Updated - 5/15/2012
[I realize my comments are less about the physical gallery than Yelp users would seek. I just hope the staff at Honfleur will be ethical enough to allow ALL reviews to remain (no filters or tricks). Especially from people who have lived in this area longer than some of them have been alive]
Partly in response to the Honfleur staffer and also to clarify, let me say this.....
Honfleur Gallery is a nice gallery for those seeking out a nice art gallery outside of the usual nice gallery spots. Obviously, gallery hopping is not the main goal of the native/ longtime residents here and shouldn't be. Most working class or lower middle class neighborhoods aren't planning "art gallery nights". Honfleur is aware of that. Honfleur has several "hipster" events that are on par with what you might see in New York and especially hip Brooklyn. If you are seeking a fun, young, wine, beer, and cheese art party- Honfluer will give you that using the unique surroundings of Anacostia (soon to be Uniontown). Fun and games at a police evidence warehouse? Now you can't get that in Georgetown. It sounded like fun -in theory- when I accidentally found out about the after dark event. But in reality, it seemed slightly silly and risky considering how tough life is for the long time residents who actually live on those streets (I'm up the hill) and have to consider-everyday- their safety once the sun goes down. Though, I'm sure the partiers believe that having these events will automatically shift the dynamics (like buying a plane ticket right after 9/11).
Honfluer IS a fine art experience in a rough area. But if its staff haven't pulled in long time residents in the years that it has been here- then it isn't trying. They are hand picking and grooming new "locals". In Honfleur's defense, it may be very hard finding fine artists among the natives of the poorest wards in DC. But then why open an art gallery to support and showcase what you know has to be few and far between?
If you want to see blacks with hipster afro/dreads (who recently moved to Anacostia), rub shoulders with whites in hipster tees while they look at each others art or survey some real, quality art (Arie Mandelbaum!) that is Honfleur. If you want to study photographs of pale girl legs next to birthday cake that tells a story about poor body image and anorexia (in a community with a high number of take out joints, diabetes, and seriously obese girls in micro mini skirts )-WELCOME!
If you want to rent out space for your organization or business in an historic preservation area for cheap (and with a nice tax break due to a clever "low income area" trick) then that is Honfleur/ARCH.
TRULY, if you are not from here- you will love Honefluer. I would love it if it weren't stepping over me. It is an "oasis" in a "shifty" place (as non-residents on Yelp have said)
I was happy to see the Woolworth store loved as a child being used and I would love Honfleur/Arch if it were in Ward 7/8 actually doing what it claimed. But they have renovated nice gallery and meeting spaces, photography-printing studios, and more largely for new comers and the non-Anacostia people they've shared a circle with for years (and using tax dollars or non-profit "breaks" for helping the poor community). I can't get past that. But if its not your problem, there is no reason to not take advantage of Honfluer or ARCH- Uniontown. I can just use the ARCH- community center near the Maryland line. Thats where most of us will be heading in the next 5-10 years anyway.
I am not a white artist, hipster yuppie, or Denise Huxtable, black neo-hippy. I'm just a SE person who knows I am being left out and ultimately pushed out- with few good options.
I don't have the time or inclination to search for what Honfleur claims to be reaching out to give me.
If the latest chicken joint or "cash for houses" scammer can assault me with notices of their existence- without me looking for it- then how has Honfluer failed to let me know whats up?. They may be small, but they are not stupid (especially after 5+ years in this area).
AGAIN!- if you are not a Ward7-8 resident, or are college educated, and above poverty level- you genuinely will be thrilled about Honfleur. It is a lovely space in a fascinating area and has everything you want if you don't NEED anything. read more