Sitar Arts Center Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Successful Completion of Multimillion-Dollar Capital Campaign
Community Anchor in Adams Morgan Prepares to Open New Arts Facility and Welcome Hundreds of More DC Youth
WASHINGTON, February 13, 2025 - Sitar Arts Center, a cornerstone for arts education and youth development in Washington, DC, proudly announces the successful conclusion of its transformative capital campaign, Building the Next Stage: A Campaign for Sitar Next Door. Raising more than $6.5 million and surpassing its ambitious goal with support from 54 donors, the campaign paves the way for the grand opening of Sitar’s new arts learning and career training hub, Sitar Next Door.
This significant milestone marks a bold step forward in Sitar’s mission to build a creative community of learning and belonging for DC youth. By expanding its footprint by 50%, Sitar will enroll 66% more children and teens. This growth also supports Sitar’s broader vision of expanding workforce development programs for young adults, equipping them with the skills, mentorship and real-world experiences needed to build sustainable careers in the creative economy.
Maureen Dwyer, Sitar’s executive director, expressed her gratitude and excitement:
"The success of this campaign reflects the unwavering dedication of our community to the idea that every child deserves the chance to thrive through the arts. Sitar Next Door will be a beacon of opportunity, creativity and belonging, empowering generations to come. We are grateful to everyone who believed in this vision and helped make it a reality."
Campaign funds have enabled Sitar to anchor a 6,346-square-foot facility neighboring its current home at 1700 Kalorama Road NW. In addition to expanding programming to include career training, funds also supported critical upgrades to Sitar’s dance studio, theater, and classrooms in its flagship space while strengthening its financial stability. The new space, nestled within Jubilee Housing’s new affordable housing development, aligns with Sitar’s mission to advance equity, access and opportunity in underinvested communities.
At the groundbreaking of 1724 Kalorama Road NW, the future home of Sitar Next Door, Mayor Muriel Bowser lauded the project as “expanding opportunities for our young people to learn and grow in a world-class arts center.”
The campaign’s success was driven by an extraordinary coalition of donors, community members, and leaders. Along with Dwyer, the Campaign Committee included:
Quanda Allen, Sitar Arts Center former vice president of the board of directors, and PNC market managing director, institutional asset management
Mario Garcia Durham, Sitar Arts Center president of the board of directors
Hannah Dweck, Dweck Productions founder
Ralph Dweck, Dweck Properties chairman
Jill Minneman, Sitar Arts Center former president of the board of directors
Marla Schnall, Sitar Arts Center member of the board of directors, and Falls Church High School math and computer science teacher
Scott Spector, Sitar Arts Center former chair of the Capital Planning Committee and member of the board of directors, and Kodiak Properties, LLC principal and co-founder
The campaign raised 114% of its original $5.7 million goal. Campaign donors who made Leadership Gifts played a critical role in exceeding the goal. They include:
Diane & Norman Bernstein Foundation
A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Dweck Philanthropies
Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Sitar’s expansion is rooted in a commitment to bring more opportunities to more DC youth. By offering programs on a sliding-fee scale, Sitar ensures that cost is never a barrier to participation. With 80% of enrollment reserved for families earning 60% or less of the area median income, Sitar is a place where DC youth from all backgrounds can aspire, belong and achieve.
As Sitar Arts Center reflects on 25 years of impact and looks toward the future, the organization invites the community to celebrate this landmark achievement and its promise to empower future generations through the arts. For more information about Sitar’s capital campaign visit www.nextstage.sitarartscenter.org. To learn more about Sitar Arts Center and upcoming 25th anniversary events, visit www.sitarartscenter.org.
About Sitar Arts Center
Founded in 2000, Sitar Arts Center advances equitable access to high quality education and workforce development in the visual, performing, and digital arts. Sitar Arts Center engages DC youth, from early childhood to young adulthood, in building a creative community of learning and belonging that removes financial and cultural barriers to arts education and career training. Sitar envisions a city in which all young people experience transformative moments through quality, accessible arts education, and career training, and are supported on their path to discover their creativity and achieve their full potential. For more information, visit www.sitarartscenter.org.