In 1966, in segregated D.C., Topper Carew started The New Thing Art & Architecture Center in Adams Morgan. The institution quickly became a hub for Black architects and artists who could not participate in the city’s “sanctioned” and entirely white arts scene.
Carew - who studied architecture at Howard University – quickly expanded his vision for the space. It became a multidisciplinary organization that hosted hundreds of workshops, concerts, and free classes.
Soon, it was attracting instructors like jazz flutist Lloyd McNeill and local artist Lou Stovall, and its community produced many famous works. The short film “This Is the Home of Mrs. Levant Graham” won a Kennedy Journalism Award, and the venue frequently hosted shows by artists like Stevie Wonder and Howlin’ Wolf.
“It was alive,” Carew told the Washingtonian, “As soon as you hit 18th Street, man, you could hear the drums.”
The center shut down in ‘72 when Carew moved away, eventually crafting the story that became “D.C. Cab.” However, American University has a photography exhibition up until March 17 that documents the revolutionary community arts center.
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