Building the Next Stage
A Campaign for Sitar Next Door
Join Us in Building the Next Stage
Sitar Arts Center envisions a city where all young people—regardless of cultural, systemic, or financial barriers—can discover their creativity and achieve their full potential.
As we enter our third decade of partnering with students and families in DC, the community call for Sitar to expand grows louder every day. We now have the extraordinary opportunity to answer this call and expand our community impact.
Anchoring the ground floor of a new deeply affordable housing building will be Sitar Next Door. This brand-new facility will increase our footprint by 50%, enable us to scale our youth arts education programs, and initiate a new career training program for young adults.
To realize our bold vision for the future, we have launched the Building the Next Stage capital campaign.
Help Us Reach Our Goal
Learn more about how you can get involved in the Building the Next Stage campaign.
Project Updates
-
![Construction on Sitar Next Door at 1724 Kalorama Rd NW]()
Arts Spaces Taking Shape
The arts learning spaces in Sitar Next Door are taking shape!
-
![Construction at 1724 Kalorama Rd NW, the future home of Sitar Next Door]()
Up, Up, and Away!
Construction is advancing at 1724 Kalorama Rd NW, the future site of Sitar Next Door. All work below-ground is finished, and the concrete slab is poured.
-
![Outside of 1724 Kalorama Rd NW under construction]()
Above Ground Structural Work Commences!
With the foundational work of 1724 Kalorama Rd NW complete, the construction team is now working on above ground structural work to bring Sitar Next Door to life.
-
![Construction on 1724 Kalorama Road NW]()
Outlining the Visual Art Studio and Ensemble Rehearsal Room
We are starting the build the walls that will eventually create the new arts learning rooms in Sitar Next Door!
-
![]()
Deep Foundation Work is 50% Complete
The construction team is halfway done with installing the micropiles along the perimeter walls and securing the foundation.
-
![Micropiles being installed at Sitar Next Door construction site]()
Grateful for Strength
The construction crew is installing reinforcements inside 1724 Kalorama Rd NW to make it even stronger.
-
![Apprentices training in graphic design, web design, and UX design at Sitar Arts Center]()
ArtsAdvance: Career Studios
While construction at 1724 Kalorama Rd NW is underway, we are building the programming that will soon bring Sitar Next Door to life. Our ArtsAdvance workforce development program is in its pilot phase. Apprentices are training in graphic design, web design, and UX design from September through May.
-
![]()
A Tribute to Two D.C. Champions: Remembering Diane and Norman Bernstein
The Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation awarded Sitar Arts Center a $500,000 grant toward the Building the Next Stage campaign in celebration of Norman’s 100th birthday in 2020. Today, we honor the great works and lives of Diane and Norman Bernstein.
-
![]()
Finishing the Foundation
Description goes hereThe foundation work at 1724 Kalorama Rd NW continues! This demolition and groundwork lays the foundation of resurrecting a building that had laid empty for nearly a decade.
-
![Open roof on Sitar Next Door building project]()
Power Up!
The final beams are coming down to remove the roof and the pipe is laid which will become the electrical room in the new facility – powering Sitar Next Door.
-
![]()
Digging Down to Build Up
On May 16, the construction team removes the current roof to make space to add two new floors to 1724 Kalorama Rd NW.
-
![]()
First Phase Complete: Ensuring High-Quality and Safe Facilities for Our Community
Sitar Arts Center completed the first phase of the Building the Next Stage project during the pandemic shutdown in 2020-2021. As DC marks three years since the shutdown order, we look back on how we used that time to ensure the health, safety, sustainability, and artistic excellence of our community arts center.
-
![]()
Laying the Foundation for Sitar’s Future
On April 12, the first of 8 enlarged columns was completed in Sitar Next Door
-
![New space empty and under construction]()
Demolition Makes Way for New Possibilities
After years of laying untouched, 1724 Kalorama Rd NW is in the final phase of demolition, on its way to becoming Sitar Next Door.
-
![Sitar Arts Center leader in hard hat standing in new space under construction]()
Construction on Sitar Next Door Has Begun!
Construction has begun on Sitar Next Door – Sitar's brand-new facility anchoring the ground floor of a new deeply affordable housing building.
-
![A row of community members and leaders from Sitar Arts Center and Jubilee Housing breaking ground at the new space]()
Breaking Ground on Sitar Next Door: A Day of Forward Action
On November 2, 2022, we broke ground on construction of Sitar Next Door at 1724 Kalorama Rd NW with Mayor Bowser, Councilmember Nadeau, and other distinguished guests. Learn more about our special groundbreaking event, and what’s ahead for our work with Jubilee Housing.
-
![Two teenagers play saxophones at a music concert]()
Supporting Our Families Where They Are: Staying Anchored in Adams Morgan
Sitar Arts Center and the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation share a commitment to DC families. With their partnership, we’re growing in place to support our city’s youth on their path to self-determined success.
-
![A young black girl works on painting a vibrant mural]()
Growing Alongside Our Students: The Bold Vision for Sitar’s Next Stage
Learn how Dweck Philanthropies leveraged its resources to expand arts education access to all young people.
Stay up to date on campaign progress and Sitar Arts Center.
