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Social Impact Initiatives
Social Impact
At the Kennedy Center, our systemic commitment to social impact lives in our belief that the arts hold unique power in our society to build community, center joy, inspire action, and drive meaningful change. We leverage the arts for non-arts outcomes to advance justice and equity in all that we do.
Soufside Sayonara,' is Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center’s final event as a member of the Culture Caucus cohort! As we bid farewell, we invite you to celebrate our time together and our collective success.
Violinist and ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵÃâ·Ñ°æapp Next 50 member Adrian Anantawan holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Yale University, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Adrian has performed extensively in Canada as a soloist with the many orchestras. He is also the founder of the Music Inclusion Program, aimed at having children with disabilities learn instrumental music with their peers.
Let’s celebrate Breaking’s debut at the Paris Olympics. Learn the foundation of the Artform of Breaking from All10, the leading academy in the DMV for Breaking
For nearly five decades, the VSA International Young Musicians Program has highlighted exceptional young musicians (ages 14–25) with disabilities. Four of the winners from this year’s juried competition take the stage in an unforgettable performance: Julia LaGrand, Téa Ning LaFleur, Cheuk Him “Anson” Tang, and Kapono Wong.
Journey down-down baby, down memory lane as we dive into the cultural traditions of Black girl playground games. We invite performers and of all kinds and community members of all ages, genders, ethnicities to bring your daughters, mothers, grandmothers to share the games you know. Be prepared to move to the rhythm, stomp with the beat, and lift your voice! This workshop is free.
Hosted by the Catholic University of America, the Washington International Piano Festival (WIPF) features piano performances by selected 2024 WIPF participants. Presented in collaboration with the Catholic University of America. More information can be found at
The Healing Project is an arts organization based in New York City, originally conceived as a project in 2014 by composer, multidisciplinary artist, and activist Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes. The Healing Project creates artistic works, collective healing spaces, and advocacy initiatives in partnership with individuals impacted by structural violence to build a world based around healing rather than punishment.
Bia Ferreira is a Brazilian singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and artivist that defines her music as “MMP—Música de Mulher Preta” (Black Woman Music). Her songs are all about racism, homophobia, feminism, and love.
Calling all musical lovers! Buckle up for a magical journey through the dazzling world of Broadway. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the next generation of performers bring the magic to life.
Join Casey Trees and Armenia Tree Project for free film screenings outdoors on the REACH Video Wall. Films start at dusk.
Based on the storybook classic, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is a colorful animated film that includes prescient themes of climate change, corporate creed, and conservation. Prior to the film screening, there will be a 20 minute short film about the Armenia Tree Project’s Community Tree Planting efforts.
Join dancers from Greater Washington Chinese Dance (GWCD) as we explore several notable props used in Chinese dance. Each of the three classes will focus on one specific type of dance prop, including an introduction to basic techniques and movements as well as a short dance combination.
What once began as a collective of musicians gathering on the Lower East Side of post-9/11 New York City now enters 2024 a supergroup. Come hear how they take early American gospel, folk, and mountain music and drag them into the future with the utmost respect and abandon.
Bringing together elements of psychedelic music and modern jazz, Lucas Ashby’s Brain Trust features deep grooves, complex harmony, and adventurous improvisation. Brazilian-American multi-instrumentalist and composer Lucas Ashby brings rhythms and melodies from across the world.
The Afghan Youth Orchestra returns to the Kennedy Center more than a decade after its groundbreaking U.S. debut in 2013. This group of brave young musicians were forced to leave their homes in 2021 after the Taliban’s return to power. Today their performances are a symbol of defiance against the Taliban’s enforced silencing of Afghanistan’s rich musical heritage.
The DC Arab Culture Festival is a vibrant celebration of Arab and Arab American heritage. It aims to create a safe space for communal solidarity through Art. The festival will feature an Art Bazaar and musical performances, showcasing the rich tapestry of Arab and Middle Eastern cultural experiences in DC.
Eleven black dancers from historically white ballet companies were commissioned by ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵÃâ·Ñ°æapp to create and perform a brand new ballet in just two weeks. This is their story...
