Our Mission
The only institution in the greater Washington, DC area solely dedicated to fostering underrepresented artists in every discipline.
Become an Artist Member
Free access to space, no fees, higher commission, workshops, and more. Become a member today and support your visual and performing arts practice like none other.
Pictured Above
The DC Arts Center following a historic renovation
Our Mission
The only institution in the greater Washington, DC area solely dedicated to fostering underrepresented artists in every discipline.
Become an Artist Member
Free access to space, no fees, higher commission, and more. Become a member today and support your visual and performing arts practice like none other.
Pictured Above
The DC Arts Center following a historic renovation
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Our Mission
The only institution in the greater Washington, DC area solely dedicated to fostering underrepresented artists in every discipline.
Become an Artist Member
Free access to space, no fees, higher commission, and more. Become a member today and support your visual and performing arts practice like none other.
Pictured Above
The DC Arts Center following a historic renovation
Our Mission
The only institution in the greater Washington, DC area solely dedicated to fostering underrepresented artists in
every discipline.
Become an Artist Member
Free access to space, no fees, higher commission, and more. Become a member today and support your visual and performing arts practice like none other.
Featured Above
The DC Arts Center following historic renovation
Apply Today
Join the 2025 Sparkplug Artists’ Collective
The Sparkplug Artists’ Collective is a one-year program that serves as a much-needed resource for artists seeking to establish, reignite, or sustain a professional art career. The collective provides a fertile environment for continued artistic and professional growth by providing mentorship, support, workshops, critiques, juries, art excursions, and coveted art exhibition opportunities in The DC Arts Center’s Main Gallery.
In addition, Sparkplug members will grow their professional networks while gaining access to a deep roster of Sparkplug alumni. Since its inception in 2007, the Sparkplug Artists’ Collective has served over 100 early, mid-career, or established artists in the greater Washington, D.C., area.
Apply Today
Join the 2025
Curatorial Initiative
The Curatorial Initiative reflects The DC Arts Center's commitment to fostering underrepresented artists by offering a rare, year-long opportunity to develop the fundamental skills of artistic curation. Each year, one to two Apprentice Curators are selected to work alongside a professional Mentor Curator in planning and mounting two to three full-scale exhibitions at The DC Arts Center.
First, with the assistance of the Apprentice Curator, the Mentor Curator leads the curatorial process—honing vision, selecting artists, crafting a catalog, and bringing an exhibition from concept to installation. Then, the roles are reversed, and the Apprentice Curator leads the curatorial process with the assistance and advice of the Mentor Curator.
Annual Report
Explore our
FY24 Annual Report
We’re thrilled to invite you to explore The DC Arts Center’s first-ever public annual report. This comprehensive look back at the past year celebrates the passion, creativity, and resilience that drive our mission. Inside, you'll find stories of groundbreaking performances, riveting exhibitions, profound educational initiatives, and the invaluable support of our community that made it all possible.
Join us as we share the milestones that have shaped our journey and the impact The DC Arts Center has on the community here in Adams Morgan and the city at large. Dive into the report and see how your support continues to inspire and empower local artistry.
Apply Today
Join the 2025 Sparkplug Artists’ Collective
The Sparkplug Artists’ Collective is a one-year program that serves as a much-needed resource for artists seeking to establish, reignite, or sustain a professional art career. The collective provides a fertile environment for continued artistic and professional growth by providing mentorship, support, workshops, critiques, juries, art excursions, and coveted art exhibition opportunities in The DC Arts Center’s Main Gallery.
In addition, Sparkplug members will grow their professional networks while gaining access to a deep roster of Sparkplug alumni. Since its inception in 2007, the Sparkplug Artists’ Collective has served over 100 early, mid-career, or established artists in the greater Washington, D.C., area.
Apply Today
Join the 2025
Curatorial Initiative
The Curatorial Initiative reflects The DC Arts Center's commitment to fostering underrepresented artists by offering a rare, year-long opportunity to develop the fundamental skills of artistic curation. Each year, one to two Apprentice Curators are selected to work alongside a professional Mentor Curator in planning and mounting two to three full-scale exhibitions at The DC Arts Center.
First, with the assistance of the Apprentice Curator, the Mentor Curator leads the curatorial process—honing vision, selecting artists, crafting a catalog, and bringing an exhibition from concept to installation. Then, the roles are reversed, and the Apprentice Curator leads the curatorial process with the assistance and advice of the Mentor Curator.
Annual Report
Explore our
FY24 Annual Report
We’re thrilled to invite you to explore The DC Arts Center’s first-ever public annual report. This comprehensive look back at the past year celebrates the passion, creativity, and resilience that drive our mission. Inside, you'll find stories of groundbreaking performances, riveting exhibitions, profound educational initiatives, and the invaluable support of our community that made it all possible.
Join us as we share the milestones that have shaped our journey and the impact The DC Arts Center has on the community here in Adams Morgan and the city at large. Dive into the report and see how your support continues to inspire and empower local artistry.
Upcoming!
