The Phillips Partners with THEARC to Provide High-Quality Arts Experiences East of the Anacostia River

Phillips@THEARC will offer dynamic, multi-generational programs grounded in the notion that art, when integrated with personal experience, can change lives.

Washington, DC— Beginning this fall, The Phillips Collection will launch a long-term partnership with the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) east of the Anacostia River. Capitalizing on themuseum’s award-winning educational initiatives, Phillips@THEARC will offer dynamic, free programsbased on community need. As part of THEARC’s Phase III expansion project—a 92,000 square foot building expected to open in 2017—the Phillips will take up residence in the new space, offering high- quality K-12 arts-integrated programs for DC teachers and students as well as multi-generational art and wellness initiatives for residents of Wards 7 and 8.

“As stated in the museum’s strategic plan, our partnerships cannot be superficial or convenient, butmust reflect deep engagement and commitment,” says Director Dorothy Kosinski. “Like our transformative new partnership with the University of Maryland, Phillips@THEARC extends themuseum’s service beyond its own walls, fulfilling our institutional goal to collaborate throughout the DCmetropolitan area to broaden audiences and reaffirm the Phillips’s role as a vital contributor to community well-being. As an independent, nimble, well-managed, and rigorous organization that has been an integral part of DC cultural life for more than 90 years, the Phillips is poised and committed to expanding its reach to communities served by THEARC.”

Building on The Phillips Collection’s mission as “an intimate museum combined with an experiment station,” Phillips@THEARC will be a dedicated offsite “experiment station” inviting DC residents toexplore cross-disciplinary programs in its new, light-filled arts-integration studio and intimate community art gallery. The Phillips will work closely with leaders from Ward 7 and 8 communities, our broad network of non-profit and for-profit partners, and current resident partners at THEARC to co-create programs based on community need. These initiatives will focus on two of the museum’s corecompetencies: art and K-12 education and art and wellness. These free, multi-generational programs may include: daytime art discussions for older adults living with chronic illness; after-work art and meditation classes for adults; collaborations with Wards 7 and 8 schools infusing art into K-12 curricula; professional development sessions for DC teachers; and children’s book workshops for young children and their caregivers.

“This project embodies the museum’s approach of cross-disciplinary experimentation, partnership,research, and evaluation,” says Director of Education Suzanne Wright. “The Phillips believes that whenwe weave art into our personal experiences, we increase our quality of life. Working with our community partners, we will develop arts-infused programs at THEARC that have a meaningful impact on the students, teachers, and multi-generational families we serve.”

The Phillips Collection welcomes up to 150,000 visitors onsite every year and over 80,000 individualsparticipate in the museum’s award-winning educational programs annually. With over a decade of research and evaluation, the Phillips has become a national leader in arts-integrated teaching and learning, developing a rich portfolio of programs for DC public and public charter schools.

To launch these efforts at THEARC, the Phillips will train teachers from the THEARC resident Washington School for Girls and nearby Turner Elementary School in Prism.K12, the museum’s innovative arts- integration strategies for K-12 teachers. Phillips educators will also foster a global dialogue exploring religious and ethnic tolerance between students at these DC schools and Bosnian children as part of a Phillips initiative with the U.S. Department of State and the Bosnian Embassy in Sarajevo. In a fresh approach to teacher workshops, Phillips@THEARC will host a Curriculum Slam during which K-12 DC educators will showcase creative curricula they developed for Question Bridge: Black Males, a video installation about black male identity in America, on view at the Phillips.

“Throughout our long history of co-creating K-12 programs with Anacostia schools, we have been providing highest-need DC areas with direct access to exceptional visual art programs,” says Wright. “This is a tremendous moment for the Phillips—through our residency at THEARC, we will no longer be visitors to Anacostia, we will have a home there!”