EVENT CATEGORIES
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Theater |
ART
May 2 to May 31
A Latvian Voice in Glass
The fascinating glasswork of Latvian artist Artis Nimanis plays with the multifaceted nature of glass — its plasticity, graphics, contrast, optics, reflection and mirroring. An award-winning glass designer and creator of the glass brand an&angel (Angel Glass Design Ltd), Nimanis uses minimalism and strict geometry with the latest technology to create striking objects that blend form, function and fun. The exhibit, part of “Riga 2014 – European Capital of Culture,” is open on Fridays and Saturday.
Embassy of Latvia Art Space
May 2 to 30
Paper: Korean to American
Two artists explore the diversity of artistic expression possible through Korean traditional paper, known as Hanji. Lee Jongkuk uses humorous and witty folk subjects like birds and wild animals on Hanji made from Korean Mulberry tree fibers, while professor Lee Yongtaek works with modern, sensuous colors to show Hanji’s infinite contemporary artistry.
Korean Cultural Center
May 3 to Aug. 17
An American in London: Whistler and the Thames
American artist James McNeill Whistler arrived in London in 1859 and discovered in its neighborhoods and inhabitants an inexhaustible source of aesthetic inspiration. His images of the city created over the next two decades represent one of his most successful assaults on the contemporary art establishment.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Through May 4
In Focus: Ara Güler’s Anatolia
Ara Güler, the “Eye of Istanbul,” is famous for his iconic snapshots of the city in the 1950s and ’60s, but with an archive of more than 800,000 photographs, Güler’s body of work contains far more than these emblematic images — as seen in this exhibition of never-before-shown works by the legendary photographer.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
May 8 to 24
Critters and Doodles (Alicángaras y Mamarrachos)
Marta L. Gutierrez’s playful drawings, paintings and characters, whose suggestive names tell us stories, invite audiences to experience the ordinary as extraordinary in a whimsical alternative universe.
Embassy of Colombia
May 9 to Aug. 1
American States in Yuan Xikun’s Eyes: Preservation and Transformation
In this collaboration between China and OAS member countries, Yuan Xikun uses cross-disciplinary art and modern context to energize trans-Pacific dialogue.
Organization of American States Sculpture Garden
May 11 to Oct. 5
Degas/Cassatt
Although Edgar Degas’s influence upon Mary Cassatt has long been acknowledged, the extent to which Cassatt shaped Degas’s artistic production and prepared the way for his warm reception by American audiences is fully examined in this exhibition for the first time.
National Gallery of Art
May 12 to Nov. 14
The First Woman Graphic Novelist: Helena Bochořáková-Dittrichová
Helena Bochořáková-Dittrichová (1894–1980) was a Czech graphic artist whose 1929 novel “Zmého dětství (From My Childhood)” is widely acknowledged to be the first wordless novel created by a woman.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Through May 16
Abstraction, Abstracción, Abstração
Paintings by 16 of Brazil’s most well-known 20th-century abstract artists — eight women and eight men — were done purely for aesthetic reasons using practiced painting or printmaking skills, creating visually interesting and thought-provoking works that search for a deeper understanding of light, color, textures and technical processes.
Inter-American Development Bank Cultural Center
Through May 17
Man at the Crossroads: Diego Rivera’s Mural at Rockefeller Center
This exposition centers around the mural that Mexican artist Diego Rivera painted in New York City, reconstructing its history with unedited material, including reproduced letters, telegrams, contracts, sketches, and documents, following Rivera’s commission, subsequent tension and conflict, and finally, the mural’s destruction.
Mexican Cultural Institute
Through May 22
Unanswered Prayers
The photographs of Anna Paola Pizzocaro, a renowned New York-based artist from Milan, carry traces of her collaborations with Luc Besson and David La Chappelle and tell the story of a dream-like trip between reality and imagination, as oceanic images combined with wildlife and human figures in urban settings become one.
Embassy of Italy
Through May 23
Retrato en Voz Alta
Portraits of contemporary Mexican artists by photographer Allan Fis includes subjects such as revered Mexican visual artists Pedro Friedeberg and José Luis Cuevas in a resounding visual essay on those who have dedicated their lives to art.
