Washington, D.C.'s The Phillips Collection was founded as The Phillips Memorial Gallery in 1921 by renowned art collectors Duncan Phillips and Marjorie Acker Phillips. Over its century-plus of existence, the permanent collection has grown from about 3000 works by American and European Impressionists and other modernist genres to now more than 6000 - all housed and exhibited in an elegant, late-19th-Century Georgian Revival mansion in the Dupont Circle district of the city.

The museum makes the most of its graceful atmosphere; in fact, strolling through its refined spaces can feel like visiting the private home of a friend who just happens to own paintings by Picasso, Homer, Degas, Matisse, and even Renoir's revered 'Luncheon of the Boating Party'. There's also an entire room dedicated to the late American Color Field pioneer Mark Rothko, whose auctions now regularly fetch more than $50 million.

But the Phillips has also been notable for collecting the work of prominent modern and contemporary Black artists, including Jacob Lawrence, Alma Thomas and Romare Bearden, whilst staging groundbreaking exhibits like 2023's 'African Modernism in America 1947-67', the following year's 'Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage', and 2025's 'Out of Many', which sought to contextualize the museum's collection within 250 years of American history.

Mississippi-born abstractionist Sam Gilliam (1933-2022) relocated to the nation's capital in 1962, ultimately going on to be known as the "dean" of the DC art scene. And he now has the posthumous distinction of being the first artist chosen for the innovative new 'Art Play Practice' program, which launched this summer at Phillips@THEARC, the museum's community based space in Southeast DC (which debuted to the public in 2018).

Using Gilliam's signature "drape" paintings (specifically his 1972 'Broad Cape') as a starting point, local architects To Be Done Studio were commissioned to conjure an immersive space for all ages to explore and interact with, which will be augmented by a series of specially curated workshops, scheduled throughout its year-long run.

To learn more about the program - which has already appreciably increased attendance - we caught up for a wonderful chat with Ashley Whitfield, Director of Public Programs, Phillips@THEARC.

What was the essential inspiration for the opening of Phillips@THEARC in 2018?

It was to better connect with our neighbors in DC, it was part of a larger effort to do that. There has since been some really important work that has happened here; up until this point, most of the exhibitions have been telling the story of local DC artists, specifically East of the River. 

So it’s more of a community space.

Yeah, something like that. What makes this unique is that it’s part of this larger complex that is hosted by Building Bridges Across the River (a non-profit working to provide more equitable access to health, arts and economic activity); and in that larger campus you have Children’s National Hospital, you have the Boys & Girls Club, also the Washington Ballet School. I believe there’s seventeen non-profits, and we’re one of them.

Is there a kind of exchange of cultures between these different organizations within the space?

Absolutely. The way it works is, we’re a partner in this campus; it’s much different from just being a tenant…

So almost like a commune, in a sense?

Exactly! We have some shared spaces, but then we each also have a space where we host our programming or render our services. For years now the Phillips has done a great job of figuring out how to utilize the space to its maximum potential. Of course, we’re the only art museum.

Keep in mind, at the Phillips Collection itself, we can’t be using things like glitter and scissors, because of the nature of the art. Whereas at THEARC we have this giant workshop space, and also a small gallery where we’ve hosted exhibitions like 'Brotherman to Batman', for instance, which was all about telling the story of Black protagonists in comic books.

Do you think there’s more of a realization now of the importance of cultural institutions cultivating a kids-and-families audience?

I feel like it’s important to have all those missions under the same banner. I would want all kids to have access to the Phillips, and that's what THEARC space allows us to do. 

Tell us about 'Art Play Practice'. 

It just launched in June, it’s a totally new way of using our space, and of engaging with the artists of the Phillips Collection. The first is Sam Gilliam. We commissioned an architectural firm to create a “play” installation that is inspired by Gilliam’s ‘Broad Cape’; and of course you can go over to the Phillips Collection in Dupont and see Gilliam’s work, including ‘Broad Cape’. It’s a way of connecting those missions. 

So it's in effect a fully integrated program.

Yes. And again, it's all about broadening our reach to the community.

What we’re trying to do is really commit to…well, because of the nature of the other service providers at THEARC, people are visiting as a family unit, maybe even while also taking their child to the doctor. As you know, a lot of people have lost their SNAP benefits; and Building Bridges has 'Food and Farm Fridays', where residents can pick up free bags of freshly harvested produce. So we make sure we are open to coincide with their schedule as well.

Since tigernoodles launched in early 2026, we've found that there is most definitely this bridge between what we think of as “grownup art”, and what kids respond to in a positive way.

Are you familiar with Reggio Emilia?

The teaching method, yes. 

It teaches that we have to look at each child as someone who is advanced, engaged...who is ready to just experience things. And that’s what 'Art Play Practice' allows us to do. It’s something you can touch and feel, but it’s sophisticated…it’s not watered down. We want kids to come in and really engage with the arts, so we make it a more tactile experience. 

Sam Gilliam is regarded as the “dean” of 20th Century DC art. Was featuring him an attempt at making this a very local experience?

It was simply that his work and his practice lends itself to…well, just the fact that it’s abstract art. Most figurative art wouldn’t function for this. Sam Gilliam’s drape paintings in particular just lend themselves well to making a play space.

Are you looking ahead, or are you just trying to focus on the now?

This is what we’re going to be doing for the foreseeable future. So in a year this will all come down, and there will be a new artist, we’ll do a new call for architects, and they will create a new installation. In the meantime we’ll have a series of workshops primarily targeting middle school students and based around Sam Gilliam and the Washington Color School, where kids can learn Sam’s techniques.

What has been most surprising about the program so far?

It’s been amazing watching young people’s introduction to the visual arts being Sam Gilliam - for their entry point to be Abstract Expressionism...as some of them might not even have art classes at school. But as we're coming to learn, everything depends on how it’s actually presented to kids.