EVENT CATEGORIES

ART

Feb. 1 to 24
Unfiltered: Paintings
by Leslie M. Nolan
Featuring strong, bold brushwork and compositions, Leslie Nolan’s figurative artworks show people as raw and vulnerable in these private glimpses into real life.
Touchstone Gallery

Feb. 2 to March 2
International Connections
This group show showcases artists from different cultures, styles, subjects and media — united in their devotion to art and their commitment to sharing their visions with the world.
International Visions Gallery

Feb. 2 to Aug. 4
Arts of Japan: Edo Aviary and Poetic License
Complementary but distinct installations examine two themes of Edo period art: “Edo Aviary,” which traces how depictions of birds were influenced by natural history painting, and “Poetic License: Making Old Words New,” which shows how classical Japanese and Chinese literary traditions were absorbed into the merchant and artisan classes.
Freer Gallery of Art

Through Feb. 8
Auschwitz: The Final Solution
Ecuadoran artist and OAS General Secretariat official Gabriel Gross created a compelling series of eight large panels of oil on canvas reflecting on the World War II genocide of Jews to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27.
Organization of American States
Marcus Garvey Hall

Feb. 9 to May 12
Angels, Demons, and Savages: Pollock, Ossorio, Dubuffet
This exhibition reveals a rare cross-cultural artistic dialogue between American painter Jackson Pollock (1912-56), American artist and patron of European and American postwar art Alfonso Ossorio (1916-90), and French painter Jean Dubuffet (1901-85). Approximately 53 paintings and works on paper from 1945 to 1958 highlight visual affinities and inspired friendships among the artists at pivotal moments in their careers.
The Phillips Collection

Through Feb. 10
NOW at the Corcoran – Enoc Perez: Utopia
Enoc Perez’s lushly figured paintings of modernist buildings at once exploit and question the seductions of architecture as well as painting itself.
Corcoran Gallery of Art

Through Feb. 10
Shadow Sites: Recent Work
by Jananne Al-Ani
Inspired by archival archaeological and aerial photographs, as well as contemporary news, Jananne Al-Ani’s video works examine enduring representations of the Middle Eastern landscape.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Feb. 13 to May 26
On Common Ground: Dominican Republic + Haiti
In conjunction with the Embassies of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, this exhibition of works by emerging artists of Hispaniola, the island that these two countries share, offers fresh perspectives on Hispaniola’s cultural scene and addresses misconceptions surrounding the two nations’ complex relationship with one another, imagining a brighter future.
OAS Art Museum of the Americas

Through Feb. 15
Heavenly Jade of the Maya
Rare jade jewelry and objects from recent archaeological discoveries commemorate the ending of the Maya calendar cycle (Dec. 21, 2012) and the beginning of a new era. This exhibit displays the creative wealth worn by powerful nobles to keep their rituals and beliefs alive, since the Maya considered jade more precious than gold.
Inter-American Development Bank Cultural Center

Feb. 15 to May 12
A World Apart: Anna Ancher and the Skagen Art Colony
The first exhibition in the United States to focus on Danish modern painter Anna Ancher (1859-1935) and the artist colony at Skagen, Denmark, features 41 paintings and oil sketches by Ancher and more than 20 by her fellow Skagen artists.
National Museum of Women in the Arts

Feb. 16 to June 8
Pageant of the Tsars: The Romanov Coronation Albums
Marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Romanov dynasty in 1613, the history and spectacle of Russian tsars’ coronations are revealed through lavish, rarely seen albums and objects from Hillwood’s Russian collection.
Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

Feb. 17 to May 5
Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop
In the first major exhibition devoted to the history of manipulated photographs before the digital age, some 200 works will demonstrate that today’s digitally altered photographs are part of a tradition that extends back to the beginning of photography.
National Gallery of Art

Through Feb. 22
The Points That Bring Us from Here to There
The mapping-focused work of Michael Dax Iacovone and Kathryn Zazenski map spaces and experiences, with Iacovone chronicling his journey driving across the 123 bridges that span the Mississippi River, while Zazenski presents maps from time spent in Haukijärvi, Finland, Washington, D.C., and Beijing, China.
Honfleur Gallery

