Studio Acting Conservatory discovered a massive African American Last Supper sculpture behind drywall in its Columbia Heights building back in 2019. The theater school originally hoped to find a new home for the work by DC artist Akili Ron Anderson. Anderson originally created the bas relief for New Home Baptist Church, which left the building in the ’90s. Moving the sculpture, which is anchored to the school’s cinderblock wall, proved to be next to impossible.
A team of curators from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture stepped in and restored the Black Arts Movement-inspired frieze, and while it’s occasionally been on view, opportunities to see the sculpture have been fleeting during the pandemic.
That will change during the week of April 3-8, when the building on Holmead Place, Northwest, will open from 1-4 PM for viewings, which are free. The theater school will have a guide on hand to answer questions.
If you can’t make it in April, the conservatory plans to open its doors at least once a month about ten times each year, executive director Emily Morrison tells Washingtonian. Tours are also available by appointment by calling 202-232-0714.
Studio Acting Conservatory, 3423 Holmead Place, Northwest.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
