What happens when you fill an empty office building with hundreds of artists for a six-week, unjuried mass exhibit?

Artomatic is what happens. In other words, a mind-melting amount of artwork to look at, a little bit of chaos, and a lot to find and do. It’s open through December 12 in Hyattsville, MD, just a short walk from the New Carrollton Metro station.

How it works

Artomatic has been around since 1999, returning every few years in a different place in the DC area. The concept is simple: it’s first come, first served to get a space for your artwork, installations, experiments, etc. Because sold artwork is required to stay up through December 12, you don’t have to worry about finding empty walls if you go toward the end of the exhibit.

If you’ve never been to an Artomatic before, here’s what we suggest:

• Go on an evening or weekend — that’s when there will be more people and artists to say hello to. You’ll also be more likely to see a performance, demo, or screening (check the event calendar for info) and you can take advantage of the bar.
• Start on the top floor and work your way down. With this much to see, you’ll need a system! You can grab a map when you enter, but good luck trying to find anything in particular. Aim for a balance between systematic movement and aimless wandering.
• Take notes when you find an artist you like. They could be out of business cards, and you’ll want to remember them later, whether to buy something you saw or just to follow them on Facebook.

What to see

Compared to the over 700 visual artists in Artomatic 2012, this year’s group of about 500 (not including performers) is slightly smaller. That’s relative, of course — it still took us two hours to run around and see everything, and that was without lingering for a second look, a drink, or a performance or film.

Regardless of size, Artomatic is still Artomatic. Because it’s unjuried, you’ll see a wide cross-section of what artists in DC do, including novice, emerging, and more established artists.

The office building space is not ideal for displaying artwork — somewhat cramped and dimly lit — but the artists do their best to work with it. It’s kind of cool seeing art installed in the mail room, cubicles, and even the stairwell.

You’ll see every medium you can think of. Painting and photography were both popular, but you’ll also find drawings, installations, furniture, mixed media, sculpture, fiber art, and prints. “Installations” includes a lot of interactive elements:

And “mixed-media” is a little bit of everything:

If you’re still deciding whether to go, and you’ve made it this far in the blog post, check it out! Curiosity and exploration are the name of the game here, so go with an open mind and you’ll enjoy yourself. Besides, where else are you going to see this:

More photos

There’s more to Artomatic than we could cover in a single blog post, but part of the fun is discovering it for yourself! See more photos below, pay a visit before December 12, and let us know what you think!

By the way, be sure to check out The Art Leaguers at Artomatic (let us know if we need to add you to the list): Cheryl Bearss, Julia Bloom, Chris Bohner, Kathleen Brennan, David Delano, Julie Dzikiewicz, Pattee Hipschen, M. Jane Johnson, Linda Lowery, Michele Morgan, Lisa Schumaier, Atti Vakili, and Joan Woodill.

Artomatic 2015 (8100 Corporate Drive, Hyattsville, MD 20785 / New Carrollton Metro) is open October 30–December 12, 2015. Hours: Wednesdays & Thursdays, 5:00–10:00 pm; Fridays & Saturdays, 11:00 am – 12:00 midnight; Sundays, 11:00 am – 8:00 pm; closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.