SITAR ARTS CENTER
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Mission Statement
Sitar Arts Center engages DC youth, from early childhood to young adulthood, in building a creative community of learning and belonging that removes financial and cultural barriers to arts education and career training. At Sitar Arts Center, students engage in affordable, high-quality education and workforce development in the visual, digital, and performing arts. Each semester, 80% of students are from DC households at 60% or less of the area median income. Programs take place year-round during out-of-school time in Sitar’s state-of-the-art facilities.
About This Cause
For more than twenty years, Sitar Arts Center has worked to serve families in Ward 1 and throughout Washington, DC who have unequal access to quality arts education and enriching out-of-school-time opportunities. We never turn anyone away for inability to pay and ensure that 80% of our student body is from families with low-income. Your support will offer DC’s youth with opportunities to develop their talents, reach for the stars, and become who they are meant to be. Sitar Arts Center is a leader for community arts education and youth workforce development in Washington, DC, committed to removing the financial barriers that many young people face in achieving their full potential and that families face in securing arts and educational opportunities for their children. In 2000, Sitar opened its doors initially enrolling 50 children in the basement of a subsidized apartment building. Today, Sitar's innovative program model enrolls nearly 900 students, ages 0-24, in our permanent arts center in Washington, DC. Sitar uniquely offers its out-of-school time programs on a sliding-fee scale based on income and family size with 80% of enrollment seats reserved for families with low-incomes defined as 60% or less than DC’s median income. Since 2010, Sitar has expanded its continuum of learning to include creative workforce development programs that advance inclusion and equity by providing paid internship opportunities in the arts. Since the beginning, we have leveraged partnerships with local institutions to provide expert instruction in ballet, jazz, documentary filmmaking, digital arts and more. In 2020, we responded to the shortfall of mental health support for youth with new arts, music, and movement therapy programs. Through multi-year evaluation data, 87% of surveyed alumni agree that Sitar influenced their educational and career goals moderately to a great deal. 69% of alumni reported that Sitar helped them to develop key 21st century skills of creativity and critical thinking. 100% of Sitar seniors graduate from high school, among other measures of long-term impact.