ARCH Development Announces New Mission
Expands Programs and Funding for East of the River Creatives and Small Businesses

(Washington, DC) In December 2021, ARCH Development and its affiliated organizations (ARCH), completed its plan to sell all its Anacostia properties to local businesses and not-for-profit organizations. ARCH is pleased to announce the disposition of the following properties:

2016

• 2307 and 2309 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE sold to the tenant, Intercity Services, a minority-owned company

2019

• 1227 Good Hope Road, SE sold to the tenant, HEP, a minority-owned construction company

• 2208 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE sold to the tenant, Project Create, a youth arts organization

2020

• Along with its for-profit partner, ARCH sold 1918, 1920, and 1922 Martin Luther King, Jr, Avenue, SE to the tenant, Check-It Enterprises, for the creation of a Go-Go Museum

2021

• ARCH's Artist Housing was sold to a partnership between The Douglass Community Land Trust and La Casa, a local not-for-profit housing organization, guaranteeing the units remain affordable

• Anacostia Arts Center (including The HIVE 2.0, the Black Box Theater, and the Retail Share Space) is sold to the Washington Area Community Investment Fund, a DC-based not-for-profit financial agency; WACIF has committed to operating The HIVE 2.0 and the retail shared space

The desire of ARCH's founders and its Board of Directors was to ensure that local businesses and organizations that had committed to Anacostia would be able to own their facilities. To the best of our knowledge, ARCH is the only DC non-profit that has taken this action, thus ensuring that small businesses and creative programs would continue to thrive in Anacostia. 

ARCH extends its heartfelt appreciation to Mayor Muriel Bowser, several DC government agencies, the District of Columbia Council under Chair Mendelson, City First Bank, and the Cafritz Foundation, who provided substantial funding to make one or more of the property sales possible. 

Moving Forward
ARCH is not going away. In 2022, ARCH will continue to provide small business technical assistance to Anacostia area merchants and east of the river creatives and organizations. Additionally, over the next four to five years, ARCH will be using sale proceeds to fund DC artists and arts organizations, emphasizing those that reside and/or work in Wards 7 and 8.

Same Commitment, New Mission
In line with our evolution, the new mission of ARCH is: "To create, in partnership with artists and arts organizations, small businesses and stakeholders of the neighborhood, a home for small businesses, arts and culture in Historic Anacostia and promote the wealth and diversity of artistic talent that resides east of the Anacostia River."

ARCH will operate programs to meet its objectives of:

• presenting high-quality arts

• helping arts and culture groups find a home in Anacostia

• presenting programs that promote art by and for underrepresented populations

• providing support to artists who live or work east of the river

• bringing visitors to artistic events and disposable income into the Anacostia neighborhood.

Continuation and Expansion of ARCH Programs, Services and Funding

Honfleur Gallery, ARCH's contemporary art space, will continue to be located at 1241 Good Hope Rd, SE in Anacostia and will focus on high-quality visual arts exhibitions in diverse mediums, highlighting primarily artists who live or work in the District of Columbia. Honfleur will continue hosting two shows a year for artists east of the Anacostia River and showcase underrepresented groups. In addition, the curatorial team will present exhibitions that have relevance/resonance for the District of Columbia and east of the Anacostia River communities. 

Honfleur Gallery in Baltimore will open in April 2022 and will be housed in exhibition space within the Maryland Art Place Building. Exhibitions will be for artists from Wards 7 and 8. Maryland Art Place's Executive Director was the first curator at the original Honfleur Gallery.

ARCH's Theater and Spoken Word Program will provide grants to DC-based theater groups and East of the River spoken word artists to develop new works or reinterpretations of existing work. They will then perform their productions at the Anacostia Playhouse, which will become ARCH's partner in this program. 

Honfleur Artist in Residency Program is a realization of the vision of a founder of ARCH, to provide artists with the necessities of time and funding to create their work. The residence for a Ward 7 or 8 artist of any genre comes with specific project funding and a monthly stipend. 

In 2022, ARCH will launch the new Honfleur Women in Arts Grant Program. Established in the loving memory of Sharon Hughes Gautier, a founder of Honfleur Gallery, The program will focus on the contributions that women have made to DC's artistic community and address the hardships and discrimination that so many women artists have faced in presenting their work.

The Honfleur Music Series will continue, presenting performances by its in-house "The Hut," a metaphor for a meeting place for musicians and music lovers to convene in the "village" of DC. The series will also increase its music presentations to include Jazz, Zydeco, Reggae, and Blues. In 2021, ARCH added TV studio-quality equipment that allows music groups to rehearse and record.

"In The Pocket" is a new podcast started in 2021 that pieces together the history of DC art, music, and culture one conversation at a time. In the Pocket spotlights the connections between the history of art, music, and culture in DC with the city's most interesting people who helped shape its legacy. Presented by host Terence Nicholson (visual artist and founder of rock band Thaylobleu) and co-host Paige Muller (DC blogger and founder of Curious Caravan), the podcast records and broadcasts live from Honfleur Gallery.

ARCH will continue its support for the web-based DC Artists East, a free directory open to all artists who live or have studios east of the Anacostia River. The site's goal is to increase the visibility of the robust arts community and further connect artists to each other and larger audiences. 

ARCH will inaugurate its DC Artists at Art Shows Program. This initiative will support artists from Ward 7 and 8 to enable them to show their work in major US-based art shows. Contemporary DC-based artists have been underrepresented at nationally prominent art shows for too long.

In 2020, in response to the Covid-19 crisis, ARCH initiated an Artist Auction Site to promote and sell Ward 7 and 8 artists' work. This program will continue in 2022. 

Honfleur Gallery East of River Distinguished Artist Award: ARCH will continue to present this annual award recognizing a living artist in Wards 7 or 8 for creative excellence while significantly impacting the cultural landscape of Washington, DC. The Award includes a $5,000 honorarium.