Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum's traveling exhibit

Capturing Anacostia explores life along the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. This exhibit is part of Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum's Urban Waterways project.

project lead

Katrina Lashley, Program Coordinator, Urban Waterways, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum

photography by

Steven M. Cummings, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution; Susana Raab, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum Archives; Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

designer

Alisha Camacho, Outreach & Communications Coordinator (Contract), Urban Waterways, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum

Capturing Anacostia

The Anacostia River flows from the Maryland suburbs of Washington to its mouth at the Potomac River near downtown Washington. Its watershed is home to over one million residents, including the most economically distressed in Washington.

Locally, in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, ordinary residents—along with advocacy groups, governmental agencies, and other stakeholders—are organizing to clean up urban rivers and streams. These communities strive to achieve the goals of swimmable, fishable, and sustainable waterways for their cities and citizens.

For the past nine years, the Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Community Museum (ACM) has explored the multi-faceted relationships between urban waterways and the people who live along their banks. In what ways do people feel a connection to their waterways and the broader world? How have communities both impacted and been impacted by their waterways? In efforts to reclaim urban waterways, how are communities also reclaimed? What issues must be addressed for communities to benefit from the equitable use and development on their surrounding natural resources?

To explore these issues, ACM has worked with communities in D.C., Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Louisville, Gulfport, Biloxi, Los Angeles, O'ahu, and London. It has documented not only the shared challenges of urban waterways and their communities but also the power of citizen advocacy, best practices for restoration, reclamation, and re-engagement, and the central role urban waterways continue to play in the health of their communities.

The Anacostia River and its communities share not only space, but also histories, presents, and futures. The Anacostia Community Museum is committed to challenging and upending stigmatizing narratives about the life of the Anacostia River and its people, extending the engagement between the river and residents beyond the water into its parks and green spaces and the everyday lives of our neighborhoods.

The Exhibit

Panel introducing the Capturing Anacostia Exhibit. Text is framed within a photo of the Anacostia watershed. Refer to "About" section on the web page for a full description.

Two elementary school children wearing life jackets and binculars are shown smiling aboard the Chesapeake Bay Foundation boat while exploring the Washington Channel on a warm sunny day. An adult chaperon and another child are in the background.

The Anacostia Community Museum’s Museum Academy Program explores the Washington Channel and the Anacostia River aboard the Chesapeake Bay Foundation boat, The Susquehanna, 2014 Photograph by Susana Raab, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Two children are shown on a boat on the Anacostia River. A young girl wearing a life jacket sits to the left on a young boy displaying a net larger than his body. The backdrop features the waterfront in Navy Yard, Washington DC.

A father and his daughter enjoy canoing along the Anacostia River near Anacostia Park. A cargo train is visible in the background going over the bridge.

four individuals enjoy a canoe ride near the wetlands of Kingman Island. Stadium Armory is visible in the background.

An image of the Anacostia River on an autumn day. The leaves in the foreground and background are turning in their fall folliage, with red and orange hues. Clouds are in the sky, and reflected in the water. The sun is peaking out behind the clouds.

A maple tree hangs over the Anacostia River on an overcast day. Train tracks are fetured in the background.

An Army Corps of Engineers clean up ship is docked along the Anacostia River on an overcast day. Wooden debris and tree trunks are scattered in the foreground.

A view of the Anacostia River front the 11th Street Bridge at dusk. The Anacostia Bike Trail is shown on the righthand side, lite up with street lamps. City lights are visible on the lefthand side, exptending through the background of the image.

Two elementary school girls are holding a fishing rode, looking upwards at the bobber. Trees frame the girls on the left and right sides. Community members are seen enjoying the park in the background.

Facloner Rodney Stotts kneels in the grass while mounting a rescused red tail hawk on his left arm.

Sixteen co-ed members of the Dragon Boat Racers are seen training along the Anacostia River.

Fifteen cormorants are gathered along a trash trap netting seen bobbing in a horizontal line across the river. Additional cormorants are gathered in the background. A treeline of Anacostia Park is seen in the background.

