Former DC artists in Mt. Pleasant North

The Washington Post's Blake Gopnik reports on why two of DC's best and among my favorite artists, Ian Whitmore and Graham Caldwell, moved to NY in the last couple years. One thing that stuck out for me was Ian's statement that:

In his new home, he gets "a big inspiration from something" at least once a week, from the music scene to the latest art in Chelsea to the Old Masters at the great museums.

Reminds me of a life-changing book I recently read called The Warhol Economy, which proposes that "creative industries like fashion, art, and music drive the economy of New York as much as--if not more than--finance, real estate, and law." But more importantly, economic development driven by creative industries relies on a "vibrant social scene--the social, cultural, and economic mix" that is the Warhol economy. Exactly. We need a heckuva lot more of a vibrant artsy, creative social scene in DC so that we can keep awesome artists like Ian and Graham here.