Two years ago, ARCH Development Corp. made a bold move: They broke from the traditional small-scale storefront and housing development they had been doing for approximately 20 years and started investing in artistic and cultural development as an engine for bringing economic development to Anacostia.

“Part of the reason is that since we have been here, there have been eight to 10 economic development plans for the historic Anacostia area, maybe more, none of which has come to fruition… The other reason is that historic Anacostia has a chicken-and-egg problem – we cannot bring businesses into the area because the area does not have the disposable income necessary to support the businesses, and we cannot bring moderate-income families with disposable income into the area because there are no businesses to service the families and poor schools,” says Duane Gautier, president and chief executive officer of ARCH. “So instead of focusing on general economic development, we are using arts and culture as a means to regenerate historic Anacostia…and as a catalyst to spur more traditional development. And when I say ‘Anacostia’ I mean the real Anacostia – from the river to Howard Road to 19th Street to the Howard Road/Anacostia Metro."

Another advantage to promoting the development of arts and culture is that no one gets displaced in the process. “Artists and arts and cultural organizations can create an almost artificial community. You just have to look at Soho, Providence, Rhode Island, and the South Side of Chicago to see that when arts and cultural organizations come to the community, they promote economic development,” elaborates Gautier. “Their arrival is not the forerunner to total regeneration and displacement of longtime residents with new residents… It is not going to inundate an entire neighborhood and is compatible with other types of growth.”

ARCH promotes artistic development on two fronts – through the creation of places and programs to make and show art, and through the creation of affordable housing and inexpensive studio space for artists.

ARCH gets its guidance from an advisory group comprised of local artists. “The group pushed us for for-sale housing not just rental housing,” says Gautier. As a result, ARCH is undertaking its first for-sale condominium development with live/work space for artists at 1642-1648 V St. SE. The condominiums will be made available to artists earning between 50 percent and 80 percent of the area’s median income, or about $40,000 to $60,000 a year. Additionally, ARCH is building a 29-unit condominium project on Fendall Street. Five to 10 of those units will be set aside for artists with the same income requirements.

On 16th Street, ARCH has two units of rental housing dedicated to its artist-in-residence program. The artists can live for free for one year but must spend 16 hours per week teaching at ARCH partner programs such as the Covenant House Washington Artisans Program and Life Pieces to Master Pieces. At the Covenant House, young adults are taught furniture making and life skills.

ARCH is also involved in small-scale economic development. It opened the first art gallery in Anacostia in 40 years – The Honfleur Gallery at 1241 Good Hope Road SE with over 1,500 square feet of exhibit space and four artist studios.

“The grand opening was a success. We had a ‘soft’ opening in January and a ‘grand’ opening in February, and over 300 people attended each…The purpose of the gallery is to display the work of emerging artists. All of the exhibits are juried by a selection committee of artists and representatives from arts organizations,” says Gautier.

In addition, the gallery partners with European galleries. “Now two local artists, Darren Smith and Jonathan French, will have openings in France,” says Gautier. “Smith does photo mosaics, and French is a photographer.”

There is also an educational component to the gallery. The current display is a project done in conjunction with artists from Belfast, Ireland. The two cities exchanged photographs and worked with poets to put words to the pictures. The project is being turned into a coffee-table book.

“Nothing we are doing is rocket science. We are taking what already works and bringing it together in a cohesive, comprehensive arts and cultural program in Anacostia,” says Gautier.

“In the future, working with two local artists and the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation, we hope to open an arts Internet café that will hold arts-related functions at night and dedicate its wall space to exhibits,” he continues. “We would also love to work with people to bring in art supply stores… the good art supply stores on Seventh Street NW closed because it was no longer affordable there.”

With this model for development – promoting economic development through the spread of arts and culture – Anacostia will be painted with a different brush stroke, one that will not price out the artists and others who created it.

For more information about the ARCH Training Center at 1227 Good Hope Road SE, call 202-889-5000, or visit www.archdc.org. For more information about The Honfleur Gallery at 1241 Good Hope Road SE, call 202-889-5000, or visit www.honfleurgallery.com.