Home The Washington Diplomat May 2013 Events – May 2013

Events – May 2013

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ART

Through 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

May 7 to July 12
Nothing is Done (Nichts ist erledigt)
Ever since the 1970s, artist, publisher and lawyer Klaus Staeck has been causing a stir in Germany. Often used in protests against environmental destruction, Staeck’s art — through evocative images and slogans — calls attention to global warming, ever-growing piles of rubbish, nuclear waste, and the pollution of the air and oceans.
Goethe-Institut

May 10 to Sept. 22
Bice Lazzari: Signature Line
In collaboration with the Italian Embassy, this exhibit features 25 paintings and drawings by Lazzari (1900-81), one of Italy’s most revered modern artists. Discouraged from studying the figure in art school in the 1910s because of her gender, she became a prominent decorative arts designer who became for her later poetic abstract paintings.
National Museum of Women in the Arts

May 11 to Sept. 1
David Levinthal: War Games
David Levinthal, a central figure in the history of American postmodern photography, has staged uncanny tableaux using toys and miniature dioramas for nearly 40 years. Mounted to celebrate the museum’s acquisition of a major, career-spanning body of work, this exhibition is the first to feature all of the artist’s work on the subject of war.
Corcoran Gallery of Art

Through 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 May 12
LATINO/US Cotidiano.
Literally meaning “everyday life,” “Cotidiano” is a dynamic look at the rapidly changing nature of the Latino experience in America, where out of every six Americans is now of Hispanic origin, an impressive social transformation with enormous political, economic and cultural consequences.
Spanish Cultural Center

Through May 12
Memories of Stones
Photographer Åsa Nyhlén’s moss-covered stone walls are a testament to an era of profound change in Swedish history. Today, the forest has reclaimed the walls, which echo the exodus of one third of the population to try their luck in the New World, creating a Swedish Diaspora in the Americas.
House of Sweden

Through 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

May 12 to Sept. 2
Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909-1929: When Art Danced with Music
More than 130 original costumes, set designs, paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings, photographs and posters reveal how the Ballets Russes — the most innovative dance company of the 20th century — propelled the performing arts to new heights through groundbreaking collaborations between artists, composers, choreographers, dancers and fashion designers.
National Gallery of Art

Through May 18
The Fallen Gods
Béatrice Lampla Mellinger integrates her diverse heritage and extensive travels into her vibrant and richly textured paintings. In her newest series, she explores the historical roots of Caribbean society, structuring a lineage that affirms the Amerindian origins of the culture and repudiates the arrival of the Conquistadors as its starting point.
International Visions Gallery

Through May 19
Nobility and Newcomers in Renaissance Ireland
Focusing mainly on the Irish upper-class, their cultural exchange with England, and their struggle for power during a time of great change, “Nobility and Newcomers” underscores why Irish cultural identity is challenging to define.
Folger Shakespeare Library

May 19 to July 28
Edvard Munch: A 150th Anniversary Tribute
This 150th birthday tribute to Edvard Munch (1863–1944), Norway’s most famed painter and printmaker, includes more than 20 renowned works from the gallery’s collection and a unique series of six variant impressions.
National Gallery of Art

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 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 May 26
Painting Borges: Art Interpreting Literature
Sixteen visual artists interpret 12 stories by Argentinean Jorge Luis Borges, one of the most prominent and profoundly philosophical literary figures of the 20th century, organized according to three topics: identity and memory, freedom and destiny, and faith and divinity.
American University Katzen Arts Museum

Through May 26
Un Lugar Sin Reposo | A Place with No Rest
In conjunction with the 43rd regular session of the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly in Guatemala in June, this exhibition of artwork by one of the host country’s finest artists, Luis González Palma, examines the power of communication through the gaze and body language.
OAS Art Museum of the Americas

Through May 31
Perceptive Strokes
In honor of the Inter-American Development Bank’s annual meeting in Panama in March, the IDB Cultural Center presents artwork by women Panamanian artists.
IDB Cultural Center

Through May 31
Tango Visions
PA7, or Pintores Argentinos 7, a group of artists based in D.C., collectively express the soul of Argentine music, dance and culture from their special viewpoint as expatriates. Their paintings depict themes of the tango, which originated in Argentina’s Rio de la Plata region but eventually expanded across the world.
Embassy of Argentina

Through 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

Through June 9
Albrecht Dürer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints from the Albertina
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) has long been considered the greatest German artist, uniquely combining the status held in Italian art by Michelangelo in the 16th century, by Raphael in the 18th and 19th centuries, and by Leonardo da Vinci in our own day. But while Dürer’s paintings were prized, his most influential works were actually his drawings, watercolors, engravings and woodcuts.
National Gallery of Art

