During the 1960s a lot of talented, energetic people gathered at Workshop in Washington, D.C. Workshop is Lou Stovall's printmaking studio. In the beginning, it was a place to collaborate. A community of some of the most expressive artists to call our region home, working to make art that carried a message -- posters for community events, demonstration information and concert announcements.

Not all who were drawn to Workshop were artists. Would-be concert promoter Mike Schreibman sought out Stovall and his colleagues for their unique, vibrant images. "I wanted something more than just advertisement art to publicize my concerts," says Schreibman. "I wanted something that created excitement about the show."

Vintage New Era has assembled a retrospective to commemorate their concert-poster legacy. These 5x7 notecards highlight unique artwork as well as events in Schreibman's career: His first concert (Country Joe and the Fish with Iron Butterfly in August 1968, which was emceed by now WETA radio personality Mary Cliff) and his 1976 reopening of the Warner Theatre (headlined by Emmylou Harris, and with most of the D.C. City Council in attendance, the show marked the first business to return to the downtown theater district after the 1968 riots).

Today, Lou Stovall is an internationally recognized artist whose skill as a master printmaker has gained him commissions to print works of noted artists such as Jacob Lawrence and Elizabeth Catlett. Lloyd McNeill is a flutist, composer and visual artist, as well as a professor emeritus in the visual arts department of Mason Gross School of the Arts, at Rutgers University. Richard Jester is an award-winning graphic artist at the Oregonian newspaper in Portland. Now residing in the Middleburg, Va. area, Jay Burch’s recent work was exhibited  during summer 2006 at the Govinda Gallery in Georgetown. Mike Schreibman is president and executive director of the Washington Area Music Association, a nonprofit organization that strives to raise the profile of the diverse music scene in the nation's capital. 

See what the Washington Post has to say.

Available Online:

16 cards/color envelopes with 8 different images (2 of each); size is 5x7; blank inside for your personal message; $8 (plus shipping). Packaged in a clear poly envelope.

Notecards are available through VintageNewEra.com.

Or at the following store:

The Music Center at Strathmore (in the gift shop) 5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, MD 20852 --- 301-581-5177

Hours: Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., and 60 minutes prior to performances, through intermission.

These cards reproduce original visual artworks that are part of the DC area's culture and history.  They incorporate the names of various performers, those performers did not authorize these reproductions.