EVENT CATEGORIES

ART

Through July 5

Ruth Maier: The Austrian-Norwegian Anne Frank

Through photographs and diary extracts, this exhibition tells the story of the Ruth Maier, born in Vienna in 1920. Ruth began keeping a diary when she turned 13, recording her everyday life and the increasing persecution of Jews in Austria following the Anschluss in 1938. After witnessing the violent anti-Semitism of the Kristallnacht Pogrom, Ruth found refuge in Norway while the rest of her family escaped to Great Britain. She completed her education and continued to write in her newly acquired language, Norwegian. However, her newfound safety did not last: In 1942, Ruth was arrested and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she was murdered on arrival.

Her friend, the Norwegian poet Gunvor Hofmo preserved her writings. Since 2014, the diaries of Ruth Maier have been part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, secured at the Norwegian Centre for Holocaust and Minority Studies.

Embassy of Austria Atrium

Through July 7

Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice

In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Jacopo Tintoretto (1518/1519–1594), the National Gallery of Art and the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia presents this major exhibition on the Venetian master. As the first retrospective of the artist in North America, the exhibition will include many significant international loans traveling to the U.S. for the first time. The exhibition will feature nearly 50 paintings and more than a dozen works on paper spanning the artist’s entire career and ranging from regal portraits of Venetian aristocracy to religious and mythological narrative scenes. The exhibit is accompanied by “Drawing in Tintoretto’s Venice” focusing on his work as a draftsman (through June 9) and “Venetian Prints in the Time of Tintoretto” featuring some 40 prints from the second half of the 16th century (through June 9).

National Gallery of Art

Through July 12

Del Sur, retratos de Punta Arenas y Valparaíso

Chilean photographer Vicente González Mimica presents black-and-white portraits of two cities in the south of Chile. Like in the Charles Dickens novel “A Tale of Two Cities,” one city (London) is described as law-abiding and orderly, analogous to how the artist presents Punta Arenas, and is contrasted with a largely politically agitated city (Paris), which is how González sees Valparaíso.

Art Museum of the Americas
F Street Gallery

Through July 21

The American Pre-Raphaelites: Radical Realists

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Ruskin (1819-1900), the most influential art critic of the Victorian era, the National Gallery will present more than 90 paintings, watercolors, and drawings created by American artists who were profoundly influenced by Ruskin’s call for a revolutionary change in the practice of art.

National Gallery of Art

Through July 23

Rirkrit Tiravanija (who’s afraid of red, yellow, and green)

Using food as his main medium, Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija creates art from real-time experiences and exchanges, upending the traditional relationship between object and spectator. The Hirshhorn will present its first-ever exhibition of works by the conceptual artist, which that will transform the museum’s galleries into a communal dining space in which visitors will be served curry and invited to share the meal together.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through July 27

Sacal: Un Mexicano Universal

This exhibit featuring the works of Mexican-born artist José Sacal comprises two series: “The Paraphrase” series, inspired by some of the most distinguished artists throughout time like Michelangelo, Frida Kahlo and Picasso, as well as the “Characters of Impact” series, in which Sacal recreates unmistakable historical figures such as Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, the Aztec ruler Cuauhtémoc and others. In his works, Sacal finds the essence of each character or work. It can be a detail or an object, such as Louis Armstrong’s trumpet or Marcel Marceau’s mask, but the rest is something deeper, like the anguish of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.” By recreating them, Sacal gives them a new meaning and establishes an artistic dialogue at a higher level.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Through July 27

Topographies by Bosco Sodi

Bosco Sodi’s multivalent practice employs quotidian materials such as sawdust, pigment and clay in pursuit of authenticity, drawing on the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. Spanning the institute’s first floor galleries, this exhibit brings together Sodi’s first series of paintings realized in black and white with four of the artist’s timber columns and an installation comprised of ceramic glazed volcanic rocks. Organized in conjunction with The Phillips Collection, “Topographies” marks Sodi’s first exhibition at the Mexican Cultural Institute.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Through July 28

Helen Zughaib: Migrations

Inspired by Jacob Lawrence’s 1941 seminal “Migration Series,” Lebanese-born artist Helen Zughaib’s “Syrian Migration Series” allows for an exploration of the contemporary consequences of the post-World War II peace through the lens of the current Syrian conflict and the mass migration it has triggered, focusing In particular on the experiences of refugee women and children. This exhibition is presented to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference.

