DC’s Historic Deanwood Neighborhood Receives an ArtPlace Arts and Culture Temporium Grant
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Event Kick Off: Saturday July 14
Save the date- more info to come
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The DC Office of Planning (OP) has awarded a $75,000 “ArtPlace Arts and Culture Temporium” grant to Partners for Livable Communities (Partners) to develop and manage pop-up temporiums in underutilized spaces in the Deanwood neighborhood, one of the District’s earliest African American communities located in Northeast Washington.
This DC OP award is one of four grants provided by Artplace America to the city to revitalize underutilized commercial spaces. The first such project was LUMEN8Anacostia which warped-up its programming on Saturday June 16.
Under this grant, Partners will manage DeanwoodxDesign, a project developed by Deanwood residents and cultural activists Seshat Walker, Donna Davis, and Kimberly Gaines. DeanwoodxDesign showcases the rich arts, cultural, historical, and green space assets of neighborhood and Ward 7 through a community-wide, intergenerational, and collaborative effort.
This project is part of the OP’s ArtPlace series that includes Temporiums in the emerging creative neighborhoods of Anacostia, Brookland, and upper 14th Street NW. “These projects are an unprecedented opportunity to develop new national models for assisting communities with integrating artists while supporting ongoing local efforts in economic revitalization, community development, and job creation,” said Kimberly, Associate Director of City Planning.
DeanwoodxDesign will feature workshops, exhibitions, and cultural events that reflect the theme of “design” from four unique aspects: community, sustainability, multimedia, and lifestyle. A grassroots team will work alongside neighborhood and citywide collaborators to coordinate more than 15 hours of free programming and events during a four-month period with a kick off scheduled for early July.
DeanwoodxDesign will engage artists and a diverse network of Deanwood institutions and stakeholders to cultivate community pride, showcase and create great art, and invigorate the creative economy.
“At the core of DeanwoodXDesign is our diverse group of collaborators,” said Project Director Seshat Walker. “Their generous spirit and unwavering support help drive the project.”
Collaborators include Cultural Tourism DC, Deanwood Heights Main Streets, EastRiver Family Strengthening Collaborative, IDEA Public Charter High School, George Washington University Event Management Program, Life Pieces to MasterPieces, The Fishing School, Word, Beats, and Life, Inc., and WeAct Radio.
“We’re empowering residents to leverage their existing cultural resources and build sustainable partnerships to develop new energy,” said Bob McNulty, President of Partners. “Cultural strategies are not only a major economic force in many communities but contribute tremendously to education, cultural identity, race relations, quality of life and other, less quantifiable but important, social functions.”
DeanwoodxDesign is calling for artists to be featured in exhibitions on the theme#myDeanwood: Honoring the Past to Create a Future. The theme focuses on the cultural and social history of Deanwood, Greater Deanwood, and Ward 7, and also encourages artwork made from repurposed and recycled materials. The call for artists if available at www.deanwoodxdesign.com.
“I am truly excited about this project. The city needs to know about the wealth of art and culture that resides in Deanwood, this a great start,” said Kimberly Gaines, DeanwoodxDesign’s Creative Director.
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