Through June 15
Codex Mexico: The Book as Art
This exposition of artisanal books and printed art showcases both Mexico’s enormous heritage in the arts of printing, and the Mexicans currently working to renew and enrich such an
important legacy.
Mexican Cultural Institute

Through June 21
Point of View – Afghanistan
Presented by the Embassy of Australia and the Australian War Memorial as part of the 2013 ANZAC Day Commemorations, “Point of View – Afghanistan” features the video and photographic work from Shaun Gladwell’s experience as an official war artist in the Middle East, where he investigated relationships between the human body, landscapes and images drawn from the contemporary world.
Embassy of Australia Art Gallery

Through June 30
The Enduring Designs of Josef Frank
Designer and architect Josef Frank, born 1885, was a leading pioneer in modern Swedish design, leaving behind about 200 textile and 2,000 furniture designs, a portion of which are on display in this exhibit.
House of Sweden

Through June 30
The Third Room
Maja Salomonsson, in collaboration with Swedish Radio’s Youth Radio Drama Department, has created the sound walk “The Third Room,” a play area that welcomes children into a dream world where time is fluid and the laws of gravity are suspended.
House of Sweden

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

Through 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 Aug. 4
Views of Panama
Photographers Gabriel Benaim, José Manuel Castrellón and Lorena Endara examine the stunning transformation Panama has undertaken in the last few years, manifested into a real estate and building boom that has changed Panama City’s skyline.
OAS Art Museum of the Americas
F Street Gallery

Through Aug. 11
Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer’s Japanese Illustrated Books
More than 100 volumes reflect on the Edo period Japan (1615-1868) as an age of great social and political change that gave rise to an unprecedented “reading culture” of artists, writers and publishers. Similar to blogging and e-publication in the 21st century, illustrated books (ehon) in Edo Japan opened up a new avenue with which to share ideas, marked by epic levels of publishing and book consumption.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Through Sept. 2
Nine Deaths, Two Births: Xu Bing’s Phoenix Project
Chinese artist Xu Bing spent more than two years creating his newest work, “Phoenix Project,” a massive installation that comprises two birds fabricated entirely from materials found at construction sites in Beijing.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Through Sept. 8
Over, Under, Next: Experiments in Mixed Media, 1913-Present
Butterfly wings, glass shards, doll parts, crumpled automotive metal, jigsaw puzzle pieces, clothing, straight pins, furniture, and colored sand — these are just some of the materials in “Over, Under, Next,” an exhibition of approximately 100 examples of collage and assemblage, primarily drawn from the Hirshhorn’s collection.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through Oct. 13
Out of Southeast Asia: Art that Sustains
The last exhibition presented in the Textile Museum’s historic location before the museum’s 2014 reopening promises to be a beautiful pairing of tradition and innovation, demonstrating how four artists are reinventing traditional Southeast Asian textile techniques, designs and ideology in new and meaningful ways.
The Textile Museum

Through Jan. 5, 2014
Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa
Some 100 exceptional works of art from the late 18th to 21st centuries come together for the first major exhibition and scholarly endeavor to comprehensively examine the rich relationship between African artists and the land upon which they live, work and frame their days.
National Museum of African Art

DANCE

Sat., May 4, 8 p.m.
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
The sight of large male bodies stuffed into tutus delicately balancing en pointe is just the beginning of the fun. This all-male ballet company specializes in hilarious twists on the classics such as “Swan Lake” and “Giselle,” with equal parts comedy and technical prowess. Tickets are $24 to $48.
George Mason University Center for the Arts

Sat., May 4, 8 p.m.
Pan American Symphony’s Tango
The final performance of the DC Tango Festival is a sensational tango variety show that includes Pan American Symphony’s arrangements of the best-loved traditional tangos, along with Astor Piazzolla’s complex modern tangos. Tickets are $30 to $45.
GW Lisner Auditorium

May 12 to May 18
Urban Corps: A Transatlantic Hip-Hop Festival
The Alliance Française’s Urban Corps transatlantic hip-hop festival returns to D.C. with a powerful compilation of urban dancers, musicians and speakers from around the world whose distinct backgrounds in mime, acrobatics, DJ, video and American urban tradition present an unrivaled vantage point on metropolitan culture and identity. For information, visit www.francedc.org.
Various locations

