Sometimes we curate one artist. Sometimes we program an entire season. Sometimes we create a participatory experience around a performance. And sometimes we take over a public space and transform it into a stage.

We don’t just book artists. We curate experiences.

Because not everyone walks through the doors of a traditional concert hall or theater.

So we go where they are.

What We Do

Artistic Support. Creative Curation. Experiential Production.

Mars Arts D.C. can support a partner at any point in the creative process—from finding the right artist to developing and producing a complete arts experience.

Artist Curation

We connect organizations, venues, festivals, businesses, and events with exceptional local artists across genres and disciplines.

Our relationships span Go-Go, jazz, R&B, soul, gospel, Latin music, global traditions, classical music, folk, dance, DJs, and more.

We consider more than the artist. We consider the audience, setting, occasion, timing, sound, energy, cultural context, and desired experience to find the right artistic fit.

Seasonal Curation

We can build a series rather than a single event.

Mars Arts D.C. curates artists and experiences across a season, creating a recognizable artistic identity while giving audiences a reason to return.

This can mean a monthly concert series at a venue, a summer of outdoor programming, a fall neighborhood festival, or a year of activations across a BID or Ward.

Experiential Curation

A performance doesn’t have to begin and end on a stage.

We create experiences that surround the performance—dance lessons, participatory activities, pop-ups, cultural demonstrations, DJs, visual arts, artist conversations, food and community experiences, and other activations that invite audiences to engage.

The goal is not simply to watch. It’s to experience.

Special Productions

Mars Arts D.C. can serve as the artistic partner or lead producer for special events, providing artist selection, creative direction, programming, production coordination, and audience experience.

From a single activation to a citywide celebration, we bring together the artists, partners, spaces, and ideas needed to make the experience work.

BIDs, Wards, & Neighborhoods

Bringing the Arts into Washington’s Neighborhoods

Mars Arts D.C. partners with Washington, D.C. Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), neighborhood organizations, and community partners to activate public spaces with local artists.

Our work reaches across all eight wards of Washington, D.C., taking music, dance, and performance into parks, plazas, streets, festivals, markets, public spaces, and neighborhood gathering places.

We curate programming based on the identity of the neighborhood, the season, the audience, and the space.

Outdoor & Seasonal Activation

Summer in D.C.

• Carter Barron Amphitheater
• Cleveland Park & Woodley Park Village
• D.C. State Fair
• Outdoor neighborhood programming

• Carter Barron Amphitheater
• Cleveland Park & Woodley Park Village
• D.C. State Fair
• Outdoor neighborhood programming

Fall in D.C.

• Tregaron Unplugged
• NOMA BID Fall Festival – Pumpkin Palooza
• Seasonal neighborhood activations

Spring in D.C.

• Petalpalooza / National Cherry Blossom Festival
• Tregaron Meadow Concert
• Outdoor neighborhood and community programming

Why BIDs Partner with Mars Arts D.C.

We help BIDs and neighborhood partners:

• Activate public spaces with live arts
• Attract audiences and encourage people to stay and gather
• Showcase local D.C. artists
• Create seasonal arts programming
• Add artistic energy to festivals and community events
• Develop recurring series rather than one-off events
• Create experiences that reflect the identity of the neighborhood

The city is our stage—and every neighborhood can be part of it.

Venues & Recurring Series

Curating the Experience Around the Space

Mars Arts D.C. partners with venues to develop programming that is responsive to their audiences, identity, and environment.

We can curate a single performance, a recurring series, or an entire season of artists.

Songbyrd Music House

Monthly Mars Arts D.C. Concert Series
A recurring partnership bringing Washington artists and audiences together through a genre-spanning monthly series. First Wednesday | March–June

Barrel House Cafe & Bar

Mars Arts D.C. Fall Performance Series
An intimate recurring music series connecting local artists, audiences, food, and community. Second Wednesday | September–February

Tregaron Conservancy

Unplugged & Meadows Programming
Music and nature come together through outdoor experiences curated specifically for Tregaron’s landscape. Mars Arts D.C. transforms the Meadow and other spaces into places for listening, gathering, discovery, and connection.