Feb. 23 to April 7
Pump Me Up: D.C. Subculture of the 1980s
“Pump Me Up” is the first exhibition to explore the thriving underground of Washington, D.C., during the 1980s, giving visual form to the raucous energy of graffiti, Go-Go music, and a world-renowned punk and hardcore scene — demonstrating D.C.’s place in the history of street art as well as that of America’s capital city
Corcoran Gallery of Art

Through Feb. 24
Ai Weiwei: According to What?
This major survey of Ai Weiwei, one of China’s most prolific and provocative artists, aims to reveal the rich and varied contexts that he has interwoven within the broad spectrum of his work, from sculpture, photography and video to site-specific architectural installations.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through Feb. 24
Facing Democracy
Combining art, photojournalism and film, this exhibition features works by three American artists who documented the Occupy Movement and the civil unrest that exists in the United States, exploring the causes, activities and representations of the movement.
Goethe-Institut

Through Feb. 24
Lalla Essaydi: Revisions
Lalla Essaydi, a Moroccan-born, New York-based artist, pushes the boundaries of Arab, Muslim and African perceptions of women’s identities with her art, which includes themes of feminism, gender, identity and the private inner lives of women while drawing on Arabic calligraphy for its decorative and communicative potential.
National Museum of African Art

Through Feb. 24
Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
An eye-opening look at the largely unknown ancient past of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this exhibition draws on recently excavated archaeological material from sites throughout the Arabian Peninsula, tracing the impact of ancient trade routes and pilgrimage roads stretching from Yemen in the south to Iraq, Syria and Mediterranean cultures in the north.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Through Feb. 24
Taryn Simon: A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters I-XVIII
Taryn Simon produced this 18-chapter series over a four-year period (2008-11), during which she traveled around the world researching and recording bloodlines and their related stories.
Corcoran Gallery of Art

Through March 2
Luces y Sombras: Fourteen Travelers in Mexico
The 20th century saw many internationally acclaimed photographers travel through Mexico to document the country from their unique perspectives. This exhibition focuses on 20 hand-pulled photogravures comprising Paul Strand’s seminal 1933 “Mexican Portfolio,” along with renowned photographers Edward Weston, Wayne Miller, Aaron Siskind and others who captured the sociopolitical realities, local architecture, and startling landscapes of 20th-century Mexico through a patently American lens. And accompanying exhibit, “Visions of Mexico: The Photography of Hugo Brehme,” presents 40 works from Hugo Brehme on loan from the Throckmorton Gallery in New York City.
Mexican Cultural Institute

Through March 3
Michelangelo’s David-Apollo
The presentation of the “David-Apollo,” a marble statue by Michelangelo lent to the National Gallery of Art by the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, opens the nationwide celebration “2013-The Year of Italian Culture.”
National Gallery of Art

Through March 10
The Sultan’s Garden: The Blossoming of Ottoman Art
More than 50 sumptuous textiles and other works of art illustrate the stylized floral designs that became synonymous with the wealth, abundance and influence of one of the world’s greatest empires.
The Textile Museum

Through March 16
Words Like Sapphires: 100 Years of Hebraica at the Library of Congress
A century ago, New York philanthropist Jacob H. Schiff purchased an initial collection of nearly 10,000 Hebrew books and pamphlets for the Library of Congress. This gift formed the nucleus of what is today one of the world’s greatest collections of Hebraic materials, comprising some 200,000 items.
Library of Congress

Through March 17
Andrei Molodkin: Crude
Andrei Molodkin is a globally recognized contemporary Russian artist who deconstructs the economic realities of geopolitical praxis with monumental ballpoint-pen drawings and three-dimensional constructs filled with crude oil.
American University Katzen Arts Center

Through March 17
Grisha Bruskin: H-Hour
Internationally acclaimed contemporary Russian artist Grisha Bruskin’s new Kafkaesque sculpture project “H-Hour” is a disturbing, toy-like anatomy of hate in the form of: the hostile state, class enemy, enemy of the subconscious, time and so on.
American University Katzen Arts Center

Through March 29
Rabín Ajaw: Indigenous Ceremonial Dress of Guatemala
Photographs by Juan Carlos Lemus Dahinten of Guatemala examine the aesthetics of indigenous, Guatemalan dress as a manifestation of cultural identity, and how modern styles influenced by global fashion and culture coexist with indigenous traditions.
OAS Art Museum of the Americas
F Street Gallery

