Join DCPL and the DC Commission for the Arts & Humanities on a walking tour of the Shaw neighborhood’s public art pieces. From sculptures to murals to photography, this tour will explore the variety of public art commissioned by DCCAH. For more information about their collection, check out the DC Art Bank’s e-museum online here. This tour is not a loop and will last approximately an hour. Participants will traverse a distance of 0.8 to 1.2 miles between Shaw and U Street NW, beginning at the Howard Theater (620 T Street NW).

Deirdre Darden is an independent curator born and raised on art in Washington DC. She began her curatorial practice in 2014 with Black Artists of DC. Since then she has exhibited and collaborated with contemporary artists from DC, Baltimore and New York, organized panel discussions and artist talks touching themes of race, womanhood, societal pressures, and art’s ultimate power. Noted shows include Black Lives / White Light (2015), Pressure Points (2016), Lest We Forget (2016) and her 2018 exhibition “We Got Next: Young Contemporaries” funded by a curatorial grant from DC’s Commission on Arts and Humanities. She has consulted for the art fair Art on the Vine (2017 – 2019), and as a curator at Eaton Workshop (2018-2020). Currently she is prioritizing rest during the pandemic(s) and working on projects from home including curating public art for 11th Street Bridge Park. In 2022 she joined the Commission as a Public Art Coordinator.

Shae Corey is the Programs Manager for the DC Preservation League. She oversees the Education Committee and works closely with community partners to plan the organization’s programming, including lectures, walking tours, and webinars. She is also responsible for DCPL’s social media presence on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Shae began working with DCPL in 2021 on the DC Historic Sites app, creating a digital exhibition documenting the history of enslavement in DC’s preserved buildings. She received her graduate degree in Public History from American University in 2022, and her Bachelor’s of Science in Education in 2020. She is passionate about cultural heritage, racial justice, and adding new and necessary voices to the historical narrative whenever possible.

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