Elizabeth Tuten for Communities In Schools
This is my main thing.
What sets me apart from a bonobo who took a digital marketing course is my ability to string words together in an approachable way that zeros in on the heart of a subject.
I’ve written guides to the best places to eat your feelings alone or to face existential angst in D.C., long-form reporting pieces, reviews, and profiles. For me, writing is an exercise in connection: connecting with a subject, connecting with an audience, or connecting with something inside myself.
New Startup Project Radical Plywood Activates Local Artists to Turn “Space Into Place”
“Tarek Kouddous had 48 hours to find artists willing to paint murals on plywood in downtown D.C. Ted Brownfield of SJG Properties had asked him to fill the blank space on two buildings at 15th and H streets NW before the Saturday, June 6, protests. Kouddous mobilized quickly, tapping into his network to find available local artists, and the Radical Plywood project was born. The first mural went up at 7 a.m. Saturday morning, as did a round of flyers along protest routes and a freshly minted Instagram account calling for artist submissions for additional murals. Eight days and 51 submissions later, 12 artists have painted 14 plywood murals around the District.”
D.C. Small Businesses Declare Their Own Small Business Saturday
“Small Business Saturday typically follows Black Friday, but a group of local business owners have declared a springtime edition for this upcoming Saturday, April 25.
‘I was just trying to think of ways to encourage people to shop online,’ says Mallory Shelter, the leader and organizer of the initiative.”
How To Help Local Small Businesses Through COVID-19
“In the midst of so much chaos and uncertainty, salons, retail shops, and personal service providers are quickly maneuvering to reach customers online. Between tough decisions around staffing and anxiety about making rent and payroll, the small business owners of the District are doing what they do best: getting creative.”
Home Gym: Instagram Live Yoga With Cats
“It’s 11:53 a.m., and I need to take a break from work. Luckily, my usual yoga studio, Epic Yoga, has a noon online class taught by the founder, Emma Saal. I change out of my leisure leggings and into my mild-to-moderate-activity leggings. Braiding my hair after not touching it for two days is exercise enough, but I persevere. I choose to leave my pearls on because even though I haven’t put on non-elastic pants in five days, the pearls make me feel like a fabulous old woman on the Titanic elegantly resigned to her fate.”
Buy a Painting From This Dog and Get a Cannabis Treat
“District Derp, an online art gallery that gifts cannabis products when customers purchase prints of dog-created paintings, started with a bet. “My friend said, ‘You can train the dog to roll over, but I bet you can’t train her to do something really cool,’ co-founder Chris explains. “So we asked, ‘Well, what would be impressive enough for you?’ and he said ‘painting.’”
Inside a Fine Art Nude Photographer's Fight With Instagram
“Grey Johnson wants to create work rarely seen in the world of fine art. The Naked Project, which Johnson calls, ‘an appreciation for the unfiltered human form,’ is the culmination of two years of photoshoots. It’s a series of portraits, mostly black and white, naturally lit, featuring a wide range of body types in varying stages of undress.”
Evvie Drake Starts Over Wraps Sexual Tension in a Cardigan
“The love story at the center of Evvie Drake Starts Over unfolds timidly in the wake of identity-destroying loss. For Evvie, the loss is her emotionally abusive high school sweetheart husband, Tim, who died in a car accident the night she finally dared to leave him. The novel opens on this scene—Evvie is tossing a suitcase and cash into her car when she gets the call that Tim has been in a crash. The rhythm of her life, formerly punctuated by the tense staccato of Tim’s anger and disapproval, goes silent.”
CIS Students On-Stage and Ready for Change at March for Our Lives
“Though the February 14th shooting in Florida may have been the catalyst for the rally, the various young speakers seamlessly wove together stories from different demographics and locations affected by gun violence into a tapestry bearing one message: the young people of America have a voice and a vote, and they know what to do with both.”
The Founders of All Things Go Fall Classic Talk Turning 6
“Last year’s lineup had a last minute shakeup when Garrett Borns, who performs under the moniker BØRNS, was pulled from his day two headliner spot following allegations of sexual misconduct. This year’s festival is headlined by Chvrches and Melanie Martinez, who, in 2017, was accused by a friend of drugging her and coercing her into sex. Both Borns and Martinez took to social media to deny the respective accusations. The three founders had no comment about the decision to pull Borns and book Martinez.”
Adams Morgan Welcomes a New Multipurpose Arts Space
“The Cheshire is aptly named: Accessing the creative wonderland is a bit like falling down a rabbit hole. Rather than the Cheshire Cat or a white rabbit, seekers should look for a white sandwich board marking the alleyway leading to the green door of the garage covertly nestled between 18th and Columbia streets NW in Adams Morgan.”
Sculptor-Turned-Jewelry Designer Natalie Abrams Doesn't Do Dainty
“Abrams Wearable feels as though it sprung into existence fully formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus. But the brand evolved incrementally over six years. By 2013, Abrams had left design and project management behind for her sculpture practice as a resident at the McColl Center for Arts + Innovation in Charlotte, North Carolina.”