A young man and woman wearing glasses are featured in the foreground, smiling, while four of their peers are paddling the canoe in the background.

Bob Martin, former commodore of the Washington, DC Seafarers Yacht Club, is dressed in his Seafarers uniform, overlooking boats docked at the Yacht Club, on an overcast day.

Three young men are visible sitting and standing along the stone wall bordering the Anacostia River, casting their fishing rods, on a warm sunny day. A cargo train is crossing the river in the background.

A group of seven adults are sitting in chairs, in a circle, smiling and talking with one another. One gentleman is standing and operating a grill/smoker. It appears to be nearing sunset on a warm sunny day. The Anacostia River, and a bridge, are visible in the background.

A young man and a boy are smiling as they skate together at the skating pavilion in Anacostia Park. They are wearing quad skates. It appears to be a warm and overcast day. The pillars of the pavilion are visible in the background.

An older gentleman wearing a baseball cap, blue fleece jacket, and traditional folklorico attire is featured playing an electric guitar at the Festival del Río Anacostia.

A young women, two children, and a gentleman are interacting with some outdoor nature-based activities at table during the Festival del Río Anacostia. Three individuals are operating the table, which appears to feature information on stream organisms and water tanks with various critters. The Anacostia River is visible in the background.

Two young women are picking up trash at Bladensburg Waterfront Park. They are standing within the wetlands, passing along a plastic container to be placed in trash bags.

Youth volunteers participate in an Earth Day Cleanup at Bladensburg Waterfront Park, 2012 Photograph by Susana Raab, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Third graders, covered in mud, are seen playing and exploring the riverbed during low tide at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.

In the foreground, a young man wearing pink googles, holds a water sample and a piece of paper while standing in the creek. A young woman smiles standing behind him. In the background, two young men are seen sitting on a fallen tree, hanging over the creek. It appears to be a cooler day. All youth are wearing jackets and boots.

The photo shows a birds eye view of a young girl painting a fish on a picnic table outdoors. Other hands are visible, suggesting her peers are participating. Two nearly-completed fish are painted on a large piece of green paper, covering the table.

Eight students are interacting with Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum's Reclaiming the Edge Exhibit. This section appears to be featuring the Seafarer's Yacht Club. A cutout of a sailor is holding a sign "It's Our River" as part of the exhibit.

Fourteen Monks and the Dalai Lama are gathered along the Anacostia River, over a rail. The Dalai Lama poors a portion of sand mandala into the river. Five gentlemen in suits are visible in the background, with a camera visible filming the moment on the far right.

A young girl stands holding her drawing, at the Festial del Río Anacostia. Her drawing outlines her vision for the Anacostia River and includes fish swimming in water. Festival participants are visible behind her.

This image shows an illustratio outlining a young artist's interpretation of the Anacostia River. Birds, butterflies, fish, and turtles are illustrated in colored pencils along the river and among trees.

This image shows an illustration showing a young woman's favorite moment along the Anacostia River. Two trees frame the image on both sides. In the river are two boats with a person in them. In the beground is a slide and some buildings.

This image shows an illustrated map of the Anacostia Watershed. Streams, tributaries, and other landmarks are labeled. Select photos from the exhibit are placed along the map to show where they were taken along the watershed.

Create Your Own Exhibit!

Download the PDF documents to get started today

Capturing Anacostia explores life along the Anacostia watershed through photo documentation.

As the exhibit travels to various outdoor festivals, we invite participants to reflect on the history of the watershed, favorite memories, and visions for the future through drawing and writing. Visitors are encouraged to add their reflections and artwork to the exhibit itself – thereby keeping it relevant and meaningful.

Download the activity prompts to curate your very own exhibit at home or in the classroom!

download PDF files

Young girl holds her drawing capturing her favorite memory of Lotus flowers in bloom while at the Kenilworth Aquatic Festival. Other drawings, displayed as part of the exhibit, are in the background.