Through March 31
Pissarro on Paper
French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro first tried printmaking in his early thirties, and though he never stopped painting, printing became vital to his artistic enterprise.
National Gallery of Art

Through April 21
Orchids of Latin America
“Orchids of Latin America” highlights the importance of Latin American orchids in local culture and folklore through live flower displays and examines ways in which biological reserves are working to preserve orchid species and habitats today.
National Museum of Natural History

Through May 26
Color, Line, Light: French Drawings, Watercolors, and Pastels from Delacroix to Signac
Some 100 drawings and watercolors from the collection of James T. Dyke showcase the broad development of modern draftsmanship in France, from romanticism and realism through the impressionists, Nabis and neo-impressionists.
National Gallery of Art

Through July 7
One Man’s Search for Ancient China: The Paul Singer Collection
New Jersey psychiatrist-turned-collector Paul Singer’s bequest to the Sackler Gallery created one of the largest Chinese archaeological collections in the United States. This exhibition looks at the collector’s contributions to Chinese art history — made largely at a time when contact between China and the West was heavily restricted — and examines how landmark archaeological discoveries have shed new light on his acquisitions and on ancient China.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

DISCUSSIONS

Mon., Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m.
Sweet & Salt: Water and the Dutch
Tracy Metz’s book “Sweet & Salt: Water and the Dutch” addresses the complex and inescapable relationship between water and the Netherlands as sea levels rise, rivers swell, and storms and droughts multiply, offering a new perspective on living with water in the futute. Tickets are $20.
National Building Museum

Feb. 6 to 8
Protocol and Executive Etiquette Seminar
The Protocol Partners Washington Center for Protocol presents a multiday comprehensive seminar on diplomatic, military and international protocol, as well as business and dining etiquette that will teach you the skills and industry standards to navigate various professional environments. Seminar content will offer lessons on greeting and hosting guests with confidence, accommodating international customs, planning VIP visits and other events, and building stronger business relationships.
Tuition is $2,150; to register, visit www.theprotocolpartners.com.
Willard InterContinental Washington Hotel

Feb. 6 to 27
High-Stakes Intelligence Operations: From Catching Bin Laden to a Picture-Perfect Rescue in Iran
This four-session daytime course throughout February examines the kind of intelligence operations that hold human life in the balance and are some of the most difficult that any intelligence service can undertake. Tickets are $140; for information, visit smithsonianassociates.org.
International Spy Museum

Thu., Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m.
‘Dreamscapes’ by Edward Sullivan
During such cataclysmic events in Europe as the Spanish Civil War and World War II, many émigré artists found a welcoming home in Mexico City. Edward J. Sullivan of New York University explores the fascinating reasons why surrealism enjoyed such popularity in Mexico around 1940 and how Mexico City rivaled Paris as a center of surrealist invention. Admission is free but RSVP is recommended and can be made by emailing rsvp@instituteofmexicodc.org.
Mexican Cultural Institute

Fri., Feb. 8, 8:30 a.m.
2013 Congressional Trade Agenda
Prominent congressional trade leaders share their perspectives at the Washington International Trade Association’s annual off-the-record overview of the Hill’ trade agenda. To register, visit www.wita.org/en/cev/1494.
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

Sat., Feb. 9, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Apulia to Sicily: Exploring Southern Italy
Travel writer Reid Bramblett takes you to southern Italy, a sun-kissed land of legends and saints, where medieval churches are grafted onto ancient temples, and where timeless traditions survive amid the olive groves and fishing villages. Tickets are $130; for information, visit smithsonianassociates.org.
S. Dillon Ripley Center

Wed., Feb. 13, 7 p.m.
Roads of Arabia: From Trade Routes to Pilgrimage Trails
Massumeh Farhad, chief curator of Islamic art at the Freer and Sackler Galleries, will discuss the ground-breaking “Roads of Arabia” exhibition and highlight the meaning and function of some of the objects, ranging from mysterious steles and statues to gold funerary masks. Tickets are $25; for information, visit smithsonianassociates.org.
S. Dillon Ripley Center