Common's New Show Puts D.C. Artists Onstage
“This Wednesday, D.C. welcomes an icon. Rapper, actor, writer, and philanthropist Common—the first rapper to win an Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar—will be performing at the Warner Theatre. Common spoke with City Paper about the show, which blends theater and music, the local performers who join him, a list of his favorite spots in D.C., and a reflection on what makes D.C. audiences special.”
Put Down Your Phone and Eat Curry at the Hirshhorn
“If you say ‘interactive art exhibit’ aloud three times, a 30-minute line spontaneously forms and your Instagram feed floods with different angles of the same room. In 2017, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden put the ‘it’ in ‘exhibit’ with Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors. In 2018, the hot spot was the National Building Museum’s Fun House installation. In May, the Hirshhorn got back in the game with Rirkrit Tiravanija: (who’s afraid of red, yellow, and green), where guests can eat Instagram-worthy curry near working muralists.”
D.C. Beyoncé Impersonator Riley Knoxx Talks Being in Taylor Swift's Latest Music Video
“If you’ve partaken in D.C.’s drag scene, when you make it to minute two of Taylor Swift’s latest visual pop confection, you’ll see a familiar face. Riley Knoxx, a performer known for her spot-on Beyoncé impersonations, represented Queen Bey in Swift’s music video for new track ‘You Need to Calm Down,’ which dropped on Monday.”
Very Sad Lab Wants to Heal You and Your Houseplants
“The patient intake form for a lifeless Christmas cactus reads like a semi-neglectful parent’s guilty defense. Yes, the environment was humid and not very sunny, but it was loving. Perhaps the cactus was exposed to too much cold air, but it was wanted, purchased either in Colorado or at a Baltimore hardware store—the plant parent doesn’t remember.”
New Boutique Tribute Opens off U Street With Emphasis on Sustainable Fashion From Around the World
“Tribute will be as nomadic as its founders, they say: The seasonal collections will change, featuring vintage finds and new items by a roster of international and local designers. The team also plans to move the shop periodically. While there’s no schedule for moving, they say they will stay on the lookout for intriguing spaces in different neighborhoods.”
Keep reading.
7 Places to Face the Void in D.C.
“. . . the void can only be avoided for so long. Happy hours end, bluetooth headphones die, WiFi cuts out, and trains are held for schedule adjustment. Sometimes you need to let your frustrations out when you realize you don’t have all the answers. Here are seven places around D.C. ideal for greeting the abyss.”
9 Works of Art to Visit in D.C. When You’ve Lost All Hope
“Sometimes an average week of work, bills, news, and maintaining a home nearly suitable for a self-respecting human can leave us feeling a little blue—dare I say hopeless. Sometimes it helps to shut your brain off and look at something beautiful. When life imitates bad art, seek out good art. Here are some great places around town to take your mind off whatever’s bringing you down.”
Keep reading.
First Look: Little Red Fox Serves Up Ice Cream and Cake Down the Block at Sugar Fox
”Craving a milkshake but fearful of gastrointestinal fallout? There’s oat milk at the ready for a vegan … oatshake? That doesn’t sound right, but it tastes right. ‘We operate a coffee shop and a ton of our customers and staff are dairy free, so we wanted to have something for everyone,’ Carr says.”
Keep reading.
20 Places to Eat Your Feelings Alone in D.C.
”There are several factors that can make eating your feelings alone particularly healing: not sharing, getting gloriously messy, an interesting distraction, or a chic ambiance not to be sullied with insipid conversation.”
Keep reading.
Modern Segregation: 60 Years after the Little Rock Nine
“Making on average only 60 percent of the average income of white people today, many black Americans have still not recovered from the state-sponsored segregation of the 1930s that denied them the personal wealth and equity that funded the growth of the white middle class. Until Americans take real action towards full integration of our communities, economic stagnation and lack of opportunity will continue to weigh down the dreams and dash the futures of children of color.
The Youngest Victims of the Opioid Crisis
“Those who attempt to help children of addicts are often presented with moral dilemmas: Is it worse for the children to live with an addicted parent, or to enter the over-burdened foster system? If a child receives food or clothing, will the resources be taken and sold for drug money? These are the questions that plague people like Grace*, a Communities In Schools site coordinator. On the day we spoke, Grace had given a little boy a new pair of shoes and a pack of socks: ‘His foot was coming through his old pair of shoes. I put him in new ones and told him to take them outside to scuff them up, get them dirty so they couldn’t be sold. I told him to keep his socks in his backpack. We’re hiding socks [from his family], for goodness sake.’”
Hurt Kids Hurt Kids: How One D.C. School is Attempting to Break the Bully Cycle
“As a school community, Cardozo has struggled with how to best manage bullying. “Just when we think we have a handle on addressing issues related to bullying, hurt children find new ways to bully. Bullying prevention and intervention require consistent attention.” Caring adults, Monique explains, must be ready to address the underlying issues of bullying: trauma, abuse, low self-esteem, and anxiety, all problems caused by bullying, too.”
Back to School at the Border
“For the children still in detention centers, Southwest Key—an immigration non-profit—has partnered with Brownsville Independent School District to bring teachers into their centers until sponsors—usually family members—have been identified for each detained child. But the children who have already been released to sponsors and who will start their local public schools, a different set of challenges lie ahead.”