Carter Barron Amphitheater – Rock Creek Conservancy

Mars Arts D.C. brings D.C. artists to one of Washington’s iconic outdoor performance spaces, connecting local talent with audiences in the heart of Rock Creek Park.

Partner Organizations & Citywide Activations

Arts Partnerships That Go Beyond the Stage

Mars Arts D.C. works with organizations that want to use the arts to deepen their connection with audiences and communities.

Our partnerships can include artist selection, programming, production, experiential activations, education, community engagement, and ongoing seasonal programming.

WMATA

Arts in Transit
Mars Arts D.C. and WMATA are bringing live arts directly to transit riders. The partnership creates opportunities to turn everyday transit spaces into unexpected stages and introduce riders to D.C. artists along their daily journeys.

Union Station Tree Lighting

Norwegian Embassy + Norwegian Chamber of Commerce
Mars Arts D.C. partners with the Norwegian Embassy, Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, and Union Station to curate and produce artistic programming for the annual Tree Lighting.

Downtown Holiday Market

Mars Arts D.C. curates local artists and DC’s Downtown BID, bringing the sound and energy of Washington’s creative community to one of D.C.’s signature holiday events.

Petalpalooza

National Cherry Blossom Festival
Mars Arts D.C. brings local artists into one of Washington’s biggest spring celebrations, creating opportunities for audiences to experience D.C. talent as part of the city’s seasonal cultural calendar.

Mosaic Theater

Mars Arts D.C. partners with Mosaic Theatre to create artistic experiences that extend beyond the theater itself. The third season of this collaboration continues to explore the intersection of music, movement, history, and Washington’s cultural identity.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library

Mars Arts D.C. and D.C. Public Library are exploring ways to connect artists, audiences, students, books, cultural collections, workshops, and conversations.

Reed Society

Through arts education and community partnerships, Mars Arts D.C. connects teaching artists and cultural traditions with schools, families, and community audiences.

Mars Arts D.C. as a Creative Partner

You Bring the Occasion. We Help Create the Experience.

Mars Arts D.C. can support your event in different ways.

Need an Artist?
We can identify and curate the right D.C. artist, ensemble, or genre for your audience.

Need a Full Program?
We can curate a lineup or season around your venue, neighborhood, organization, or event.

Want More Than a Performance?
We can create an experiential layer around your event—dance, participatory activities, pop-ups, cultural experiences, DJs, conversations, and other artistic activations.

Need Artistic Leadership?
Mars Arts D.C. can serve as an artistic partner or lead sponsor, coordinating artists, programming, partnerships, and the audience experience.

Want to Activate a Space?
We can turn a park, plaza, transit station, lobby, festival, street, or other non-traditional space into a stage.

Why Mars Arts D.C.?

Because Washington Has Talent Everywhere.

Washington is home to extraordinary artists and extraordinary communities.

Mars Arts D.C. brings those two things together.

Our traditional stages will always matter. But the arts shouldn’t be limited to traditional stages.

We bring music to bus stations.

We bring artists into parks.

We bring dance to festivals.

We create performances in neighborhoods.

We turn venues into gathering places.

We build partnerships that connect artists with audiences who may never walk through the doors of a concert hall.

And we create opportunities for people who already love the arts to discover something new.

This is the heart of Mars Arts D.C.

The City Is Our Stage.

Everybody In, Nobody Out.

Sometimes you come to the arts. Sometimes the arts come to you.

Partner with Mars Arts D.C.

Let’s Create Something Together.

Planning a neighborhood event?

Looking for artists for your BID?

Building a seasonal series?

Activating a public space?

Planning a festival?

Looking for a D.C. artist for your venue?

Want to create something more experiential?

Mars Arts D.C. can help you bring it to life. Your event. Our artists. A distinctly D.C. experience.

Partner with Mars Arts D.C. Book a consultation for a curative or creative partner.