Growing Alongside Our Students: The Bold Vision for Sitar’s Next Stage

Learn how Dweck Philanthropies leverages its resources to expand arts education access to young people.   

A prominent real estate developer by trade and a musician at heart, Ralph Dweck became invested in Sitar Arts Center’s mission, vision, and values the moment he walked through our doors. Ralph, his wife Louie, and daughters Nora and Hannah began supporting Sitar’s programs in 2011. Immediately, Ralph recognized that for Sitar to best support our students’ growth, we would need to grow alongside them.

During a visit to Sitar in 2014, Ralph noted that we were bursting at the seams with students. Executive Director Maureen Dwyer told him about the one other commercial unit in our current mixed-use building and Sitar’s dream to tear down the wall between them and expand. With Ralph’s expertise and contacts, and Dweck Philanthropies’ financial support, Sitar was soon on its way to acquiring that unit and significantly growing our Arts Aftercare and Camp Sitar programs.

In 2018, Ralph stopped by and remarked how the Center was once again at full capacity. Maureen replied that, “well, there is a seemingly vacant building next door—but we can’t buy a whole building!” Intrigued, Ralph went to work. He discovered that 1724 Kalorama Road NW was available for purchase and helped connect longtime Sitar partner Jubilee Housing to the opportunity, with the vision for Sitar to be a part of the expansion.

Once again, Ralph provided pro bono real estate expertise and leveraged his business connections. Dweck Philanthropies committed the lead gift for the Building the Next Stage capital campaign, and Ralph and Hannah serve on the Campaign Committee. The leadership of the Dweck family inspires and upholds our vision to expand our footprint by 50% at Sitar Next Door and welcome hundreds more children, youth, and young adults into our doors each week. 

“Sitar is such an important place full of spirit and creativity and being a part of it is an incredible joy for us. We also believe that creative exploration is essential for a child’s development, and we are so grateful to you for providing this service to our community.”  

Hannah Dweck

With support from values-aligned partners like Dweck Philanthropies, our bold vision for expansion supports the next generation of artists to hone their craft in the place they call their home away from home.