Woodrow Wilson House

Through July 28

Ursula von Rydingsvard: The Contour of Feeling

This major exhibition celebrating one of the most influential sculptors working today marks the most ambitious Ursula von Rydingsvard exhibition to date in the United States and her first solo exhibition in Washington, D.C. Featuring 30 sculptures, a wall installation and 10 works on paper, the exhibition focuses on the artist’s signature works — monumental, organic-shaped sculptures made from carved cedar wood — as well as other pieces that are on view in this project for the first time.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Through Aug. 11

Being Here as ME- New Media Art Exhibition of Women Artists from Taiwan

This exhibit features new media art, with augmented reality, animation and digital images, to explore how Taiwanese women artists surpass discussions of gender equality and express broader concerns. The emerging popularity of new media technology provides these artists new tools of creation and new topics of concern, helping them reveal their anxieties and opinions about the ecology of society, science, technology and the environment.

American University Museum

Through Aug. 11

Burying Teeth: Maia Cruz Palileo

There is a mystery in the act of burying and even more so in uncovering throughout the works of contemporary artist Maia Cruz Palileo. Created from 2016 to 2019, they depict historical narratives from the colonial past of the Philippines, Maia’s country of origin, as well as stories and moments about her own life as a Filipina American growing up in the United States. Her paintings and drawings replicate figures from old family photographs, as well as photos from American textbooks depicting anthropological documentation of Filipinos during the American colonization. While her work evokes nostalgia and romanticism, it is imbued with a critical undertone of America’s colonization of the Philippines.

American University Museum

Through Aug. 11

Forward Press: 21st-Century Printmaking

Ten innovative print artists from across the United States employ the finest examples of hand-printed and digital techniques, creating works that reinterpret centuries-old printmaking techniques in the digital age, exploring themes of culture, identity, religion, environment, memory, and art history.

American University Museum

Through Aug. 11

Glacier

The Icelandic chairmanship in the Arctic Council will emphasize the Arctic marine environment; climate and green energy solutions; people in the Arctic and welfare issues; as well as a stronger Arctic Council. In conjunction with the chairmanship, the Embassy of Iceland will host a photo exhibition at the House of Sweden by Ragnar Axelsson (RAX), one of Iceland’s most prominent photographers. He has chronicled life in the Arctic through his lens for many decades having traveled on multiple occasions to all the Arctic countries to document life and nature in the high north. His new book and exhibition “Glacier” focuses on the awesome beauty of the northern glaciers and their magnificence.

House of Sweden

Through Aug. 11

Passages: Keith Morrison, 1998-2019

A magician of color and space and a teller of tales, fanciful and real, Jamaican-born Keith Morrison focuses on the tangible and spiritual components of culture. His acrylic and oil paintings on canvas and transparent watercolors on paper encompass Afro-Caribbean and Meso-American art and architecture, along with the somber history of the Middle Passage.

American University Museum

Through Aug. 18

The Life of Animals in Japanese Art

Artworks representing animals — real or imaginary, religious or secular — span the full breadth and splendor of Japanese artistic production. This first exhibition devoted to the subject features over 300 works that cover 17 centuries and a wide variety of media — sculpture, painting, lacquerwork, ceramics, metalwork, textile and the woodblock print.

National Gallery of Art

Through Aug. 19

Escape Velocity

Abstract paintings on canvas by Singapore-born artist Chee-Keong Kung are influenced by the artist’s formal education in art and architecture as well as his upbringing in multiethnic Singapore. Kung embraces influences from traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, the pace and intensity of the digital age, as well as images of buildings under construction (or destruction).

The Fred Schnider Gallery of Art

Through Aug. 23

Queer as German Folk

This innovative punk, activism and DIY-inspired project synthesizes local and German narratives on the constant crusade for queer equality and achieving queer civil rights throughout the last half century.

Goethe-Institut Washington

Through Sept. 2

Infinite Space: A Retrospective by Refik Anadol

In taking the data that flows around us as his primary material and the neural network of a computerized mind as his collaborator, Refik Anadol creates radical visualizations of our digitized memories, expanding the possibilities of architecture, narrative and the body in motion. The exhibition will take over ARTECHOUSE galleries featuring Anadol’s infamous immersive installation titled “Infinity Room” seen by more than 1 million people around the world, including a half million during a tour in China alone last year, three infinity boxes and a selection of multimedia works spanning his variegated career.

