00:00:05.100 - 00:01:09.200

Okay, could you tell me your name and about your relationship to Petworth neighborhood. Yes. Well, my name is Adrian Ferguson and I am a gallery owner here in the Petworth neighborhood and the name of my gallery is Art of Noize. Looking back, could you tell us about some of the celebrations that you've engaged in in the Petworth neighborhood? Well sure, I've been involved with several of the community related events that we've had over the years. One of the most recent one is our Petworth Summer Saturdays, which is a music series that we've been doing this entire summer from July 10th to, actually this Saturday, which is September 18th. And basically, I've been curating music every every week. A different genre. So for that, the neighborhood can enjoy free concerts from five to seven. I find that music is kind of the medium that brings everybody together. People kind of celebrate music and celebrate each other under good music and as long as it's free as well, too.

00:01:09.200 - 00:02:58.570

That's fantastic. And what are things that you're looking for in terms of bringing the music to the streets in Petworth? Well, you know when we were doing it, we were looking for a lot of local talent here in Petworth and outside of the surrounding areas, but we really wanted to focus on artists that lived here in the neighborhood. And, as well as doing the outside outdoor, concerts that we do on the 800 block [of] Upshur Street, we also do our own in-house program with music as well. And we do jazz nights here, twice a month, where we have jazz band come in and play kind of a house band. And after the first set it, you know, we kind of open it up to DC artists. And a lot of musicians come and it turns into a jam session. So and that's kind of something in-house which we do here twice a month, which is something separate from the outside community thing that we do every every weekend. But it's still giving people in the neighborhood and musicians here in the neighborhood, and in the DC surrounding area, a place in a platform to perform and create. What would you—how would you characterize the significance and meaning of bringing folks together around music? Well, I think you know any time you bring people around art and other mediums like photography and other traditional styles and other other mediums is that it creates conversations. It creates debate. Art is supposed to be—it's supposed to be controversial in the sense that not negative or positive. But to spark debate about a particular topic, or subject that we can kind of advance ourselves, see things from a different perspective. Hear things, you know—I could, we both could look at the same photo or the same image and get two completely different interpretations of it. And somewhere in art allows us to find a happy balance in the sea in and expand our horizons.

00:02:58.800 - 00:04:33.900

Well, I think that's fantastic. Could you tell us a little bit about what you envision as the interrelationship between the music and the photography? Well, I think is that they both, they both are a perfect complement to each other is because the, the photography and the abstracts that whatever sculptures or whatever medium that the artists use is influenced by the music and the sounds that they experience every day. So most artists create to music, whether it be Jazz, folk, blues, rock and roll. Most writers, you know, listen to music, or, you know, they use music as the creative source. So, I would say that music is always kind of the creative tool that most artists use to create no matter what the medium is. From when you first arrived, how would you say celebration has transformed in Petworth neighborhood? Well, there was I think, when I first arrived there was a lot of good intentions, but not a good turnout. And I believe that, you know, they had the best intentions to have people come out and they tried different things and different celebrations at different community festivals. And then, as whereas as now, where we started implementing more interactive—and music, and more diverse forms of art and art spaces. I think that has drawn and kind of more enticed the neighborhood to get more involved into what's happening as far as the art and the music is related in the neighborhood.

00:04:43.200 - 00:05:09.500

I know I said last question, but I'll bring one last one. Looking forward, where would you like to see celebration get to in Petworth? I would, I would like to, to expand off of Upshur Street to, you know, the entire Ward 4 community, actually coming together to celebrate the neighborhood. Petworth is a great neighborhood, but, you know, Ward 4 for as a whole. And actually, I want Petworth to serve as a model for other DC and ever-changing communities within the DC area. Thank you very much.