Tue., Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.
Contemporary Voices: Tim Krohn and Leif Randt
This evening dedicated to emerging authors in contemporary German literature, moderated by Swiss Embassy Cultural Attaché Norbert Bärlocher, features Leif Randt, author of “Shimmering Mist over Coby County,” and Tim Krohn, author of “Quatemberkinder” and “Vrenelis Gaertli.”
Embassy of Austria

FESTIVALS

Feb. 5 to 9
14th Annual Washington D.C. International Wine and Food Festival
After 12 years of success with an average of 6,000 attendees each year, recent guest feedback encouraged the Washington D.C. International Wine and Food Festival to extend the festivities over several days and include seminars, tastings, food pairings, dinners, and a signature event each evening. For information, visit www.wineandfooddc.com.
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

Feb. 19 to March 17
Nordic Cool 2013
A month-long international festival of theater, dance, music, visual arts, literature, design, cuisine, and film to highlight the diverse cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as the territories of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Áland Islands.
Kennedy Center

Feb. 21 to May 19
The Washington DC International Design Festival
Artisphere and Apartment Zero present this free three-month-long multidisciplinary celebration of design, anchored by “The Next Wave: Industrial Design in the 21st Century,” a 4,000-square-foot exhibition exploring innovation in product design over the last 13 years. The exhibit of more than 100 objects from around the world will be complemented by a series of public programs. For information, visit www.artisphere.com or www.apartmentzero.com.
Artisphere

Feb. 22 to April 19
Dvorak and America
Through a series of five concerts, PostClassical Ensemble’s “Dvorak and America” festival argues that Czech composer Antonín Dvorak acquired a distinctive and influential “American style” during his time in the United States that was fundamentally different in style from that of the music he had previously composed. The centerpiece is a March 1 concert at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center featuring the “Hiawatha Melodrama” alongside Dvorak’s “String Serenade” and his little-known “American Suite.” For information, visit http://postclassical.com.
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center Duke Ellington School of the Arts

GALAS

Sat., Feb. 9, 9 p.m.
Noche de Pasión 2013 Destination Carnaval!
The Washington Ballet celebrates Latin American music, dance and culture with its annual philanthropic event, held this year at Brazilian Ambassador Mauro Mieira’s residence in the style of Carnival, to support Latino ballet dancers and scholarship students at the Washington Ballet, including the company’s newly established Latino Scholarship Fund. Tickets start at $275; for information, contact Elizabeth Bunting at (202) 362-3606 ext. 122 or ebunting@washingtonballet.org.
Brazilian Residence

Sat., Feb. 9, 7 p.m.
La Saint-Valentin at the Embassy of France
This year, enjoy Valentine’s Day with a dramatic twist, as the French Embassy rendez-vous with the seduction and charm of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons)” in an evening inspired by Francois Choderlos de Laclos’s novel and the 1988 film starring Glenn Close and John Malkovitch. Whether you’re single, a couple, or with a group of friends, this popular annual soirée hosted by the French-American Cultural Foundation offers an evening of romance, entertainment, and games worthy of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont. VIP tickets start at $90, and after-hours admission (8:30 p.m.) starts at $55.
La Maison Française

Sat., Feb. 9, 7 p.m.
A Viennese Faschingsball
Enjoy fine dining, exceptional Austrian wines, dancing with DJ Aaron and raffle at the annual ball for the Consular Corps of Washington, D.C. Tickets range from $90 to $250; for information, visit http://acfdc.org.
Embassy of Austria

Sat., Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
Inspired to Love: Gala to Benefit the Children of Belize
The Embassy of Belize in Washington and Kim Simplis-Barrow, special envoy for women and children and spouse of the Prime Minister of Belize, host a gala to benefit the children of Belize, featuring wine tasting, dinner and live auction. The event is presented in collaboration with the Organization of Women of the Americas under the patronage of Tim Shriver, chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics. Tickets are $250; for information, call (202) 332-9636 ext. 221 or email ebwreception@aol.com.
Ritz-Carlton Washington Hotel

MUSIC

Fri., Feb. 1, 8 p.m., Sat., Feb. 9, 8 p.m.
Paco Peña: Flamenco Viva
Named the “Best Flamenco Guitarist” by America’s Guitar for five consecutive years, Paco Peña brings his troupe of brilliant flamenco musicians and dancers to George Mason for a tour through the history of flamenco. Tickets are $23 to $46.
George Mason University Center for the Arts (Feb. 1)
George Mason University Hylton Performing Arts Center (Feb. 9)