DISCUSSIONS

Tue., May 7, 6:30 p.m.
Imagining the Renaissance: Albrecht Dürer and Italy
German artist Albrecht Dürer both was inspired by and influenced Italy during his time. Art historian Alice Jarrard examines Dürer’s role in the 19th-century construction of the Renaissance and considers some of the German writers and scholars who cast Dürer as a heroic protagonist who delivered Italian inventions north of the Alps (presented in connection with the Albrecht Dürer exhibiton at the National Gallery of Art). To RSVP, visit www.iicwashington.esteri.it.
Embassy of Italy

Sat., May 11, 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
The German War Machine: From Conquest to Collapse
History professor Marcus Jones takes an in-depth look at World War II through the German military experience, integrating the history of the major European military campaigns with German strategic and racial policy and tracing the once-unthinkable but inevitable race to war’s end. Tickets are $130; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.
S. Dillon Ripley Center

Wed., May 15, 7 p.m.
Polar Bears, Climate Change — And You
When Don Moore, associate director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, began working with polar bears in Canada in 2000, few foresaw how climate change would impact the bears. Today, though, Moore is studying and fighting for a dwindling species that numbers fewer than 20,000 in the wild. Tickets are $25; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.
S. Dillon Ripley Center

Sat., May 18, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Neighborhoods and Villages of London
In a program that journeys from the old City of London to historic maritime Greenwich, the revitalized neighborhood of Spitafields to lofty Hampstead village, Londoner Lorella Brocklesby shares some well-kept secrets of this timeless world capital. Tickets are $130; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.
S. Dillon Ripley Center

Wed., May 29, 7 p.m.
Tour de France Wine Tasting
Discover France’s breathtaking countryside while unlocking the doors to some of the best wines of France with this popular series of tastings. The May 29 session focuses on burgundy wines and features Maison Joseph Drouhin, famous for its pinot noir wines from Oregon. Tickets are $70.
La Maison Française


FESTIVALS

Sat., May 4, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Passport DC: Around the World Embassy Tour
More than 40 embassies representing six continents open their doors to D.C. visitors and residents as part of Cultural Tourism DC’s sixth annual Passport DC (www.passportdc.org). Last year, visitors were treated to music and dance performances, tastings, karate demonstrations, sari-wrapping lessons and other activities. Complimentary shuttle service is provided.
Various locations

Sat., May 4, 7 p.m.
Let’s Dance! / Alors on Dance!
The French Embassy (La Maison Française) transforms into a Parisian nightclub, playing the best of French pop music from the last four decades, in this benefit presented jointly by the Consulate General of France in Washington and D.C.’s French-American Chamber of Commerce to support the Comité Tricolore, the Serge Betsen Academy and the sports section of the Lycée Rochambeau. Tickets are $30 and include a country buffet.
La Maison Française

Sat., May 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Shortcut to Europe: European Union Embassies’ Open House
As part of Passport DC, the European Union Delegation to the U.S. and the embassies of the EU member states invite visitors to experience the authentic music, dance, food, film and art of 28 distinctive nations along with a rare behind-the-scenes look into the European Union embassies. Complimentary shuttle service is provided.
Various locations

Sat., May 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
National Asian Heritage Festival: Fiesta Asia Street Fair
As part of Passport DC, the Asia Heritage Foundation’s eighth annual Fiesta Asia Street Fair features more than 800 performers in 70 groups on five stages from over 20 cultures — and includes a festive parade, food stalls, craft exhibits, cooking and martial arts demonstrations, kid’s talent contest; mass street dance and more.
Pennsylvania Avenue

Through 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

MUSIC

Fri., May 3, 7:30 p.m.
Anya Bukovec, Violin
Anja Bukovec, an accomplished solo violinist and popular media personality in Slovenia, performs a program of works by Serbian and Slovenian composers, Beethoven and others. Tickets are $100, including buffet reception; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
Embassy of Slovenia

Fri., May 3, 7:30 p.m.
Cornelia Herrmann
Born into a family of musicians in Salzburg, Cornelia Herrmann is a sought-after chamber musician who was the youngest finalist and winner of the International J. S. Bach Competition in Leipzig. Admission is free but RSVP is required and can be made by visiting www.acfdc.org.
Embassy of Austria

Mon., May 6, 7:30 p.m.
Péter Bársony, Viola
Barnabás Kelemen, Violin
Melvin Chen, Piano
Violist Péter Bársony, founding member of the Akadémia and Somogyi String Quartets, is joined by Barnabás Kelemen and Melvin Chen for a Hungarian concert. Tickets are $75, including reception; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
Embassy of Hungary