ARTECHOUSE

Through Sept. 8

The Evidence Room

This installation gives visual testament to the atrocities of the Holocaust, drawing on architectural forensic evidence to focus attention on the architecture that made the Auschwitz concentration camp a systematic factory for mass murder.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through Sept. 8

Roots of Peace: Carlos Páez Vilaró Works and Writings

This retrospective looks at the work of Carlos Páez Vilaró, a Uruguayan painter, potter, sculptor, muralist, writer, composer and builder. Specifically, it showcases paintings, books and other archival materials examining the history of the “Roots of Peace” mural, painted in 1960. Spanning over 530 feet in a tunnel linking the OAS main building in D.C. and the Art Museum of the Americas building, “Roots of Peace” is one of the longest murals in the world. Its goal is to serve as a graphic statement of continental peace and harmony throughout the Western Hemisphere, highlighting the spiritual unity that bonds peoples of the Americas while respecting their unique differences.

OAS Art Museum of the Americas

Through Sept. 15

Oliver Lee Jackson: Recent Paintings

American painter, printmaker, and sculptor Oliver Lee Jackson (b. 1935) has created a complex body of work which masterfully weaves together visual influences ranging from the Renaissance to modernism with principles of rhythm and improvisation drawn from his study of African cultures and American jazz.

National Gallery of Art

Through Sept. 22

The Warmth of Other Suns

Through installations, videos, paintings and documentary images, 75 historical and contemporary artists — from the United States as well as Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Syria, Turkey, the U.K., Vietnam and more — pose urgent questions around the experiences and perceptions of migration and the current global refugee crisis.

The Phillips Collection

Through Sept. 29

Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women

In the cities of the West African nation of Senegal, stylish women have often used jewelry as part of an overall strategy of exhibiting their elegance and prestige. Rooted in the Wolof concept of sañse (dressing up, looking and feeling good), “Good as Gold” examines the production, display, and circulation of gold in Senegal as it celebrates a significant gift of gold jewelry to the National Museum of African Art’s collection.

National Museum of African Art

Through Sept. 30

Rafael Soriano: Cabezas (Heads)

This exhibition features more than 20 significant artworks by Cuban-born painter Rafael Soriano (1920-2015), one of the major Latin American artists of his generation. Soriano stands apart from his peers who largely focused on formalism and gestural abstraction because he developed his own visual vocabulary informed by abstraction yet steeped in metaphysical meaning. Drawing on loans from the Rafael Soriano Foundation, this exhibit chronicles the development of Soriano’s unique biomorphic style, which culminated in a specific body of work depicting the human head. This is the first exhibit devoted to Soriano’s important series of paintings of heads, which are some of the artist’s most figurative and introspective works.

Art Museum of the Americas

Through Oct. 20

Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths

More than 225 works of art — including blades and currencies in myriad shapes and sizes, wood sculptures studded with iron, musical instruments and elaborate body adornments — reveal the histories of invention and technical sophistication that led African blacksmiths to transform one of Earth’s most fundamental natural resources into objects of life-changing utility, empowerment, prestige, artistry and spiritual potency.

National Museum of African Art

Through Oct. 27

Revolutionary Reflections: French Memories of the War for America

This exhibition explores how the French king’s officers understood the American Revolution and their role in the achievement of American independence, and how they remembered the war in the years that followed—years of revolutionary upheaval in France that included the execution of the king and many of their brothers-in-arms.

American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati

Through Nov. 17

Portraits of the World: Korea

Pioneering feminist artist Yun Suknam (born 1939) uses portraiture to gain insights into the lives of women, past and present. A wood assemblage portrait of her mother is the centerpiece of this exhibition, which includes portraits of American artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Louise Nevelson, Marisol, Kiki Smith and Nancy Spero.

National Portrait Gallery

Through 2019

Urban Challenges

According to the U.N., 2.5 billion people are expected to live in cities by 2050. This will force cities to find new ways to handle the increased demands on natural resources, housing and infrastructure. This exhibition presents some of the social, economic and technological solutions proposed by Sweden to absorb the impact of our rapidly growing urban environment while leaving the environmental legacy next generations deserve. Come and find out more about Guerilla Crafts, Democratic Architecture and the mixed reality Block Builder application in large-scale environments. Part of the Swedish Embassy’s 2019 thematic programming “Smart Societies – Creative & Inclusive”; for information, visit www.swedenabroad.se/en/embassies/usa-washington/current/calendar/.

House of Sweden

Through Jan. 5, 2020

Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination

Imagine an apocalyptic landscape. It appears barren, devastated and hopeless. It is not. At the Renwick Gallery, internationally renowned artist Ginny Ruffner creates a seemingly bleak environment that suddenly evolves into a thriving floral oasis by combining traditional sculpture with augmented reality (AR) technology.