OAS Art Museum of the Americas
Through May 26
Damage Control: Art and Destruction Since 1950
The first in-depth exploration of the theme of destruction in international contemporary visual culture, this groundbreaking exhibition includes works by a diverse range of international artists working in painting, sculpture, photography, film, installation and performance.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Through May 30
Latitude Malbec: A Journey through Rouge Senses
Argentinean artist Miguel Perez Lem combines several mediums with images from the Andes to recreate the immense beauty of the mountain range through deep reds, evoking the various hues of the distinctive Malbec wine that is produced in that particular region of Argentina.
Embassy of Argentina
Through June 1
Double Mirror
Paintings, drawings, photography, reliefs, video projection and other installations by 30 Korean and Korean-American artists convey the complexity and richness of being a creative wanderer in the mainstream art world, while also exploring the challenges of being a minority in the United States.
American University Katzen Arts Center
Through June 6
Sequester
Six Australian contemporary artists working out of New York City and London were selected based on an empirical set of rules. In an act of sequestering the artists, each has adopted a system of constraint to structure their experiments, elucidating the vast complexities of lived experience with a remarkable economy of means.
Embassy of Australia Art Gallery
Through June 8
Garry Winogrand
A renowned photographer of New York City and American life from the 1950s through the early 1980s, Garry Winogrand worked with dazzling energy and a voracious appetite. In the first retrospective of his work in 25 years, some 180 photographs in the exhibition and more than 350 in the accompanying catalogue will reveal for the first time the full breadth of Winogrand’s art.
National Gallery of Art
Through June 8, 2014
Perspectives: Rina Banerjee
Born in India and based in New York City, artist Rina Banerjee draws on her background as a scientist and her experience as an immigrant in her richly textured works that complicate the role of objects as representations of cultures and invite viewers to share her fascination in materials.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Through June 15
Gravity’s Edge
One of a series of exhibitions drawn from the collection of the Hirshhorn in celebration of the museum’s 40th anniversary, “Gravity’s Edge” offers an expanded view of Color Field painting, which spanned from 1959 to 1978.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Through June 15
Rineke Dijkstra: The Krazyhouse
“The Krazyhouse” is a four-channel video installation by Rineke Dijkstra created in 2009 at a popular dance club in Liverpool that presents a group of five young people in their teens and early 20s dancing and singing.
Corcoran Gallery of Art
Through June 15
Shakespeare’s the Thing
Marking the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, this exhibition presents a miscellany of treasures in the Folger collection from Shakespeare’s 1623 First Folio to modern fine art prints, revealing the Bard’s influence on performance, adaptation, scholarship, printing, fine art and even in mild obsession.
Folger Shakespeare Library
Through June 21
Light Touch
The Cultural Service of the Embassy of France, in partnership with Maryland Art Place (MAP), features the work of five artists who explore aspects of the physical world through the lens of light as both a medium and a resource of value to our natural environment.
BWI Airport
Through June 29
Modern German Prints and Drawings from the Kainen Collection
Ruth Kainen’s love of German expressionism, first displayed at the gallery in the 1985 exhibition “German Expressionist Prints from the Collection of Ruth and Jacob Kainen,” will be celebrated with 123 works recently donated to the gallery through her bequest, as well as with a few of her earlier gifts.
National Gallery of Art
Through July 7
Territories and Subjectivities: Contemporary Art from Argentina
This exhibition featuring 33 innovative artists presents a vigorous panorama of fresh trends from various regions of the country, examining the very notion of territory not as an inherent condition of the world that we share, but as something that humans define for themselves through subjective means.
OAS Art Museum of the Americas
Through July 13
Dancing the Dream
From the late 19th century to today, dance has captured this nation’s culture in motion, as seen in photos that showcase generations of performers, choreographers and impresarios.
National Portrait Gallery
Through July 27
Chigusa and the Art of Tea
“Chigusa” tells the story of a 700-year-old ordinary tea jar that rose to become one of the most famous and revered objects in the Japanese “art of tea” — so much so that it was granted a name, luxurious accessories and a devoted following.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Through July 27
Kiyochika: Master of the Night
On Sept. 3, 1868, the city called Edo ceased to exist. Renamed Tokyo by Japan’s new rulers, the city became the primary experiment in a national drive toward modernization. Kobayashi Kiyochika, a self-trained artist, set out to record his views of Tokyo in an ambitious and auspicious series of 100 prints.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Through Aug. 17
An Opening of the Field: Jess, Robert Duncan, and Their Circle
Jess Collins and his partner, the poet Robert Duncan, merged their personal and artistic lives by exploring their mutual interest in cultural mythologies, transformative narrative and the appropriation of images.
