It’s been nearly 10 years since Keyonna Jones opened up the Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center in Southeast D.C., and while there’s a heavy emphasis on the art, culture plays a very prominent role in the venue, too.
CHACC is on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, a two-mile straight shot south of the Anacostia Arts District. The city dedicated the area as D.C.’s official Arts District two years ago and is another indication that artistic expression is flourishing east of the river.
To celebrate 10 years of bringing artistic expression to Southeast, CHACC is holding an anniversary party in conjunction with Juneteenth on Thursday night. It will include city leaders, a go-go band, food, vendors and lots of art.
Jones said she thinks the Arts District community is different from the rest of the city in terms of how the artists create, because of the lack of resources.
“We’ve got a lot of talent,” Jones said. “We just don’t have what the rest of the city has. And so, we thrive and we really do art. We’re innovative. We use what we have to create new things.”
Dwayne Lawson-Brown, with the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, gave Jones flowers, noting how much energy and “work (she’s put) into that space.”
“To see it survive, thrive and help bring a new generation of artists that are spreading the word and spreading their art, is a gift to Washington, D.C.,” he added.
Lawson-Brown said every community in D.C. “has a special voice, and we celebrate those different voices.”
“Ward Eight voices come about from different spaces and different experiences that people have had,” he added.
CHACC’s Juneteenth anniversary celebration and fundraiser will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday night and Department of Small and Local Business Development Director Rosemary Suggs-Evans will give a keynote speech, among other speakers.
“We deserve to celebrate our community,” Jones said. “We’ve done some really good, innovative, unseen, unprecedented things for the past 10 years, and I’m proud of the work that we’ve done. So, we’re going to party.”
The event is also an invitation for the rest of the city to see what CHACC artists have to say about how things are now, and how they could be.
“Hey, we’re over here, east of the river! We’ve got some things for you to see,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to cross the bridge, come east of the river, come to South Side and see what we’ve got. Not only Congress Heights, but again, Anacostia is building.”
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