Renwick Gallery

Through Jan. 5, 2020

A Monument to Shakespeare

The Folger Shakespeare Library is throwing back the curtains on its origins and exciting future in an exhibition where visitors are invited to play, lounge, be curious and see more of the Folger Shakespeare Library than ever before. Among the treats: rummage through Henry Folger’s desk and read the correspondences that brought the Folger to the nation’s capital; explore large scale reproductions of Cret’s detailed architectural drawings, newly digitized for this exhibition; and visit the first complete edition of Shakespeare’s plays published in 1623.

Folger Shakespeare Library

Through July 5, 2020

I Am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa

Taking its name from a 1970’s feminist anthem, “I Am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa” draws upon a selection of artworks by women artists from the National Museum of African Art’s permanent collection to reveal a more contemporary feminism that recognizes the contributions of women to the most pressing issues of their times. With experimental and sophisticated use of diverse media, the 27 featured artists offer insightful and visually stunning approaches to matters of community, faith, the environment, politics, colonial encounters, racism, identity and more.

National Museum of African Art

DANCE

Tue., July 2, 10:30 a.m.

Nomad Dancers and Raqs Habibi: Dancing from Cairo to Samarkand

A magic carpet ride across the Middle East from Cairo to Samarkand, this cultural adventure features colorful authentic costumes, veiled Persian princesses, and dances from the oasis and the caravansary Tickets are $10.

Wolf Trap

July 11 to 13

American Ballet Theatre: Swan Lake

This romantic fable of ill-fated passion, dreamlike transformation and ultimate forgiveness set to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score inspires awe and wonder. Tickets start at $25.

Wolf Trap

DISCUSSIONS

Tue., July 16, 6:45 p.m.

The Timeless Allure of Venice

Food historian Francine Segan leads a virtual tour that examines the unique enchantment this city holds for visitors, focusing on its vibrant heritage of art, architecture and cuisine. Tickets are $55; for information, visit smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

Wed., July 17, 6:45 p.m.

Shakespeare’s Women: Claiming Center Stage

Tudor and Renaissance scholar Carol Ann Lloyd Stanger explores the scope of the female characters in Shakespeare’s plays, examining the ways in which their author reinforced and challenged Elizabethan society’s norms and those in which his female characters continue to shape our perceptions today. Tickets are $45; for information, visit smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

Thu., July 18, 2 p.m.

Native American Brass Bands and Beyond

Native American jazz, classical and popular musicians have experienced artistic and commercial success since well before the turn of the 20th century. Many were first exposed to this music at boarding schools, where the regimented discipline of marching bands was a key component of the program of forced assimilation. Erin Fehr and John Troutman will discuss the social, historical and artistic experiences of Native American musicians. Additionally, there will be a screening of “Sousa on the Rez: Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum,” which celebrates the continuing popularity of marching bands in Native American communities.

National Museum of the American Indian

Thu., July 25, 6:45 p.m.

Secrets of the Mediterranean Kitchen

Join cookbook author, culinary tour leader, and Mediterranean lifestyle expert Amy Riolo for a journey that winds through the markets, kitchens, and tables of France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Morocco, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt. She examines how the foodways of this diverse range of countries reflect the shared heritage of the Mediterranean region in highly distinctive and delicious ways. Tickets are $90, including book signing and reception; for information, visit smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

FESTIVALS

July 27 to 28, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Kaypi Peru Festival

“Kaypi Peru” — which means “This Is Peru” in the Quechua language — highlights Peru’s rich and diverse cultural heritage and traditional arts. The festival will include an art market, music and dance performances, hands-on activities for children, documentary screenings and Peruvian cuisine. The festival is presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Peru.

National Museum of the American Indian

Through Sept. 27

Fair Water: A Right of All

Inspired by the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Embassy of Spain — in collaboration with the Mexican Cultural Institute, the Water and Sanitation Cooperation Fund from the Spanish Cooperation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade and other institutions — presents a series of events dedicated to the right to safe drinking water and sanitation in the fields of diplomacy, human rights, sustainable development, and arts and culture. The events will include panels regarding efforts by key partners striving to make the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation a reality for all, bringing together their different experiences in a variety of fields. The program will also focus on the relationship between art, the right to water and sustainability issues featuring public installation art, film screenings, video art projections and art workshops. As part of the program, on the joint front lawn of the Spanish and Mexican cultural institutes on 16th Street, NW, Spain-based art collective Luzinterruptus will display “La Cascada,” a 13-foot high and 30-foot long art installation made with almost a thousand recycled plastic buckets. For information, visit www.spainculture.us/city/washington-dc/fair-water-a-right-of-all/.

Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain

MUSIC

Fri., July 5, 6:45 p.m.

