Where the Art Is
Area Galleries Find New Homes in Unconventional Spaces

By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 14, 2008

When Leigh Conner started thinking about the economics of moving her art gallery -- one of this city's most respected and adventurous, with a roster of established and emerging artists -- from a moribund Dupont Circle, she knew her best bet would be to buy a building rather than continue renting. She says she found the "good bones" she was looking for, and at the right price, in a former auto-repair shop in a corner of Northeast Washington's Trinidad neighborhood, around the corner from the exploding H Street entertainment district.

The 7,000-square-foot space, which includes a media room and an outdoor courtyard that can accommodate several shows at once, opened last month, with a centerpiece show spotlighting the work of Leo Villareal, whose light-based work was just acquired by the National Gallery of Art.

It may be off the beaten track, but Conner says her Washington fan base, as well as those loyalists from outside the city, will find her no matter where she is. "This is a destination," she says, calling her flight from Northwest Washington a kind of "freedom."