American University Katzen Arts Center
Through Aug. 17
Visions from the Forests: The Art of Liberia and Sierra Leone
The exhibition features some 70 artworks from the collection of William Siegmann (1943–2011) — a former curator of African art at the Brooklyn Museum who lived and worked in Liberia for more than two decades — that survey the traditional arts of Liberia and Sierra Leone.
National Museum of African Art
Through Aug. 24
Africa ReViewed: The Photographic Legacy of Eliot Elisofon
“Africa ReViewed” showcases the African photography of celebrated Life magazine photographer Eliot Elisofon and explores the intricate relationships between his photographic archives and art collection at the National Museum of African Art. Elisofon’s images had a huge impact in framing America’s perceptions of Africa and its diverse cultures during the 20th century.
National Museum of African Art
Through Aug. 31
Made in the USA: American Masters from The Phillips Collection, 1850–1970
Following an acclaimed four-year world tour, the Phillips’s renowned collection of American masterworks returns to the museum to tell the story of American art from the late 19th-century to the mid-20th century, when it became a significant global force after World War II.
The Phillips Collection
Through Sept. 2
Peruvian Gold: Ancient Treasures Unearthed
This exhibition journeys through civilizations from 1250 B.C. to 1450, learning through the ceremonial gold, silver, ceramics and textiles created by the complex Andean civilizations in ancient Peru that rival anything made by the ancient Egyptians.
National Geographic Museum
Through Sept. 7
Small Guide to Homeownership: Photography by Alejandro Cartagena of Mexico
This selection from Alejandro Cartagena’s “Mexicana Suburbia” series considers the interdependence of humans and landscape in the face of urban expansion.
Art Museum of the Americas
Through Sept. 14
Bountiful Waters: Aquatic Life in Japanese Art
This exhibition features a selection of prints, paintings, illustrated books and ceramics that depict the Japanese appreciation for the beauty and variety of fish and other species.
Freer Gallery of Art
Through Sept. 14
Meret Oppenheim: Tender Friendships
More than 20 artworks and archival papers by Swiss surrealist Meret Oppenheim (1913-85) explore friendship as a source of support and inspiration, as seen through two 18th-century poets, Bettina von Brentano and Karoline von Günderode.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Through Sept. 21
Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence
A community of women living and working together in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has developed a new form of bead art — using black fabric as a canvas and different colored Czech glass beads as the medium of expression — to empower local women.
The Anacostia Community Museum
DANCE
Through May 3
Urban Corps 2014: A Transatlantic Urban Dance Festival
The Alliance Française’s annual transatlantic urban dance festival comes back to D.C. for its third year with powerful performances from urban dancers, musicians and speakers whose distinct backgrounds in arts such as miming, acrobatics, DJ, video and American urban dance present an unrivaled vantage point on metropolitan culture and identity. For information, visit www.francedc.org.
Various locations
May 20 to 25
Bolshoi Ballet: Giselle
Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet returns with “unparalleled intensity and brilliance” (Washington Post) to the Opera House to dance “Giselle,” one of the most romantic and visually striking works in the classical canon. Tickets are $34 to $165.
Kennedy Center Opera House
DISCUSSIONS
Wed., May 7, 7 p.m.
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze
Ethiopian-American writer and human rights activist Maaza Mengiste discusses her debut novel, “Beneath the Lion’s Gaze,” the story of a family’s struggle for freedom in 1974 on the eve of the Ethiopian revolution and the larger plight of sub-Sahara immigrants arriving in Europe. Admission is first come first served.
University of the District of Columbia
Theater of the Arts
Wed., May 7, 6:45 p.m.
Revueltas and Mexican Identity
As part of the PostClassical Ensemble’s Mexican Revolution programming, Roberto Kolb of the National University of Mexico, today’s leading Revueltas authority, discusses the legacy of Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez, a Mexican violinist, conductor and composer of classical music. Admission is free; reservations can be made by emailing rsvp@instituteofmexicodc.org.
Mexican Cultural Institute
Thu., May 8, 7:30 p.m.
