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Sitar Arts Center Timeline
2000–01: Founder Rhonda Buckley opens Sitar Arts Center to 50 students in the original basement facility. The Corcoran Gallery of Art and The Washington Ballet become the first artistic education partners and the National Symphony Orchestra sends instrument ensembles to perform for the kids.
2002: Student body grows to 188 students. Sitar Arts Center receives the Mayor’s Arts Award for Outstanding contribution to Arts Education and the Lehrman Foundation Impact Award. The Sitar Board approves a $3.3 million campaign to procure and renovate a new facility in which to operate all programs.
2003: Sitar Arts Center signs the lease/purchase agreement for its new home at 1700 Kalorama Road, NW. The Juilliard Quartet performs at Sitar and the performance was featured on Channel 4 news. City Dance ensemble joins our team of artistic partners. The sliding fee scale for tuition was introduced.
2004: Sitar Arts Center moves into its current state of the art facility at 1700 Kalorama Road NW. Arena Stage and Washington Performing Arts Society became artistic partners. Rhonda Buckley receives the Tony Taylor Award for outstanding arts leader from the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington.
2005: Student body reaches 300 students. The first annual Sitar summer musical production, The Wiz, is a huge success. National Multicultural Institute awarded Sitar Arts Center the Nonprofit Diversity Leader Award. Architect Greg Kearley wins the Pro Bono Public Award from the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the design of Sitar Arts Center.
2006: Sitar Arts Center purchases its facility, ensuring its permanency in the community. For her visionary leadership, Rhonda receives the 2006 Meyer Foundation Exponent Award and the Center for Non Profit Advancement’s Gelman, Rosenberg and Freedman EXCEL award.
2007: New executive director Ed Spitzberg starts at Sitar. The Shakespeare Theatre becomes an artistic partner. A.R.T.S. Circle is formed to increase parent participation.
2008: Sitar reaches record student enrollment of 450 students per semester. Cathedral Choral Society and Capital Fringe Festival become artistic partners. Sitar Arts Center’s launches the Gallery Series and the .
2009: Sitar Arts Center receives the 2009 Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities distinguishing the Center as one of the top afterschool arts education organizations in the nation. Sahara Dance and DC Jazz Festival become artistic partners. The Center launches an intensive teen program, later names Sitar's Emerging Arts Leaders (S.E.A.L.s).
2010: Sitar Arts Center celebrates ten years of serving kids through arts and community. Berklee College’s Berklee City Music Network become an artistic partner. Camp Sitar expands to three two-week sessions of performing and visual arts camp, plus the annual summer musical, an intensive teen program and summer internships.
2011: Deputy Director, Maureen Dwyer, becomes Executive Director. The Early Childhood program expands to include music, dance, visual arts and yoga.