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The Hillcrest-Palisades Partnership
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How it All Started
The Hillcrest-Palisades Partnership began informally through the
regular monthly meetings of the Federation of Citizens Associations
in 1996-97. Delegates from both neighborhoods met and discovered
that they lived in exact opposite corners of the city. They discussed
what they had in common, and considered ways of bringing together
the two neighborhoods for mutual benefit and enjoyment, and for
the betterment of the city. After attending meetings in each others'
neighborhoods and gaining the encouragement of our community
associations, the co-founders, together with Jim Hanaham and
Nick Kaufman (chairs of HCCA and PCA's Environment Committees,
respectively) decided that the partnership would initially devote its
efforts to support environmental education and initiatives.
In 2002, the partnership began a new focus on the arts with the
founding of Neighbors Through ART. Neighbors Through ART was
inspired by a 2001 Australian art exhibition called "touching from
a distance' which was organized by a group of artists from the very
remote-from-each-other towns of Hobart, Tasmania and Fremantle,
Western Australia. After seeing this show, Alice Stewart transplanted
the idea of artists from different places exhibiting together and
enlisted Pete Herzfeld, who was to become NTA's first Project Director
and who also designed the NTA logo.
In February, 2002, a small
group met with Elena Tscherny of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Library staff to reserve space for the first NTA event, held later that
year in July. Tammy Broadnax and Bill Haskett (from Hillcrest and the
Palisades respectively) organized the fi rst show, which included works
by over a dozen artists from each neighborhood.
Neighbors Through ART performances and shows bring residents of the
Hillcrest and Palisades neighborhoods together to create and present
original works of art. Art forms have included visual arts, performance
arts, and literary arts that feature
the talents of each neighborhood's
residents. Neighbors Through ART
has also organized joint visits to
exhibitions and shows in DC.
Performers and audience members at the Neighbors Through ART events
share in the personal expression of creativity and humanity that inspire
all artists. By providing a supportive environment for this expression,
Neighbors Through ART has enhanced existing friendships and
developed new relationships among residents in the two neighborhoods,
bringing the larger community of the District closer together.
See the 10th Anniversary Neighbors Through Art Program brochure, October 27, 2007.
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