After several years of planning, fundraising, and activism, a museum dedicated to D.C.'s iconic go-go music celebrated a soft opening in Anacostia earlier this week. Helmed by activist Ron Moten and American University professor and author Natalie Hopkinson, the museum's exhibits trace the genre's cultural legacy over the decades. Filled with memorabilia, sound exhibits, and photographs, it marks a milestone for go-go and the local movement to preserve the genre in the face of gentrification and displacement. According to Moten, the museum and its accompanying cafe will serve as a community space with workforce development programs, a studio for artists, and a garden to hold events.
The museum will be open to the public in early 2025.
Left to right: Sylver Logan Sharp, Charles Stephenson, Dr. Wyomme Pariss, and Daryl L.A. Hunt pose together at the soft-opening.
The museum includes multimedia exhibits that use AI, audio, and video to take visitors through go-go's history.
The museum is full of memorabilia honoring the genre and its icons.
A museum dedicated to go-go wouldn't be complete without protest art from the #DontMuteDC movement.
The two-story museum showcases murals of local photography, including that of photographer and artist Dee Dwyer (middle.)
The building is located at 1920 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE.
Shedrick is a freelance photographer with The Washington Post and has been an active collaborator with artists and organizations including Story District, Dupont Underground, Exposed DC, Parklife DC.
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