BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown

BlackRock Center for the Arts integrates art into everyday life with classes, exhibits, and performances. In classes for children through senior citizens, for example, instructors advise participants on how to perform slam poetry or dance Kuchipundi, a classic Indian dance. In another part of the center, artists lead visitors through gallery exhibits, which constantly rotate with fresh pieces. At the same time, a show could be playing in the packed auditorium—perhaps a screening of an independent film or a musical put on by the center’s committed members.