News Archive: 2006

December 21, 2006

The Sitar Center receives a generous gift from The Streisand Foundation

November 10, 2006

WAMU's Metro Connection profiles Rhonda Buckley during its November 10th segement.

November 10, 2006

WAMU's Metro Connection profiles Rhonda Buckley during its November 10th segement.

September 27, 2006

Rhonda Buckley Receives Meyer Foundation's Exponent Award

September 22, 2006

Rhonda Buckley Receives Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman 2006 EXCEL Award

April 7, 2006

Sitar Center Purchases Adams Morgan Space

The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts completed the purchase of 10, 700 square feet of condo space at 1700 Kalorama Road, NW in Adams Morgan on April 7. The purchase guarantees the Sitar Center’s permanency as a center on the city landscape where low-income youth can study the arts.

“This purchase was possible because of the generosity, tireless energy and countless hours of work by many individuals,” said Founder and Executive Director, Rhonda Buckley. “The Sitar Center will continue to concentrate on providing excellent training in the arts to our students because we know we are here to stay.”

The purchase was made possible through a combination of public financing from the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development and a loan from M&T Bank. The Sitar Center is undertaking a Capital Campaign to reduce and help pay off the loan when it comes due in five years.

The Sitar Center began leasing the space, located on the first floor of 1700 Kalorama Lofts Condominiums in 2003. Renovation of the space began in early 2004, and the Sitar Center officially began operating its programs at 1700 Kalorama in September 2004. For the past two years, it has been working to raise the money to operate in the larger facility and purchase the space, which will ultimately save the Sitar Center approximately one million dollars over ten years.

“The Sitar Center is a well-run organization with great leadership and sense of purpose,” said Councilmember Jim Graham. “Everything the Sitar Center does is in the best interests of the children and youth it serves.”

The Sitar Center’s state-of-the-art facility contains a full-size professional dance studio, recording studio, pottery studio, multiple practice rooms, photography dark room, classrooms, art gallery, arts library, and an intimate theater. Architect Greg Kearley of Inscape Studio received the Pro Bono Publico Award from the Washington Architectural Association for the design of the space.

The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts is a community arts center providing after-school arts education in music, dance, drama, creative writing, and visual art primarily to youth from families with low incomes who live in Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, and Columbia Heights. Most of the classes are taught by volunteer teachers from the community. Partnerships with many of Washington’s finest arts organizations including Arena Stage, CityDance Ensemble, the Corcoran Museum, the Levine School of Music, National Symphony Orchestra, The Washington Ballet, Washington National Opera, and Washington Performing Arts Society further enrich the programs. The Sitar Center is named after Pat Sitar, a local artist and community activist, whose love for the District’s children inspired the vision for the organization.

January 2006

Women of Washington features the Sitar Center

Women of Washington, an affiliate of W.O.M.E.N., inc. (Women Organized for Mentoring, Education, and Netowrking), chose the Sitar Center as a 2006 featured non-profit through its Non-Profit Alliance. The Non-Profit Alliance facilitates awareness, exposure, and networking opportunities for local non-profits.

Sitar Center founder and executive director Rhonda Buckley spoke at a Women of Washington event on January 23rd called "The Future of Washington, D.C.: Through the Eyes of the Candidates for Mayor of the District of Columbia." The Sitar Center thanks Women of Washington for the opportunity to share its mission with a wider audience.