Press Release: Pop-Up School!
Dear journalists,
Knowledge Commons DC, the volunteer-run, free school that’s held classes throughout the D.C. area since 2011, has launched a pop-up school at 1613 Rhode Island Ave. NE.
Here it is, at our Oct. 17 open house:
That’s right — a pop-up! An irresistible news hook! If you haven’t written about KCDC in a while, or ever, this is a fine time to get acquainted with our mission and offerings. Before Dec. 15, that is, because that’s when we say goodbye to our interim HQ.
A quick refresher on our model: No one gets paid to teach, organize, or host classes. No one pays to take classes, except for the occasional materials fee. Normally, we hold our classes wherever nice people/organizations will give us space. A static location allows us continuity and a chance to build a community hub, albeit a fleeting one. For more-detailed background information, read our brief fact sheet, complete with media-friendly stats.
Our temporary space for fall is courtesy of Cultural DC’s StorefrontsDC project, an initiative aimed at activating vacant spaces and increasing foot traffic in D.C. neighborhoods. This is challenge No. 1, as Rhode Island Avenue NE isn’t high on foot traffic.
The pop-up is smack-dab on the border between Brookland and Langdon, two neighborhoods we’ve enjoyed reaching out to and recruiting from.
Our space — generously donated by The Menkiti Group — is a bit of a fixer-upper; that’s challenge No. 2. We’ll be transforming this bare-bones cavern into a hospitable home for knowledge-sharing, using minimal, inexpensive, and reusable materials. An ever-growing community art project will subsume one wall.
Inside the space, we’ll hold classes on dance, food, crafts, music, digital skills, fitness, history, languages (Welsh, Ukrainian), and many other topics, some conventional, some esoteric, some off-the-wall. We’re lining up teachers from Brookland and Langdon, so the schedule’s going to get longer. You can view the most-current list of classes here; see what tickles your fancy, because …
… if you’d like to attend a class — either to write about it or to generally get acquainted with our organization for potential future coverage — email contact@knowledgecommonsdc.org at least 24 hours in advance with the name of the class you’d like to take, your contact info, and, if you’re not on staff at a publication, something that shows you’re a journalist. In nearly all cases we’ll be able to accommodate you.
Please email contact@knowledgecommonsdc.org with questions, interview requests, and so forth. If you need to talk to someone ASAP, you may call Erika Rydberg at 508-813-0019.
P.S. Here’s some exciting news for the journalist on deadline: hi-res photos, with caption info and credits, ready for you to choose from. Most pics aren’t from the pop-up space yet; we’ll be adding.