Phillips Collection marks two years of community crochet with recap event

A free evening of crochet at Phillips@THEARC in Southeast Washington became more than a drop-in craft session. On May 13, the Phillips Collection marked two years of Spinning a Yarn with a commemorative recap, turning its monthly Crochet Circle into a public-facing look at how crochet has taken root as an art practice, a conversation starter, and a community gathering point.

The session ran from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Phillips@THEARC, 1801 Mississippi Ave. SE, with reservations required. It was open in person to all ages and skill levels, with beginner instruction available for newcomers and experienced crocheters welcome to bring their own projects. The museum provided yarn and crochet hooks, along with light refreshments, and the evening began with a short introduction from a Phillips Educator before shifting into collective artmaking and conversation.

At the center of the program was Dwayne Lawson-Brown, better known as the Crochet Kingpin. The Phillips describes him as an author, playwright, and arts administrator for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and it has also noted that he was born and raised in Washington, DC. He has said his mother first tried to teach him crochet, and that he returned to it seriously in his early 20s after buying a crochet kit while out with a girlfriend who latchhooked. In the Phillips’ own framing, crochet is "still a developing artform" with "so much room for creativity and growth."

That outlook has shaped Spinning a Yarn from the start. The Phillips says the series grew out of a February hands-on crochet workshop at Phillips@THEARC, with the goal of following the energy in Congress Heights and the Douglas neighborhoods and using crochet as a catalyst for conversation and gathering. The museum describes the method as "ekphrastic crochet," pairing a brief lesson on an artwork with Lawson-Brown’s crochet response, while beginner materials are offered in yarn colors inspired by the art.

The May recap also pointed to a larger shift at Phillips@THEARC, which opened in 2018 and was co-created with community partners to extend the museum’s reach into Southeast DC and nearby communities. A May 2026 Phillips release placed Crochet Circle inside Art-Play-Practice, an annual initiative inspired by the museum’s holdings of 18 Sam Gilliam paintings and prints. The June 10 Crochet Circle was already listed under that new format, making the May gathering feel like a bridge: one chapter closing with a room full of yarn, and another already waiting at the same table.