There’s something exciting happening behind the papered-up windows of the Anacostia Arts Center on Marion Barry Ave SE in Anacostia. Powered by the Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF), the center has been shuttered since last fall. The renovation is part of an $11 million capital campaign.
“It was a fragmented space,” the Center’s executive director Messay Derebe explained to the group of stakeholders assembled for the hard-hat tour of the Center late last month. “Over the years, the community wanted arts and culture, a co-working space, a gathering space and retail. The building kept adding those functions in response. It meant that the building didn’t really work cohesively.”
WACIF’s solution? To close the Center and work with Corenic Construction Group and architectural and interiors studio Drummond Projects to completely renovate the 90-year-old building. Like other historic structures in Anacostia, the building housing the Anacostia Arts Center has assumed many roles over the years. It’s been an auto shop, a Woolworth department store and a workforce training center. It’s welcomed people from across the world and from every socio-economic and cultural background over its threshold, which still features the iconic Woolworth ‘W’ tiled in mosaic. For decades, it’s been a place where the community can gather, work, chat, learn, play and relax.
This venerable legacy has been the north star that’s guided Derebe and her team through the various stages of the Center’s renovation. WACIF consulted widely with residents and stakeholders to find out what they wanted to see in the revamped space before they closed its doors last year. The programming that’s been most enthusiastically received by the community – the annual Fusion Festival, Crate Convention, Afro House Spirit Fest, Black Box panel discussions and more – have acted as the blueprint for the renovation. “We’ve used this as opportunity to make the building fit what was successful and what worked,” explained Michael E. Johns Jr, the renovation’s project manager.
The feedback WACIF most consistently received from Center patrons was that they wanted to be able to meet, mingle and be inspired by each other within a space designed for integration rather than isolation. In response to this, and by far the biggest alteration, is that The HIVE co-working space for entrepreneurs and business owners has been incorporated into the main level of the Center. Historically, The HIVE was housed on the lower floor. “We wanted to make sure that every workspace in The HIVE has access to natural light,” said Johns. “That’s always been a big issue and it’s been our primary objective in the way we’ve split the building up.”
WACIF’s also changed up the membership structure for The HIVE. Once open, entrepreneurs will be able to sign up for drop-in memberships (access to technical facilities and meeting rooms, but no dedicated workspace), dedicated desk memberships (including assistance with certifications like CBE or HUBZone) or an office membership, featuring full access to your own private workspace. A new creative entrepreneur membership for podcasters, graphic designers and other artists will be implemented, in addition to a hospitality program for up-and-coming food and beverage businesses that will turn the event rental space into a lab for those businesses to grow.
New features of the Anacostia Arts Center
- Retail spaces occupying the street-facing windows that will display a rotating array of products from local makers.
- A redesigned Black Box Theater, equipped with tech for professional recordings, podcasts, music sessions and more.
- More space for cultural and retail pop-up experiences on the ground floor.
- An expanded art gallery.
- A new staircase permitting access to the lower level of the Center.
Derebe confirmed that The Anacostia Arts Center will reopen in February 2027 and WACIF will mark the occasion with an expanded Fusion Festival. “We’re not just taking the things that were here before and putting them in a prettier building. The building is a vessel for opportunity. I’m excited when I see the five and the ten-year vision of what this space will produce.”
WACIF Programming Not to Miss
While the Anacostia Arts Center has been closed, WACIF’s been busy facilitating satellite programming in locations throughout DC. The Sip, Shop & Create series connects local entrepreneurs with each other, their communities and current and future customers. The next Sip, Shop & Create is planned for September 17 at Yeleen Beauty Makerspace on Benning Rd. NE. Meet founder and CEO Rahama Wright, make your own beauty product in the beauty lab, enjoy wine and canapes and support local businesses. Register for the next Sip, Shop & Create event here: https://wacif.org/events/
WACIF’s still soliciting partners and donors. Learn more about how you can become a part of the Anacostia Arts Center’s next chapter by going to https://impact.wacif.org/campaign/674578/donate
Read Messay Derebe’s blog, where she posts regular updates on the unfolding renovation, here: https://anacostiaartscenter.com/news