Pictured Above
Mentu Eawaran, Echo of Kindness, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
48” x 72”
Sign of the Times
Main Gallery
The DC Arts Center’s
Sparkplug Artists’ Collective Presents:
November 15 - December 15, 2024
Curated by
Eric Celarier
Featuring
Yerke Abuova, Nikki Brooks, Mentwab Easwaran, Katie Macyshyn, Rashad Ali Muhammad, Kristina Penhoet, Lucas J. Rougeux, Dina AZ. Salem, and Samantha Van Heest
We live in times of great flux, where social and scientific change demand that we reevaluate some of life's most basic assumptions, providing us new choices in how we live, how we love, and how we connect. Sign of the Times, showcasing the artists of The DC Arts Center’s Sparkplug Artists’ Collective, presents a scattershot of perspectives that coalesce around the theme of charting new courses through this unfamiliar and unstable landscape.
Pictured Above
Rashad Ali Muhammad, Back to Pink, 2024
Mixed media collage on wood
22” diameter
Pictured Below
Dina AZ. Salem, /imˈpərfək(t)/ IV, 2024
Acrylic on raw canvas attached to cardboard
32.5” x 30”
Four Color
Theorem
Nano Gallery
October 18 - December 15, 2024
By Jiazi Yin
Curated by Liz Ashe
Jiazi Yin’s exhibition invites viewers into a world where individual pieces resonate as powerfully as the collection as a whole. Her square, abstract works challenge conventional orientations, reflecting the profound influence of memory in her artistic practice. Each brush stroke and the interplay of cyanotype and paint demonstrate a distinctive sensitivity, creating an evolving landscape of color, texture, and mixed media. These elements collectively serve as maps, tracing the artist’s journey and sense of self. Four Color Theorem captures poetic fragments of memory and layers them into a rich tapestry, mapping her experiences over recent years in DC and Georgia, and celebrating her expanding community and temporal story.
Pictured Above
Jiazi Yin, Untitled, 2024
Oil on wood panel, 6” x 6”
Four Color
Theorem
Nano Gallery
October 18 - December 15, 2024
By Jiazi Yin
Curated by Liz Ashe
Jiazi Yin’s exhibition invites viewers into a world where individual pieces resonate as powerfully as the collection as a whole. Her square, abstract works challenge conventional orientations, reflecting the profound influence of memory in her artistic practice. Each brush stroke and the interplay of cyanotype and paint demonstrate a distinctive sensitivity, creating an evolving landscape of color, texture, and mixed media. These elements collectively serve as maps, tracing the artist’s journey and sense of self. Four Color Theorem captures poetic fragments of memory and layers them into a rich tapestry, mapping her experiences over recent years in DC and Georgia, and celebrating her expanding community and temporal story.
Pictured Above
Jiazi Yin, Untitled, 2024
Oil on wood panel, 6” x 6”
Rashad Ali Muhammad
Back to Pink, 2024
Mixed media collage on wood
22” diameter
Upcoming!
Main Gallery
The DC Arts Center’s Sparkplug Artists’ Collective Presents:
Sign of the Times
November 15 - December 15, 2024
Curated by
Eric Celarier
Featuring
Yerke Abuova, Nikki Brooks, Mentwab Easwaran, Katie Macyshyn, Rashad Ali Muhammad, Kristina Penhoet, Lucas J. Rougeux, Dina AZ. Salem, and Samantha Van Heest
We live in times of great flux, where social and scientific change demand that we reevaluate some of life's most basic assumptions, providing us new choices in how we live, how we love, and how we connect. Sign of the Times, showcasing the artists of The DC Arts Center’s Sparkplug Artists’ Collective, presents a scattershot of perspectives that coalesce around the theme of charting new courses through this unfamiliar and unstable landscape.
Four Color
Theorem
Nano Gallery
October 18 - December 15, 2024
By Jiazi Yin
Curated by Liz Ashe
Pictured Above
Jiazi Yin, Untitled, 2024
Oil on wood panel, 6” x 6”
Jiazi Yin’s exhibition invites viewers into a world where individual pieces resonate as powerfully as the collection as a whole. Her square, abstract works challenge conventional orientations, reflecting the profound influence of memory in her artistic practice. Each brush stroke and the interplay of cyanotype and paint demonstrate a distinctive sensitivity, creating an evolving landscape of color, texture, and mixed media. These elements collectively serve as maps, tracing the artist’s journey and sense of self. Four Color Theorem captures poetic fragments of memory and layers them into a rich tapestry, mapping her experiences over recent years in DC and Georgia, and celebrating her expanding community and temporal story.
Upcoming!
Pictured Above
Mentu Eawaran
Echo of Kindness, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
48” x 72”
Sign of the Times
Main Gallery
The DC Arts Center’s Sparkplug
Artists’ Collective Presents
November 15 - December 15, 2024
Curated by
Eric Celarier
Featuring
Yerke Abuova, Nikki Brooks, Mentwab Easwaran, Katie Macyshyn, Rashad Ali Muhammad, Kristina Penhoet, Lucas J. Rougeux, Dina AZ. Salem, and Samantha Van Heest
We live in times of great flux, where social and scientific change demand that we reevaluate some of life's most basic assumptions, providing us new choices in how we live, how we love, and how we connect. Sign of the Times, showcasing artists of The DC Arts Center’s Sparkplug Artists’ Collective, presents a scattershot of perspectives that coalesce around the theme of charting new courses through this unfamiliar and unstable landscape.
Pictured Above
Rashad Ali Muhammad
Back to Pink, 2024
Mixed media collage on wood
22” diameter
Pictured Below
Dina AZ. Salem
/imˈpərfək(t)/ IV, 2024
Acrylic on raw canvas attached to cardboard
32.5” x 30”