Washington, despite its scarce studio space and boho-unfriendly rents, remains a city where fine artists work, and work rewardingly. But the stars of D.C.’s art world are no longer art-makers: They’re a growing art-party curator class. In 2012, Brightest Young Things’ party-planning bloggers evolved into a two-city operation and chicness consultancy. No Kings Collective earned a Washington Post Magazine profile for its agnostically DIY, street art-centered Submerge event. Philippa Hughes’ Pink Line Project threw fewer soirees, but a marquee warehouse party was pitched as part of a broader strategy for art-driven economic revitalization in Anacostia. If D.C.’s cultural middlemen are thriving, it’s not necessarily bad for art: Lower down the food chain, smaller shows organized by collectives like Aether Art Projects and Vestibule suggested that more emerging artists are banding together to present their work with a social component (read: there’s booze). But you can’t have presenters without makers. Hopefully, in 2013, the latter will share a bit more in the glow.