The Cartography Project seeks to use music as both a source of healing and a way to open dialogue about the future of anti-racism. The NSO, WNO, and Kennedy Center commissions composers and librettists from regions spanning the entire country to create work that responds to an event that has occurred in that region and also asks, “Where do we go from here?”
Active Hope explores how the country’s vanguard artists and arts leaders can shape this transformational, historical, and polarizing moment in history. After emerging from a global quarantine while still figuring out what the new normal is, the second season of our podcast orbits the theme of “Organizing Hope”.
Get the fascinating story behind the new play by Alexandra Palting, the 2022 Artist-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center with the Local Theater Residency Program. The piece is named for the number of letters that Alexandra’s grandparents wrote to each other during a three-year long-distance courtship between the U.S. and the Philippines.
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Impact Performance
We showcase visionary artists throughout the year, who leverage their profound talent to highlight issues of social impact.
The cornerstone of our Impact Performance, Millennium Stage serves to reduce barriers to engaged participation in the arts, celebrate the human spirit, and encourage intercultural understanding. Catch FREE performances Wed-Sat at 6 p.m.
Arts Across America performances explore art as a catalyst for public healing, decolonization, and genuine global change.
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Artist Empowerment
Artists are never visitors at the Kennedy Center. Our stages belong to them. We prioritize the visionary leadership of marginalized people over institutional norms and control. This gives us the ability to amplify authentic voices and honor stories that are so often silenced.
Join us for free movement-based classes on select Saturdays in the REACH. Dancers are invited for three one-hour structured classes and an optional Open House Hour. Free, pre-registration is highly recommended.
Local Theatre Residency is a curated developmental residency program for local DMV theater companies and playwrights. Hosted at the Kennedy Center’s REACH, we seek those who leverage their artistry to amplify stories that are often overlooked.
Office Hours is a curated developmental residency program hosted at the Kennedy Center’s REACH. Provided with access to studio space in the REACH, artists have the sole task of creation. Office Hours seeks artists with an interest on site-specific work and supports the ideas of playful exploration and spatial intervention.
Social Practice is collaborative, specific, and intentional. Residence engage specific communities and propose critical interventions within existing social systems that inspire debate and social change. This, with a focuses on the interaction between the audience, social systems, and the artist.
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Community Empowerment
We dismantle real and perceived barriers between ‘fine arts communities’ and the richly diverse communities surrounding us here in the nation’s capital. To maximize our impact beyond our walls, we humbly and continuously engage new communities through artistic expression, creative collaborations, and shared learning experiences.
A conflux is the place where two flowing rivers meet and become one. ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵÃâ·Ñ°æapp sits on a conflux where the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers meet. The Conflux program is a confluence of efforts where the Kennedy Center and a flagship national community partner – each with its distinct missions, values, and social impact objectives combine efforts. The result is a series of transformative programming that advances the field and maximizes our collective impact.
Impactful Connections, a new partnership with the District of Columbia Public Libraries, focuses on creating access through transportation for D.C. residents to experience free local, national, and international arts and culture programming at the Kennedy Center. Impactful Connections is a free shuttle program in partnership with the District of Columbia Public Libraries, focusing on creating access to Social Impact programming at the Kennedy Center.
The Cartography Project is a multi-year commissioning project engaging artists from around the nation to map Black dignity. The Cartography Project seeks to use music as both a source of healing and a way to open dialogue about the future of anti-racism. The NSO, WNO, and Kennedy Center are commissioning composers and librettists from across country to create work that responds to an event that has occurred in that region and also asks, “Where do we go from here?”
Composed of leaders from around the country, with a hyper-focus on membership from the D.C. region, the Community Advisory Board Members serve as leaders, advisors, and advocates for impact-driven programming at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵÃâ·Ñ°æapp that extends across the DC regional community.
Community Partners convene to facilitate discussion and planning for the seeding of two community-based touchstone programs with Social Impact and other Programming departments at the Kennedy Center, including artist workshop/masterclass, panel discussions, performances, presentation, and more.