Thu., May 23, 6:30 p.m.
Guitarist Roberto Limón
Celebrated Latin Grammy-nominated Mexican guitarist Roberto Limón will interpret an eclectic range of selections from Latin America, Spain, and the United States, including traditional pieces by Mexican greats Manuel M. Ponce and Carlos Chavez, as well as a contemporary piece by noted film composer Brian Banks. Admission is free but RSVP is required and can be made by emailing rsvp@instituteofmexicodc.org.
Mexican Cultural Institute

Tue., May 28, 7:30 p.m.
Melancholy Bird
As part of the event series “We should never forget,” the Austrian Cultural Forum presents soloist Irene Wallner and pianist Maria Raberger in the concert project “Melancholy Bird,” which aims to commemorate composers persecuted by the Nazi regime. Admission is free but RSVP is required and can be made by visiting www.acfdc.org.
Embassy of Austria

THEATER

May 2 to 25
Club de Caballeros / Gentlemen’s Club
Teatro de la Luna presents Argentine playwright Rafael Bruza’s comedy about four men who “suffer for love” and come together to show and solve their problems of the heart. Tickets are $30 or $35.
Gunston Arts Center

May 4 to June 1
The Full Monty
The Keegan Theatre presents the raucous musical based on the British film about six down-on-their luck steelworkers who are desperately seeking paychecks to support their families — until they come up with a bold way to make some quick cash. Tickets are $40.
Church Street Theater

Through May 5
How to Write a New Book for the Bible
A man moves in with his ailing but always funny mother when she becomes too frail to care for herself, resulting in a reunion that heals old wounds and opens a heartfelt new chapter in their relationship. Tickets are $10 to $61.
Round House Theatre Bethesda

May 9 to June 9
The Submission
A gay, white playwright’s play gets accepted at the nation’s preeminent theater festival. Trouble is, everyone thinks his stirring new play about an alcoholic black mother and her card-sharp son trying to get out of the projects is written by Shaleeha G’ntamobi … and she doesn’t exist. Tickets are $32.50 to $65.
Olney Theatre Center

May 9 to June 9
The Three Musketeers
“All for one and one for all” springs onto the stage with Synetic’s fiery, bombastic ensemble of lovers and fighters as they fence, wine, dance and fling their wit across the stage in the ultimate cross between physical and romantic comedy. Tickets are $35 to $55.
Synetic Theater

May 9 to June 23
The Winter’s Tale
An act of jealousy sets the plot into motion when Leontes, King of Sicilia, accuses his virtuous wife Hermione of infidelity in this moving story of mistakes and forgiveness that spans 16 years and two nations. Tickets are $43 to $95.
Shakespeare Lansburgh Theatre

May 21 to June 30
Company
On his 35th birthday, a commitment-phobic bachelor searches for the answers to love and life in New York City, where he observes both the joys and pitfalls of marriage from his five quirky couple friends. Please call for ticket information.
Signature Theatre

Through May 26
DC-7: The Roberto Clemente Story
From the barrios of Puerto Rico to his successful seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, to the fateful flight to Nicaragua to deliver humanitarian aid, this insightful musical reveals the man who battled triumphantly on the baseball field and against discrimination. Tickets are $20 to $42.
GALA Hispanic Theatre

May 29 to June 30
The Hampton Years
This breakthrough premiere explores the development of great African-American artists John Biggers and Samella Lewis under the tutelage of Austrian Jewish refugee painter and educator Viktor Lowenfeld during World War II. Tickets start at $35.
Washington DCJCC Theater J

Thu., May 30, 7:30 p.m.
Staged Reading: Anna Freud at the Hotel Regina
As part of the event series “We should never forget,” the Austrian Cultural Forum presents a play by Myron Robert Hafetz in remembrance of the 75th anniversary of Anna Freud’s emigration to the United Kingdom in 1938. Admission is free but RSVP is required and can be made by visiting www.acfdc.org.
Embassy of Austria

Through June 2
Hero/Traitor Repertory of Coriolanus and Wallenstein
In the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s repertory of “Coriolanus” and “Wallenstein,” both plays revolve around military leaders who’ve gained fame through deadly prowess — in Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus,” the title character must re-examine his loyalties when the country he championed turns against him; in Friedrich Schiller’s “Wallenstein,” the main character must choose between the ideal for which he fights and his government’s agenda. Tickets are $43 to $105.
Sidney Harman Hall

Through June 9
Twelfth Night
Director Robert Richmond returns to Folger Theatre to direct this romantic and whimsical of tales filled with lovers, lunatics, poets, drunkards, and clowns in the quixotic land of Illyria. Tickets are $30 to $68.
Folger Shakespeare Library

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