar compared to, say, New York's.
- "If anything, it's press that's lacking and more national exposure," she says.
- She shouts out local art highlights like Chela Mitchell Gallery in Union Market and the Washington arts curator Laila Jadallah, with whom she's working on Friends Artspace's next exhibit.
What's next: Bakke eventually wants to move the gallery to an urban place with more foot traffic once her three children are all in school.
- As for the studio: Its next show, "Perfume in Exile," will feature work from Southwest Asian and North African artists and design studios and kick off this winter.
To know: While it's free to visit Friends Artspace, you must make an appointment in advance.