Túumben Paax Choir – The Human Journey: Music Migration and Identity

Túumben Paax (meaning “new music” in Mayan) is a female vocal sextet and pioneering ensemble from Mexico established in 2006 by Lucía Olmos and formed by young singers from the top conservatories in Mexico. The choir performs a repertorie that includes pre-Hispanic music, modern arrangements of traditional folk song and contemporary pieces that reflect Mexico’s past and present. To RSVP, visit www.instituteofmexicodc.org.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Mon., July 8, 6 p.m.

Classical Movements 2019 Serenade! Grand Finale Concert

Classical Movements’ ninth annual Serenade! Washington, D.C. Choral Festival — featuring the theme of “The Human Journey: Migration, Music & Identity” — concludes on the Concert Hall stage with a truly grand finale: individual performances by ensembles from Iran, Mongolia, Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, France and Germany, as well the Serenade! mass choir, led by the 2019 recipient of the Robert Shaw Lifetime Achievement Award, Doreen Rao. Please call to reserve tickets.

Kennedy Center Concert Hall

THEATER

Through July 6

Ripcord

A sunny room on an upper floor is prime real estate in the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility, so when the cantankerous Abby is forced to share her quarters with new-arrival Marilyn, she has no choice but to get rid of the infuriatingly chipper woman by any means necessary. A seemingly harmless bet between the old women quickly escalates into a dangerous game of one-upmanship. Please call for ticket information.

The Keegan Theatre

Through July 7

Byhalia, Mississippi

Jim and Laurel are broke, young and deeply in love. They are also about to become new parents. When Laurel gives birth to their overdue child, the biracial baby is a surprise to everyone, especially her husband Jim, igniting a firestorm in their small southern town. Tickets are $49 to $89.

Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

July 9 to 27

Amelia

This production by Scena Theatre, part of the Capital Fringe Festival, deals with the life, mystery and disappearance of the famed American aviatrix, Amelia Earhart, on her famous around-the-world flight in 1937. It poses critical questions as to what really happened to Amelia on that last flight when she attempted to be the first woman to fly around the world. Among them: Was her disappearance due to pilot error? Or was she a spy for the U.S. government? Please call for ticket information.

St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church

July 10 to 21

Hamlet

The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Free For All, one of the capital’s cherished annual traditions, returns with free performances of the company’s acclaimed production of “Hamlet.” Set in a surveillance state Denmark, the characters tap cellphones and spy on each other with cameras, in their most intimate and vulnerable moments of grief, agony and despair.

Shakespeare Theatre Company

Thu., July 11, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Reading of the Mueller Report, Volume II

Arena Stage, in association with activist and actress Jjana Valentiner, will hold a public, nonpartisan 11-hour marathon reading of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, with up to 200 participants reading through the second volume. Scheduled volunteer readers for July 11 include a range of activists, artists and community leaders: Charles Allen, Charlotte Clymer, Maria Manuela Goyanes, David Grosso, Michael Kahn, Peter and Judy Kovler, Jim Moran, David Muse, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ryan Rilette, Chase Rynd, Mark Walsh and more.

Arena Stage

July 11 to Aug. 11

Ann

This intimate, hilarious one-woman show — produced by Emmy Award-winning actress Holland Taylor and starring Jayne Atkinson — is based on the colorful and complex life of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards. Tickets are $41 to $95.

Arena Stage

Through July 14

Blackbeard

After learning he’s a wanted man by the British army, Blackbeard and his merry crew of maritime marauders embark on a fantastical journey across the globe to raise an undead pirate army from the depths of the sea. Please call for ticket information.

Signature Theatre

Through July 14

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

Arturo Ui is a tale of the meteoric rise of a small-time Brooklyn hoodlum who takes over the Cauliflower racket in 1930s Chicago. Ui ruthlessly disposes of his competitors to enrich himself and gain power. Both entertaining and provocative, this play — produced by Scena Theatre — is a powerful parable of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. It also elicits comparisons to members of our own government who aim to seize more power and control over us. Tickets are $15 to $45.

Atlas Performing Arts Center

July 18 to Aug. 4

Earthrise

While the world waits for the launch of Apollo 11 in 1969, three children of key NASA employees watch from different perspectives. By dreaming a collective dream of landing on the moon together, the kids learn to understand the historic mission — not fear it. Tickets are $20.

Kennedy Center Terrace Gallery

July 18 to Sept. 7

Disney’s Aladdin

From the producer of “The Lion King” comes the timeless story of “Aladdin” in a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle. Tickets are $39 to $179.

Kennedy Center Opera House