Beltway Bambinos

At the crossroads of art, science and technology ARTECHOUSE brings a true 21st century art experience to the nation’s capital as Washington, D.C.’s first interactive digital art gallery. Opened in June 2017 in Washington, D.C., ARTECHOUSE is a first-of-its kind innovative art space dedicated to showcasing experiential and immersive large scale installations by artists who are forerunners of the new age in arts and technology. The exhibit currently displayed is,  XYZT: Abstract Landscapes  and is on view until September 3, 2017.

Step into imaginary territory of lines, dots, and letters, and immerse yourself into this virtual playground of four dimensions: X(horizontal), Y (vertical), Z (depth), and T (time). XYZT: Abstract Landscapes is a world-travelled installation by internationally acclaimed French contemporary digital artists and multimedia choreographers Adrien M & Claire B. The interactive show offers an exploratory physical experience through ten digital landscapes. You are able to touch, clap, jump, twirl, snap, observe with all of the installations. They give you a quick introduction before you go into the space and let you know how each piece works. There is also a security guard who was helpful in reminding us how a piece worked when we forgot.

The installation is a variety of sensory experiences and unprecedented interactions that are created by exploiting ancient techniques of illusion and endless possibilities of modern technology. Visiting this exhibit is like taking a stroll through another form of nature a digital one, being able to touch algorithms and sense matter of light. Each installation stems patterns of physical behavior and borrows its evoking power from reality, like walking on a grass or touching the sand and transposes it into an abstract world composed of lines, points and letters.

The general policy on the age admission for XYZT exhibit is 6 and up. However, they do make exceptions on a case by case basis and request a much higher supervision from parents/adults coming in with children under the age of 6. Though the exhibit is very interactive, not all installations are meant to be touched, rather moved with and interacted at a distance. They can be more fragile than they seem. No running, no poking and no touching of the fabric screens and hardware. The space was a bit chilly, be sure to bring a jacket. Also, it took our smallest a little while to be comfortable in the space as she wasn’t sure why it was so dark whereas our 6-year old was very intrigued and had a blast interacting with the exhibit. Tickets are timed on a 45 minute basis, which is enough time to observe and connect with the art.

Purchase tickets here.

Daytime Admission Daily: 10:00am-4:00pm

Evening Admission Daily (Ages 21+): 5:30pm-9:30pm

Location: 1238 Maryland Ave SW, Washington DC 20024
There is garage next door, however we went on a Sunday and found street parking to be plentiful. It is also very close to Smithsonian so you can visit both in one day.

(Most of the above information is directly from Artechouse’s website and they have even more if you want to read more.)