The Culture Caucus is a group of 10 individuals and organizations, based in the D.C. area. The Caucus is an incubator and residency program for culture makers. We wish to make the REACH a creative home for the Caucus and for their constituencies. The Caucus works in coordination with Social Impact team to produce a variety of events, the majority of which occur at the REACH.
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Cultural Leadership
We mobilize the arts and a wide spectrum of perspectives to challenge societal norms, test the boundaries of acute progress, and inspire change that transcends the audiences directly before us.
A collaboration between the Apollo Theater, National Sawdust, and the Kennedy Center, the Active Hope Podcast explores creative thought and cultural leadership through conversations and performances. The resulting dialogue illuminates challenges and outlines strategies for the cultural field.
As we look at our outstanding cultural and artistic leaders of the last 50 years, who are the direct torchbearers of their legacies? We believe artists have a place in the leadership of this country and beyond, not just from our stages, and these 50 leaders will be at the forefront of continued transformation.
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REACH Activation
The REACH aims to both mobilize people and bring them together. To educate groups in mass, and inspire individual reflection. With bold and engaging programming and a warmly inviting atmosphere, it’s a shared space for collective healing, exploration, and experimentation across disciplines.
A conflux is the place where two flowing rivers meet and become one. ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵÃâ·Ñ°æapp sits on a conflux where the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers meet. The Conflux program is a confluence of efforts where the Kennedy Center and a flagship national community partner – each with its distinct missions, values, and social impact objectives combine efforts. The result is a series of transformative programming that advances the field and maximizes our collective impact.
Join us for free movement-based classes on select Saturdays in the REACH. Dancers are invited for three one-hour structured classes and an optional Open House Hour. Free, pre-registration is highly recommended.
Local Theatre Residency is a curated developmental residency program for local DMV theater companies and playwrights. Hosted at the Kennedy Center’s REACH, we seek those who leverage their artistry to amplify stories that are often overlooked.
Office Hours is a curated developmental residency program hosted at the Kennedy Center’s REACH. Provided with access to studio space in the REACH, artists have the sole task of creation. Office Hours seeks artists with an interest on site-specific work and supports the ideas of playful exploration and spatial intervention.
Soufside Sayonara,' is Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center’s final event as a member of the Culture Caucus cohort! As we bid farewell, we invite you to celebrate our time together and our collective success.
Let’s celebrate Breaking’s debut at the Paris Olympics. Learn the foundation of the Artform of Breaking from All10, the leading academy in the DMV for Breaking
Moonshot Studio at the REACH celebrates creativity and the artist in everyone through hands-on art-making. The recommended age is 5 years old and above. Stop by anytime from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on (most) Saturdays & Sundays to explore our projects.
Brass musicians of the NSO Summer Music Institute perform in a free chamber concert as part of an annual four-week orchestral and chamber music festival.
The Healing Project is an arts organization based in New York City, originally conceived as a project in 2014 by composer, multidisciplinary artist, and activist Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes. The Healing Project creates artistic works, collective healing spaces, and advocacy initiatives in partnership with individuals impacted by structural violence to build a world based around healing rather than punishment.
An award-winning vocalist, songwriter, and vocal coach from Philadelphia, Shacara Rogers West has performed worldwide at arenas with artists like Patti LaBelle, Dianne Reeves, esperanza spalding, and many others.
Join Casey Trees and Armenia Tree Project for free film screenings outdoors on the REACH Video Wall. Films start at dusk.
Based on the storybook classic, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is a colorful animated film that includes prescient themes of climate change, corporate creed, and conservation. Prior to the film screening, there will be a 20 minute short film about the Armenia Tree Project’s Community Tree Planting efforts.
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Support Our Work
The Center's Social Impact Initiatives are made possible due to our dedicated artists, advocates for change, and donors. Join our community of supporters by making a gift to Social Impact Programs. You can make a donation in two ways: Receive exclusive benefits when you join as a Member and designate your gift to Social Impact Programs, or make a fully tax-deductible philanthropic contribution.