Modernism in 1914
To mark the centenary of World War I, Steven Beller discusses how the violence of the First World War kick-started many of the changes that created the modern world we live in today.
Embassy of Austria
Wed., May 21, 4 p.m.
Tarfia Faizullah
Bangladeshi-American poet Tarfia Faizullah discusses her first collection of poetry, “Seam,” which explores the history of the Birangona, Bangladeshi women raped by Pakistani soldiers during the Liberation War of 1971, and the ethics of interviewing.
Library of Congress
James Madison Building
GALAS
Fri., May 2, 6:30 p.m.
Roger Nakazawa Art Reception
Join alumni from Princeton University, Johns Hopkins and other universities for an evening of wine and hors d’oeuvres that features the art of physiognomy (face reading), a silent auction and the work of six artists. Tickets are $35; 30 percent of all art sales will be donated to Charlies Place, a homeless service center in D.C. For information, visit http://mcbarnette.com/events.html.
Embassy of Austria
Through May 3
Heart’s Delight Wine Tasting & Auction
Heart’s Delight, widely recognized as a premier destination event where master winemakers, culinary greats and distinguished guests gather to play and bid in the nation’s capital, features four days of exceptional food and wine with unique touches woven throughout, including a series of ambassador-hosted dinners and a Vintners Dinner at Mellon Auditorium. Over the past 14 years, Heart’s Delight has raised more than $12 million for the American Heart Association. For information, visit http://heartsdelightwineauction.org.
Various locations
Sat., May 10, 6:30 p.m.
WPAS Annual Gala and Auction
A highlight of the spring gala season, the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) Gala and Auction raises funds to support the organization’s main stage and education programs. This year’s gala is hosted by South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool and features Vusi Mahlasela. Known as “The Voice” of South Africa, Mahlasela’s songs, themed around the struggle for freedom, forgiveness and reconciliation, inspired many in the South African anti-apartheid movement. Tickets start at $1,600; for information, call (202) 293-9325 or Helen Aberger at (202) 533-1891.
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Fri., May 16, 6:30 p.m.
Viennese Opera Ball
Enjoy a delightful evening of Austrian music as you indulge in the cuisine, culture, art and wine of Vienna hosted by the International Club of DC and Lyrica Artists, including a classical music and opera concert performance featuring rising stars of the operatic stage. Tickets are $65; for information, visit http://acfdc.org.
Embassy of Austria
MUSIC
Mon., May 5, 7 p.m.
Georgetown University and a coalition of partners from around the world will present a historic musical celebration of the canonizations of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII in the spirit of Pope Francis. Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero will attend together with Cardinal Donald Wuer and the ambassadors of Poland and Argentina. To register, visit www.iicwashington.esteri.it.
DAR Constitution Hall
Wed., May 7, 7:30 p.m.
Aima Labra-Makk and Florian Kitt
To mark the centenary of the start of World War I in 1914, pianist Aima Labra-Makk and violoncello Florian Kitt play a selection of music that was written just before and after the war, along with more recent works. Admission is free but registration is required and can be made at http://labrakitt.eventbrite.com.
Embassy of Austria
Sat., May 10, 2:30 p.m.
Eurovision Song Contest
Join the Embassy of Denmark to celebrate the grand finale of the World’s largest music contest, featuring 37 countries and 600 million viewers — all broadcast live from Copenhagen, the host city of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Tickets are $15; for information, visit www.EurovisionUSLive.eventbrite.com.
Embassy of Denmark
Thu., May 15, 7:30 p.m.
Fri., May 16, 7:30 p.m.
Operetta Evening
Hungarian soprano Krisztina David teams up with Austrian tenor Michael Heim in a thrilling array of arias and duets from beloved operettas in this two-night event hosted by the Embassy Series. Tickets are $65, including reception; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
Embassy of Austria
Tue., May 20, 7:30 p.m.
The Arabella String Quartet
At their debut concert in Boston two years ago, the Arabella Quartet received a glowing review from the Boston Musical Intelligencer, which said, “The group played like they had been together for years … with freedom, drive and risk-taking that were quite astonishing in a debut performance.” Tickets are $150, including buffet; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
European Union Residence
Thu., May 22, 7:30 p.m.
