Hosted in the historic Black Broadway neighborhood — the U Street Corridor — at the Lincoln Theatre, the 38th annual Mayor’s Arts Awards on Sept. 28 celebrated the District’s native talent and creative community.
During the ceremony, a series of mayoral awards were presented, in order to highlight the hard work of the local creatives and teams across the city. With the theme “Born Bold,” this year’s awards included live go-go bands such as Backyard and Future, and other performances, showcasing local artists as sources of entertainment and inspiration.
“Future Band is amazing. I love the live band,” said attendee Oluwatoyin Khori. “They are everywhere! They hold it down. The main thing I love is that they are all about community. Future band is D.C. ‘s band!”
Mayor Muriel Bowser, in a press release shared with the Informer, said that as she wrapped up September’s 202Creates Month she encouraged the community to support the District’s creatives after the month’s events.
“[The Mayor’s] Arts Awards, Theatre Week, Art All Night and Dine All Night – these are all fantastic opportunities to show our gratitude for creatives and makers in D.C.”
Cerise Turner, Ms. Senior District of Columbia 2023, attended the event, sharing “I wanted to be here because I represent the seniors in this city that are 60 and over.”
“I’m here to let you know that we are alive and well,” Turner added. “It is also a time where we can celebrate all the creative local talent.”
Throughout the celebratory evening the winners of the 38th annual Mayor’s Arts Awards were presented with their awards. Some awardees included: Jan Du Plain, CEO and president of Du Plain Global Enterprises, who won the Distinguished Honors award and Caressa Jennings founder of the Caressa J. Agency who won the Emerging Creative Award. Artechouse won the Excellence in the Creative Industries award, Step Afrika! was honored with the Excellence in Performing Arts award, along with a few more.
Anwan “Big G” Glover of Backyard Band celebrated the amount of local artists in the room.
“It’s a lot of talent in the building,” Glover said. “We got to shout out our beautiful mayor for putting on this beautiful event once again. This is what our city needs. You got to love our city man.”
The Mayor’s Arts Awards was a chance for members from all neighborhoods of the community to connect and celebrate artistic boldness at its finest which Dr. Lovail Long, CEO of DC Black Broadway put best, “You got to see our culture and our people, and it was a great opportunity to network.”