I founded City Arts DC in 1997 in order to continue the work I had begun under the auspices of DC Artworks, a nonprofit arts organization that supervised the District Mayor’s Summer Youth Program for the arts in conjunction with the Department of Employment Services. In 1996, DC Artworks closed its doors and City Arts was established to continue serving the District’s young people.
The mission of City Arts is to create and promote high quality community art that enriches and enlivens neighborhoods.
The goals of City Arts are to give underprivileged young people the opportunity to experience a structured, professional, hands-on art making process in order to broaden their visions of career and leisure-time possibilities; steward at-risk youth toward interpersonal and team skills needed to function as productive members of society; and serve as a catalyst for community pride and neighborhood revitalization.