Chamber Music of Ravel and Debussy
Pianist Ann Schein — whom the Washington Post says “reaches right into the heart of whatever she is playing and creates music so powerful you cannot tear yourself away” — joins violinist Earl Carlyss and cellist Darret Adkins in a program of Debussy and Ravel. Tickets are $65, including reception; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
Embassy of France
THEATER
May 3 to 18
Washington National Opera: The Magic Flute
A love-struck prince sets out on a fantastic adventure to rescue the Queen of the Night’s daughter in Mozart’s final opera. Tickets are $25 to $305.
Kennedy Center Opera House
Through May 4
Camp David
Nestled in Catoctin Mountain Park lies the clandestine retreat known as Camp David, where for 13 tumultuous days, President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn host Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in an attempt to create the impossible: peace in the Middle East. Please call for ticket information.
Arena Stage
Through May 4
Moth
Anime-obsessed Sebastian and emo-Wiccan Claryssa survive high school with a mix of imagination and belligerence, but then a horrific event sends Sebastian on an apocalyptic mission, changing their friendship forever. Tickets are $30 to $35.
Studio Theatre
May 7 to 18
The Václav Havel Project
Alliance for New Music-Theatre presents “The Václav Havel Project,” a double bill that pairs the irreverent “Unveiling,” one of the Czech playwright’s most popular plays, with the world premiere of “Vaněk Unleashed,” a hilarious companion piece of original music-theatre by D.C.’s Maurice Saylor and Susan Galbraith. Post-performance discussions at all performances will allow audience members to share their interpretations of Václav Havel and these works. The production will also be accompanied by an exhibit of photographs by Jan Kašpar, a family friend of Havel’s. Tickets are $30; for information, visit www.newmusictheatre.org.
Artisphere Black Box Theatre
May 8 to June 8
Three Men in a Boat (To say nothing of the dog)
Still fresh and witty after more than a century, Jerome K. Jerome’s delightful travelogue tells the story of three young men suffering from a severe case of “overwork” who take a boating holiday through the English countryside, getting into one satirically hilarious predicament after another. Tickets start at $35.
Synetic Theater
Through May 11
Tender Napalm
A pair of young lovers creates a fantastical, often violent world through an interweaving dialogue of increasing perplexity. At the heart of their fantasies lies an unimaginable tragedy that both bonds and breaks the two. Please call for ticket information.
Signature Theatre
May 14 to June 22
Cock
John breaks up with his long-term boyfriend. Two weeks later, he’s grateful to be accepted back — and haunted by a passionate and unshakable encounter with a woman that detonates a love triangle of attraction, ambivalence and commitment. Please call for ticket information.
Studio Theatre
Through May 18
Living Out
Ana, a Salvadoran nanny and a mother of two, and Nancy, a lawyer challenged by fulfilling both personal and professional goals, are two working mothers who make difficult choices so they can provide a better life for their children. Please call for ticket information.
GALA Hispanic Theatre
Through May 18
Tango Turco (Turkish Tango)
In this comedy by Teatro de la Luna, two lovers and tango dancers from Argentina must escape after committing an uncertain and painful act, eventually teaming up with a Lebanese guitarist. Tickets are $25 or $35.
Gunston Arts Center – Theater Two
Through May 25
Fiasco Theater’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona
New York’s inventive Fiasco Theater has established its reputation for bringing Shakespeare’s most whimsical and timeless tales to the stage. This dizzying romantic adventure is a comedy filled with bandits, mistaken identity and also the “sourest-natured” dog Crab. Tickets are $30 to $72.
Folger Shakespeare Library
Through June 1
The Threepenny Opera
The haves clash with the have-nots while MacHeath, the ultimate sneering antihero, perches in the middle of the storm in this futuristic dystopia set in London’s gritty underworld. Please call for ticket information.
Signature Theatre
Through June 7
Henry IV, Part 1
A young prince must decide between tavern roughhousing and the burden of his father’s legacy in the coming-of-age story of heroism, corruption and war, directed by Shakespeare Theatre Artistic Director Michael Kahn and starring Stacy Keach. Tickets start at $20.
Shakespeare Theatre Harman Hall
Through June 8
Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller
Stuffed with nearly 40 popular hits from the golden age of rock, rhythm and blues, this longest-running musical revue in Broadway history will prove that Smokey Joe’s Café is the place to be. Please call for ticket information.
Arena Stage
