The 14th Street Graffiti Museum is where graffiti is treated as art
/The mural outside the 14th Street Graffiti Museum at 14th and Crittenden Streets NW
by Cassandra Hetherington
Uptown artists and entrepreneurs Eddie Harris and Cory L. Stowers had a vision to honor local graffiti icon Cool “Disco” Dan while teaching others about local graffiti history. With funding from Uptown Main Street, artists from Dan’s Go-Go crew FFC (Fierce Fighting Crew) have transformed a non-descript alley wall and interior courtyard into the 14th Street Graffiti Museum where Eddie is Executive Producer and Cory the Curator.
This museum at the corner of 14th and Crittenden Streets NW has already energized the community and become a gathering spot before its final completion in mid-September. A music video will be filmed against the colorful walls, a local restaurant will expand outdoor dining options, and classes such as graffiti and yoga are anticipated.
Eddie Harris skipped nearly all of his “boring” 7th grade art class, so naturally he’s an artist. His childhood was steeped in the smells of oil paint and thinner used by his father, who is also an artist. In fifth grade, Eddie began to teach himself to draw by copying “Peanuts” cartoons. Later, comic books taught him human anatomy. Born in Alexandria, Virginia, Eddie was molded by the hip-hop and Go-Go scene of DC and Prince George’s County. A teenage Eddie would sneak out to the Go-Go, longing to hear his name called out from the stage. He insists that he’s “laughed, bled and cried” in every part of the DMV.
Eddie Harris, Executive Producer of the 14th Street Graffiti Museum.
His interests and curiosities are varied but consistently creative. Teenaged Eddie decorated and sold jean jackets. Eddie in his 20s sang and created music. Eddie in his 30s apprenticed under an engineer named Face at Night Flight in Maryland to learn about soundboards and music production. Eddie today is an entrepreneur, business owner and visionary. His arts space Treehouse, on Upper 14th Street NW, is on pandemic hold but will showcase unconventional local artists and teach older teens about murals. One of his many current projects is a series of murals, created alongside Aniekan Udofia, at The Statesmen Academy in Southeast DC. He hopes that students and staff will soon be back in the building to feel inspired by their work.
Cory L. Stowers has an encyclopedic knowledge of the local graffiti and mural culture. A Hyattsville native, Cory is a bridge between the Cool “Disco” Dan era and today. Like Eddie, he began his journey as an artist by copying comic books but struggled with drawing human anatomy. Graffiti came into his life when he was 16 and provided an artistic lane for his creative energy. It took four years under the tutelage of his mentor CERT before Cory produced a piece that was, in his opinion, “real.” That piece, visible somewhere on Metro’s Red Line, has faded, a ghost on a wall full of ghosts.
Cory L. Stowers, Curator of the 14th Street Graffiti Museum.
Creating graffiti is often risky — it involves climbing walls or painting under bridges, usually at night to avoid police detection and to retain anonymity. For these reasons, the majority of Style Writers, as they call themselves, are usually young men, searching for a sense of self, separate from their normal world. They write to and for other Writers, the accolades and support they receive from their peers strengthens and confirms their existence and self-worth. Although graffiti is collaborative, it is also territorial and cliquey. Cory would often ride the Metro’s Red Line, eyes laser focused out the window, looking for clues of who was beefing with whom, indicated through text added next to or on top of existing graffiti. A whole system of communication exists right before thousands of eyes, nearly all of them clueless or uninterested.
Graffiti differs from murals in that murals contextualize a community — businesses often want them painted on their property, whereas graffiti is an individual act and perceived as “vandalism.”
Most Writers last a couple of years, but Cory’s crew, the Double Down Kings (2DK) has existed for twenty-six years and is the largest graffiti crew in the DC area. Cory runs Art B.L.O.C., an umbrella company for Art Under Pressure, The Double Down Kings, Power Moves, Rock Creek Lee, and now the 14th Street Graffiti Museum.
Cory is also the Associate Director for DC Murals, a 501c3 established in 1997 for the documentation, presentation, and advocacy of and for the public art in the city and the artists that create these works. Cory seeks to make style writing more accessible and meaningful and is proud of his ability to connect local Writers, otherwise shut out of the mainstream art scene, with paid public art projects. This relationship respects local artists and provides crucial support for a new generation of creatives.
This article also appeared on the Uptown Main Street Instagram page.
Cassandra Hetherington grew up in New Orleans and has lived in the District for twenty years. She has over twenty-five years’ of experience working and volunteering for non-profit organizations. Currently she is Co-Vice President of Fundraising for the Alice Deal Community Association where her son is a student. She actively volunteers with Uptown Main Street in their support of small local businesses and lives in Manor Park. Cassandra is an amateur photographer and her favorite book is "All the King’s Men" by Robert Penn Warren.
