Closed, Arlington

In June 2010, after a late-night session of painting, drinking, and generally rousting about with a group of friends, lifestyle magazine editor Michael M. Clements found himself pondering an unshakeable question: “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do this at a bar?” The seeds of ArtJamz sprouted almost immediately into a traveling paint party, where the caterers brought not only beer and wine but also all-you-can-paint palettes, for-sale blank canvases, and invaluable artistic expertise. In the years following that fateful, paint-spattered night, ArtJamz grew into a citywide phenomenon, organizing collaborative events with the local museums, galleries, and restaurants, finally realizing the founding fathers’ vision of a tie-dyed capitol building. Eventually, ArtJamz opened three hybrid art studios and bars in Virginia and D.C., including its flagship Dupont Circle Studio, where they had an open-house policy to enable paint parties every week for adults and kids. In 2020, COVID-19 forced ArtJamz to close its retail locations and find a new creative way to enable people to unleash their inner artists. The ArtJamz team of talented artists learned to teach art classes virtually, and Clements grabbed an exact knife and a pizza box and invented the world’s most jamming ArtBox. Now thanks to their virtual art lessons and at-home paint kits, customers can continue to help ArtJamz fulfill its mission to make the world a more creative place from anywhere!