Free Writing Salon at DC's National Gallery of Art

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mrsmig

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I just found out about a cool (and FREE) quarterly writing series that the National Gallery of Art is offering. It's called the NGA Writing Salon. Here's a little bit from the course description:

Led by local writers, including playwrights and poets, this series of workshops uses examination of works of art as a starting point for writing original pieces. Through writing exercises and conversation, participants will explore the elements of writing and experience works of art through a different lens. The workshops are designed for all skill levels; beginning and advanced participants are welcome.

The NGA offers each 2.5 hour course over three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) - you pick one day to attend. The only caveat is that you have to sign up the Monday prior to secure your place.

I'm planning on attending this Friday's session ("Setting: The Power of Place", led by local playwright MaryHall Surface). I'll report back and let you know how it goes!
 
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Perks

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Oh wow. That sounds wonderful!

I've spent a good bit of time in the gallery. DC is a great place to grow up poor. The Smithsonian museums present the treasures of the world, free to everyone for inspiration.
 

Richard White

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Hmm, first heard of this here. I'll have to check it out since I'm a whole 30 min from DC depending on traffic (read: anywhere from 20 min to 6 hours depending on how backed up I-95 is.)
 

mrsmig

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I attended the inaugural Writing Salon and found it both useful and enjoyable. We used a Cropsey landscape for our subject, so we had plenty of material. The moderator, local playwright MaryHall Surface, gave us a thumbnail sketch of the painting's history, and then we launched into our first exercise, which was to create a "word drawing" of the painting ("use lots of verbs," she urged us). I think this was difficult at first for some of the participants, who seemed inclined toward analyzing and interpreting the painting, rather than using its world as a setting. Over the space of two and a half hours, we did three more exercises, geared largely toward placing a character within the painting's setting and using our own senses to help imagine that character's experience there. We had specific assignments as to POV and tense, which made it more challenging.

The next Salon is in January and will use a Picasso painting to examine character. Not sure I'll be able to go, but if my schedule allows, I'm sure going to try.
 
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