Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.

dmped

Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development
 

DC Agency Top Menu

-A +A
Bookmark and Share

Mayor Bowser Celebrates the Start of 202Creates with Launch of New Creative Affairs Office

Thursday, August 29, 2019

(Washington, DC) – Tonight, in celebration of 202Creates, a month-long initiative honoring Washington, DC’s vibrant and diverse creative community, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the launch of a new office within the DC Government: the Creative Affairs Office. This new office will play an important role in engaging DC’s arts and cultural communities and institutions.

“Our city has a rich cultural history and a thriving creative economy. By establishing a Creative Affairs Office dedicated to amplifying the arts and culture in DC, we’re doubling down on our commitment to equity and sustainability in the arts and doing more to support our creative community,” said Mayor Bowser.

The Creative Affairs Office will report to the Director of the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment (OCTFME). The new office will work collaboratively with other agencies to magnify arts and creators in the District through signature initiatives like 202Creates. At the 202Creates kickoff, the Mayor also announced that this year’s Mayor’s Arts Awards will take place in November.

“I am excited to be part of this historic moment,” said Angie Gates, Director of OCTFME. “Our Mayor believes that artists, creators, and cultural institutions in DC deserve a champion. It will be our goal for this new office to honor DC’s rich history of visual arts, music, culinary, and language arts—and so much more— that makes DC such a vibrant place in all eight wards.”

As part of Mayor Bowser’s commitment to supporting the arts community, the Creative Affairs Office will play a key role as the executive office devoted to arts and the creative community. The Creative Affairs Office will serve as the Mayor’s community outreach liaison with the city’s arts communities. In addition, the office will be the central coordination body for the reconstituted DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. As envisioned by the DC Council in the approved FY20 Budget Support Act of 2019, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will become an independent agency by October 1, 2019.

202Creates, which was launched in September 2016, is a citywide effort to amplify, celebrate, and highlight the District’s multi-billion dollar creative economy. The celebration includes DC’s culinary, cosmetology, fashion industries, musicians, performing artists, filmmakers, tech entrepreneurs, visual artists, and production support companies. The month-long campaign showcases and engages the District’s entrepreneurial and creative community through an array of events taking place across all eight wards.

For a complete list of events, visit 202creates.com.