Celebrate the beauty of Historic Anacostia this spring! See our full event listings to learn why you should eat, shop, and play east of the river.
May 14-24: Pallas Theatre Collective presents Major Barbara
George Bernard Shaw's great drama of moral ambiguity will place the Undershafts in 1930s Washington, DC, when the Bonus Army camped on the banks of the Anacostia River. As directed by Pallas Artistic Director Ty Hallmark, this  Major Barbara  grapples with gun culture and class warfare as we continue to live in a world decades deep in wartime economies and racial strife.

Thursday-Sunday at 7:30 pm,
Saturday & Sunday at 2:30 pm

Tickets are $25 | Learn more
Welcome Better Backs Therapy!   

Anacostia Arts Center is happy to welcome Better Backs Athletic & Physical Therapy as a new resident!  They have solutions to treat and prevent pain at the muscular level. Their treatment protocols soothe and elongate muscles and are developed by physical rehabilitation and kinesiology experts. Stop by to learn more about their services and prices! 

Hours:
Tuesday-Friday, 10 am - 7 pm
Saturday, By Appointment
Sunday, 8 am - 5 pm
Now-June 6: Storytelling with Saris Exhibition & Workshops

Storytelling with Saris is a multi-layered collaborative art and advocacy project by Monica Jahan Bose that uses woodblock prints on saris, writing, performance, and video to address women's empowerment in the face of climate change in a remote Bangladeshi island linked to the artist's heritage.

 

The exhibition will include interactive sari pledge workshops where participants will write and print on saris their personal stories and pledges to reduce their carbon footprint.

 

Workshop times: 

Thursdays, May 14, 21, 11 am - 1 pm

Saturdays, May 23, 30, June 6, 11 am - 2 pm

 

FREE | Learn More
May 15: Bike to Work Day in Anacostia 

The weather has gotten warmer, which means Bike To Work Day is coming! This Friday, celebrate by hopping on your bike and joining your neighbors and friends at the pit stop in Anacostia.

The Anacostia pit stop is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road & 13th St. SE, next to the District Office of Housing and Community Development.

 

RSVP for a free t-shirt plus coffee, prizes, giveaways and more. There will be bicycle mechanics from Capitol Hill Bikes on site performing safety checks, as well as treats from Nurish Food+Drink.
 

7 - 8:30 am | Register now
May 20: Press Play Hump Days

DC's longest-running improv troupe, Press Play, is bringing their monthly Hump Day Show to Anacostia! These performances include comedy, music, dance, and much more. Featuring the Mighty Mighty School Project, Brian Feldman, Press Play, and much more!
 

All proceeds from this show will be donated to Food & Friends, a local nonprofit that prepares and delivers specialized meals, groceries, and nutrition counseling to men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-challenging illnesses. 

 

7:30 - 9 pm | $10 in advance, $15 at the door 
 
June 6: Dispartment of Nightwatch

DC artist Jared Davis has created a large baroque painting that he claims has no place in today's "art world," and must be destroyed.  The acrylic on canvas work measures 16' X 9' and features 20 figures, one dog, and a lot of curtain. This figurative painting uses "models" that are primarily pulled from the DC burlesque/side-show scene.

 

The Dispartment of  Nightwatch will be part lecture, part performance art, and part variety show. Limited to 80 guests, the evening will include performances by GiGi Holliday, Candy del Rio, Lucrezia Blozia, Kittie Glitter (all featured in the painting), and a TEDtalk-style lecture by the artist followed by the destruction of the artwork. Each attendee will choose and take home an 8x10" scrap of the artwork. 

Nightwatch will be on exhibit  June 2-6. 

8 - 11 pm | Tickets are $20
Now-June 26: 3 Millimeter Exhibition

 

3 Millimeters explores the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where the sea level is rising at twice the global average-a process without emergency brakes. These photographs depict the last breaths of a community as they are forced to adapt to the smallest but most devastating tidal wave.

 

Greg Kahn is an American documentary 

photographer living in Washington, 

DC. Kahn's work concentrates on issues that shape personal and cultural identity.  

 

FREE | Learn more
Now-June 26: 
Under Pressure Exhibition

Degrading urban environments, the spectacle of war, and political unrest are among the chaotic influences Rush Baker brings to his canvasses. These myriad ideas shape Baker's studio practice, characterized by a sense of lawlessness similar to that of the subjects that fascinate him. His paintings mix traditional media with building materials in complex compositions that evoke landscapes, real and feared.

Rush Baker  has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally, including 
solo shows at Scaramouche Gallery and 
The Cooper Union in New York City. He holds an MFA from Yale University and a BFA from The Cooper Union for Advancement of Science and Art.
 
 

FREE |
 
Artist Studio Available!
 
This 180 sq. ft. artist studio is the perfect place to create your next masterpiece! A quiet sunlit room with two closets, it is an ideal work space for artists and creatives. The building is situated along the main drag of Historic Anacostia and houses 5 artist studios. 

Rent is $350/month, utilities (water, electric) are included. 

To schedule a tour please email Amy Lokoff, [email protected]. 
Open Call: 8th Annual East of the River Exhibit

Honfleur Gallery presents The Eighth Annual East of the River exhibition this summer, highlighting the creative minds of Wards 7 and 8. 

 

This year Honfleur Gallery is pleased to announce plans to focus The Eighth Annual East of the River exhibit with showing multiple pieces from up to five artists. Small grants will be provided to selected artists. (Grants will be in the range of $250-500.)  

 

The deadline to apply is May 15, 2015. Apply here.
Open Call: 2015 East of the River Distinguished Artist Award
The forth-annual East of the River Distinguished Artist Award will recognize a current East of the Anacostia River artist for artistic excellence as well as significant impact on the DC cultural life.

One EotR artist is honored with this $5,000 award each year.


 Artists who currently live East of the Anacostia River neighborhoods in all disciplines-including dance, film, literature, music, theater, photography, and visual arts-whose careers have made a substantial impact on the arts in the District of Columbia may apply. Artists must have lived East of Anacostia River for at least one year and worked in District of Columbia for more than five years.

 

The deadline to apply is June 5, 2015. Apply here.
Community Wellness Collective: Yoga Classes
 

Yoga classes are only $5, and your first class is free! Register in advance!


Sundays: Sunday Morning Yoga with TanO, 10 am  

Wednesdays: Basic Yoga Flow with Rachel, 6:30 pm

Thursdays: The Restorative Flow with Emily, 6:30 pm

Saturdays: Mind & Body Flow with Samaa, 10:15 am