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Arts Capital

American Artscape | 2010 No. 2
NEA Arts cover no 2 2010
New Leaf, 2007, by Lisa Scheer, a sculpture commissioned by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities for the Georgia Avenue/Petworth Metro subway station. "When designing this work," wrote Scheer, "my goal was to find an image and emotion that would speak to the spirit of this neighborhood place. A leaf is a simple and familiar thing." Photo by Lisa Scheer.
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About this Issue

Twenty years ago, boarded-up buildings in the Penn Quarter neighborhood were a legacy from the 1968 riots, while the area around U Street, NW—once known as “Black Broadway” for its plethora of theaters—was a high-crime area, mostly devoid of businesses. Today, both neighborhoods are thriving, in no small part thanks to the arts organizations that call those neighborhoods home. In the Penn Quarter neighborhood, for example, the Shakespeare Theatre has paved the way for other businesses, like restaurants and retail stores, to move to the area. It has further committed to the neighborhood by building its new multimillion dollar Sidney Harman Hall just a few blocks down from its Landsburgh Theater space. On U Street, historic music clubs, such as Bohemian Caverns (open since 1926) have continued to draw business to the area by presenting music legends from Billie Holiday to NEA Jazz Master Ron Carter, while relative newcomers such as Busboys and Poets have become a vibrant community space for the literary and visual arts.

While the arts certainly weren’t the only reason these areas revived, they played a significant part in investing in their communities, which, arguably, helped make the transformation complete. In this issue of NEA Arts we examine a few of the “neighborhood” artists and arts and culture organizations that help make DC not just the nation’s capital, but an arts capital.

Included in this Issue

Rebuilt Through Art

The Studio Theatre Gives a Neighborhood New Life
Two young men performing, one playing the violin, the other the cello

A Glimpse of the World

Building THEARC in Anacostia
Aerial shot of the crowd at the Latino festival

Vamos a la calle!

Celebrating DC's Latino Arts and Culture
Woman in red dancing with man in black hold a mask.

Connecting Between Cultures

The World According to Dana Tai Soon Burgess
Michelle Obama and young African American students painting a mural on a brick wall

Positive Change

The Sitar Arts Center
Gallery of Andy Warhol artworks.

A Rich and Vibrant Culture

The District of Columbia Jewish Community Center

Art Out Loud

Public Art Takes Over DC
Philippa Highes in a yellow dress in front of a humorous wall art piece

We're Talking With. . . Philippa P.B. Hughes

DC's Pink Line Project
Close-up photo of Fed Joiner

First Person with Fred Joiner

interior of the Folger Library

Interview with Dr. Gail Kern Paster

The Folger & the DC Community
Audio Available
Man gazing at a skull

Interview with Joseph Haj

The Folger & the DC Community
Audio Available

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