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New Perspective on the New Thing:
A Photography Exhibition Documenting DC’s Revolutionary Community Arts Center, 1966-1972
February 7 – March 17, 2024
Joel Jacobson, Photographer
Tom Zetterstrom, Photographer
Read the exhibition brochure online
A rarely told history showing how community was authentically built in segregated Washington, DC.
Organized by Jackson-Reed High School’s Digital Media Academy in conjunction with their student organization The Community Coalition for Change.
Tom Zetterstrom, Exterior shot of The New Thing, 1968. Photograph, 14 x 18 inches. Courtesy of The New Thing Art and Architecture Collection, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Joel Jacobson, Audience members at The New Thing Presents Stevie Wonder, 18th Street NW & Florida Avenue NW, 1967. Photograph, 19 x 24 inches. Courtesy of Joel Jacobson and Jackson Reed High School.
Overview & Events
Gallery Talk: The New Thing Panel Discussion with Topper Carew
February 10, 2:00–3:00
In 1966, Howard graduate student, architect, and filmmaker Colin “Topper” Carew opened The New Thing Art & Architecture Center in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. Initially founded to cultivate opportunities for black architects, Carew's vision evolved into a multi-disciplinary organization that hosted hundreds of concerts, workshops, and free classes for the youth between the years of 1966 and 1972. As a "community architect," Carew's herculean efforts in providing arts programming, educating the youth, and building community has had a lasting impact on the fabric of Washington, DC.
Discover the influential role of The New Thing in the cultural landscape of the era through this collection of photographs (some never-before exhibited), taken by Joel Jacobson and Tom Zetterstrom, which documents the wide array of programming and community events they had to offer. Within the collection, you’ll catch a glimpse of famous blues and jazz musicians, as well as soul and rock personalities, such as Stevie Wonder, The Soul Searchers, and Mance Lipscomb, to name a few, in addition to photos of the youth of Adams-Morgan engaging in workshops, classes, and programs that were provided for free by The New Thing over the course of seven years.
Press
- Washington Post: "A new look at the New Thing, a critical part of D.C.’s Black arts scene"
- NBC4: "Creator of ‘Martin,' ‘DC Cab' celebrated with exhibit at AFI"
- Washingtonian: "Remembering the New Thing, the Influential 1960s DC Arts Center"
A special thanks to WOWD for publicizing this exhibition!
Joel Jacobson, Trombonist (unidentified) at Marie Reed Elementary School for a special program hosted by The New Thing, 1969. Photograph, 10 inches x 28.5 inches. Courtesy of Joel Jacobson and Jackson Reed High School.