Adrian Ferguson, owner of Art of Noize, stands in front of some of the artwork currently on display at the studio.

by Cesse Ip

Adrian Ferguson is pursuing his passion for the arts with Art of Noize, a local Petworth Art Studio. Adrian grew up in Northern Virginia, left for college in Atlanta, and after graduation returned to the DC area to work for the US government. His career in procurement gave him the skills to open his own business, and eventually left the federal workforce. He knew that while Washington DC is home to some of the most venerable art galleries in the nation, the underground art scene in DC was also thriving. However, no middle ground between the two worlds existed.

Enter Art of Noize.

Adrian originally opened Art of Noize in 2018 on Georgia Avenue, just down the street from Homestead. However after a year into their lease, the landlord wanted to develop the property into something else, leaving Art of Noize without a home for a few months. Through word of mouth, he found out that the current property at the rear of 821 Upshur Street (behind Petworth Citizen) was going to be available. He said that it was almost divine intervention that they were able to stay in the Petworth neighborhood. The current location has been open since March of 2019.

Moving from the busy corridor of Georgia Ave only a few blocks from the metro to the rear of a building in an alley has had its challenges. They are constantly having to educate people about how to enter the gallery, and the lack of foot traffic in the alley doesn’t allow anyone to stumble upon the gallery.

Adrian is excited to be part of Petworth, loves its diversity and thinks that the neighborhood will only grow. While he loves and supports all the small businesses and restaurants on Upshur Street, he is looking forward to more businesses opening and possibly having a chain store to anchor the corridor and increase foot traffic.

Adrian is always searching for new local artists, but lately he said that artists have been coming to him. He’s found that extremely talented artists are talking to each other about his studio and approaching him about hosting shows. Art of Noize tries to focus on local artists, since he mainly opened to serve as a bridge between the underground art scene and a place where they could showcase their work. He told me that sometimes artists of color don’t necessarily get a wide variety of opportunities, but he doesn’t exclusively focus on black artists. Art of Noize is for all artists, all disciplines, and all backgrounds.

If you are interested in seeing a show at Art of Noize, check out their calendar, where shows are booked about 3-6 months in advance. The space is also available to rent for your own event.

Past uses have included performances, rehearsal space, auditions, photo shoots, workshops, and even birthday parties. You can check out their rental page if you’re looking for a unique place to host your next event that already has a creative aesthetic on the walls.

Before COVID, Adrian hosted community events such as “Deep Noize” featuring a DJ, vegan and non-vegan food, and a live painter that would paint to the music. He hosted a monthly “woke film series” that showcased Black indie films with discussion afterwards. He also wanted to host classes for beginning art collectors. He hopes that as things become safer, he’s able to pick up these programming opportunities again.

Petworth News strongly encourages you to go out and support all local businesses, including Art of Noize. You can sign up for the Art of Noize mailing list to stay tuned of their current and future events. Email them to schedule an appointment to see the gallery, and follow them on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Art of Noize
821 Upshur Street NW, Rear

Hours:
Wed-Thurs: 11am - 4pm
Fri-Sat: 12pm - 6pm