Sat., Feb. 2, 8 p.m.
China National Symphony Orchestra
This grand orchestra, credited with creating an orchestral tradition unique to China, showcases its impressive artistry and award-winning instrumentalists with music from East to West under the baton of En Shao. Tickets are $30 to $60.
George Mason University Center for the Arts

Tue., Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m.
Classical Pianist Christoph Traxler: Ludwig van Beethoven
Christoph Traxler, one of Austria’s most promising young pianists, has performed with orchestras such as the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and top conductors such as Manfred Honeck and Ralf Weikert. Admission is free but RSVP is required and can be made at http://beethoven.eventbrite.com.
Embassy of Austria

Tue., Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.
Percussions Clavier de Lyon
With a dizzyingly varied repertoire that spans Bach to Ravel to Zappa and back again, Percussions Clavier de Lyon are five passionate and demanding musicians who have succeeded in maintaining an ensemble dedicated solely to percussion keyboard instruments — marimbas, vibraphones, and xylophones. Tickets are $25.
La Maison Française

Thu., Feb. 28, 7 p.m.
Evening of Romantic Piano Music
The European Academy of Music and Art (EAMA) was founded by Bella Eugenia Oster in Maryland in 1991, performs a concert of Brahms, Liszt, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and more. For ticket information, visit www.thingstododc.com.
Embassy of Austria

THEATER

Through Feb. 3
Boged (Traitor): An Enemy of the People
Emerging from Israel’s social justice movement of the past year, “Boged (Traitor)” is an up-to-the-minute adap-tation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play of environmental whistle blowing; part of the Voices from a Changing Middle East Festival. Tickets start at $35.
Washington DCJCC

Mon., Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m.
Obama in Naples
Neapolitan craziness and fun break out when an Italian journalist returns to Naples to investigate whether conditions will ever improve there, but is mistaken for a member of President Obama’s advance party and ends up getting more involved in saving the city than he bargained for. To register, visit www.iicwashington.esteri.it/IIC_Washington/.
Embassy of Italy

Feb. 5 to March 3
Shakespeare’s R&J
A repressive all-male Catholic boarding school bans “Romeo and Juliet,” but four students unearth a secret copy and steal into the night to recite the prohibited tale of adolescent passion. While it begins as a lark, the story gradually draws the boys into a discovery of universal truth that parallels their own coming-of-age. Please call for ticket information.
Signature Theatre

Feb. 7 to March 10
La Casa de los Espíritus /The House of the Spirits
This haunting and poetic adaptation of Chilean-American author Isabel Allende’s acclaimed novel “The House of the Spirits” spans four generations of political, social and familial upheaval through the power of remembrance, love, magic and fate. Tickets are $36 or $40.
GALA Hispanic Theatre

Through Feb. 10
FELA!
The hit Broadway musical — presented by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith — returns to the Shakespeare Theatre, bringing to life the true story of legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, whose soulful Afro-beat rhythms ignited a generation. Tickets are $30 to $100.
Sidney Harman Hall

Feb. 13 to March 10
The Convert
Set in 1895 amid the colonial scramble for Southern Africa, the play follows Jekesai, a young girl who escapes village life and a forced marriage arrangement, ultimately discovering Christianity under the guidance of an African teacher. However, as anti-colonial sentiments rise, Jekesai must choose between her new European God and the spirits of her ancestors. Tickets start at $35.
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Feb. 14 to March 9
Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas
(Sex, Shame and Tears)
Teatro de la Luna presents an irreverent romantic comedy that illustrates the beliefs held by each gender, the role each is expected to play within a relationship, and the emotional problems both men and women face in their day-to-day lives. Tickets are $30 or $35.
Gunston Arts Center – Theater Two

Through March 17
Hughie
Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Schiff (“The West Wing”) plays the title role in Eugene O’Neill’s powerfully focused play about a man whose illusions of a grand lifestyle waver after the death of the stranger who quietly validated his larger-than-life confidence. Please call for ticket information.
Shakespeare Theatre Company