Who We Are

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) is responsible for providing grants, programs and educational activities that encourage diverse artisticexpressions and learning opportunities, so that all District of Columbia residents and visitors can experience the rich culture of our city. One tool with which the agency accomplishes this goal is our DC Creates! Public Art program (DC Creates!). This program is responsible for purchasing, commissioning and installing public art works throughout the District to cultivate dynamic, vibrant and nurturing communities through the use of art and design.  DC Creates! provides opportunities for individuals to encounter art in parks, libraries, community centers, government offices, bridges and other public venues.  DCCAH currently has a public art portfolio that includes more than 120 permanent site-specific works and an Art Bank Collection of nearly 2,500 artworks purchased from local artists and installed within District government agencies.

DC Creates! has completed a public art master plan, which can be viewed on our website. Throughout the master planning process, DC Creates! met with various stakeholders from the Fall of 2008 to the Winter of 2009 to discuss community needs and wants.  Curators took part in the community engagement process and expressed the desire for increased opportunities for the curatorial community to play a role in the District’s public art program. One of the recommendations of the public art master plan is to support temporary exhibitions of art work in public spaces on a regular basis. As a result, DCCAH created the 5×5 Temporary Public Art Project to offer the city an opportunity to use art as a tool to activate and enliven publicly accessible spaces.  5×5 will be presented during the spring of 2012, during the National Cherry Blossom Festival Centennial Celebration.  The five-week festival, March 20 through April 27, 2012, will welcome spring to Washington, DC and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the gift of cherry trees from Japan to the United States.