EVENT CATEGORIES

ART 

July 1 to Oct. 26

Symbols of Honor: Heraldry and Family History in Shakespeare’s England

This show — the largest and most comprehensive of its kind ever mounted — explores the birth of genealogy in its modern form by examining the colorful world of heralds and their rivals, which competed to profit from the craze for coats of arms that seized England during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Folger Shakespeare Library

July 1 to Dec. 31

Titian’s Danaë from the Capodimonte Museum, Naples

One of the most sensual paintings of the Italian Renaissance, Titian’s “Danaë” from the Capodimonte Museum in Naples will be on view to celebrate the commencement of Italy’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

National Gallery of Art

July 3 to Aug. 2

Sandra Pani: My Intangible Self

Celebrated Mexican artist Sandra Pani explores the body, its structure and its relationship with natural phenomena, using superimposed veilings that both invite deciphering and impede a definitive reading, opening up a variety of interpretations.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Through July 3

AppArtAward – App goes art // Art goes app

Artists have been quick to recognize the creative potential of apps, particularly as a new form of communication and participation in contemporary art.

Goethe-Institut

Through July 3

Lily Garafulic: Centenary Celebration

Selected prints, drawings, watercolors, sculptures and a documentary examine the work of Lily Garafulic Yankovic (1914-2012), a Chilean sculptor who was among the 40 Generation artists who drew heavily from impressionism and Fauvism and remained largely removed from the more overtly political work being made at the time.

Art Museum of the Americas

Through July 3

Search for a New Sound. The Blue Note Photographs of Francis Wolff

Blue Note Records celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2014. Its roots lie in Berlin, where two teenagers, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, discovered a passion for swing music and a strong friendship. They both moved to New York in the 1930s, where Blue Note Records was born in 1939.

Goethe-Institut

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

July 7 to Sept. 26

In the Library: Preservation and Loss during World War II

The loss of cultural patrimony in times of war is often a sad byproduct of military action, and until the modern era was rarely documented. But the National Gallery of Art Library contains thousands of photographic images that do just that: chronicle the loss and preservation of countless works of art and architecture that were in peril during armed conflict.

National Gallery of Art

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 15

They Never Update the Lists by Michael Borek

To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the death of Franz Kafka, Michael Borek — a photographer and freelance interpreter raised in Prague and now based in Bethesda, Md. — addresses the themes of alienation and absurdity prevalent in the Czech writer’s work. For information, visit www.mzv.cz/washington/en/culture_events/culture/index.html.

Embassy of the Czech Republic

July 17 to Oct. 5

Femininity Beyond Archetypes: Photography by Natalia Arias of Colombia

This exhibit showcases Natalia Arias’ series “Venus,” which initiates a conversation on her vision of Venus and references the idea of the goddess throughout history, and the series “Taboo,” which demonstrates that female bodies are charged with concepts prohibited by society, denying the inherent beauty in biological functions.

Art Museum of the Americas

July 19 to Aug. 3

The Tempest

Shakespeare’s glorious tale of magical creatures, love and forgiveness on a faraway island is sure to captivate in our outdoor space, the Root Family Stage. Please call for ticket information.

Olney Shakespeare Theatre

July 19 to Sept. 28

Mark Tribe: Plein Air

Nine large-scale images explore the aesthetics and representation of aerial views in landscape photography through the virtual lens of computer simulation.

Corcoran Gallery of Art

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 July 31

Octavio Paz: De La Palabra a la Miranda

This display brings together Octavio Paz’s artist books, capturing the Nobel Laureate’s indelible word through the illustration of renowned artists from Mexico and abroad, including Rufino Tamayo, Juan Soriano, Vicente Rojo, Marcel Duchamp, Antoni Tàpies, Robert Motherwell, Balthus and Cy Twombly.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Through 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

Through 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 Aug. 17

Continental Drift

This survey of Washington artist Judy Byron invites the viewer to consider the visual and auditory environment that informs identity, acknowledging the artist’s drifting of visual influences among three specific countries: Brazil, China and Ghana.

American University Katzen Arts Center

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

Passionate Collectors: The Washington Print Club at 50

With almost 150 prints selected from Washington collections, this exhibit reveals a diversity of techniques — from relief printing by celebrated masters Durer, van Dyck, Carracci, Pissarro, Picasso and Chuck Close to monoprints by contemporaries Richard Estes, Ventura Salimbeni, Thomas Frye, Adolphe Appian, Reinhard Hilker and Keiko Hara.

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. 29

Investing in Women and Girls: A Photography exhibit of winners of the Colors of Life photo contest

This exhibition of winning entries of the Colors of Life International Photo Contest, organized in conjunction with the World Bank Art Program, features international documentary and street photographers tackling issues such as women’s rights and the international movement toward a more just and humane world.

Art Museum of the Americas
F Street Gallery

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. 5

Marks and Traces: Helga Thomson Retrospective

The work of Buenos Aires-born artist Helga Thomson, who studied in Argentina, Europe and the United States, encompasses etchings, collagraphs, monoprints, digital prints, mixed media and installations that are rich in color and content, reflecting a life story with deep symbolic references.

Embassy of Argentina

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

Through Sept. 28

American Metal: The Art of Albert Paley

Spanning a remarkable 50-year career, this first-ever retrospective surveys the art of Albert Paley, one of the world’s most distinguished metalsmiths.

Corcoran Gallery of Art

Through Sept. 30

Marco Paoli Photography

(Silence)” and from his forthcoming monograph on Ethiopia, using his travels as metaphors for an artistic exploration around the concepts of silence, memory, emotion and inner journey (viewing appointments must be made by emailing iicwashington@esteri.it).

Embassy of Italy

Through 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

Through Oct. 12

Total Art: Contemporary Video

The first museum exhibition to focus on women’s impact on the field of video art highlights the inventive processes and compelling subjects that sustain women artists’ position at the forefront of video.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Through 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 Dec. 31

Cartier: Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Dazzling Gems

One of Cartier’s most important and enduring clients, Marjorie Merriweather Post commissioned some of the most exquisite jewelry sets, fashionable accessories and finely crafted jeweled frames of any American collector.

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

Through Jan. 4

One Nation With News for All

Ethnic newspapers, radio, television and online publications have helped millions of immigrants to America become part of their new country while preserving their ties to their native lands. This exhibit tells the dramatic story of how immigrants and minorities used the power of the press to fight for their rights and shape the American experience.

Newseum

DANCE

July 11 to 27

Blue Moon/Red River

One of the few dance-focused companies presenting work at this year’s Capital Fringe Festival, Jane Franklin Dance collaborates with Helen Hayes Award-winning percussionist Tom Teasley live on stage as 11 athletic dancers form organic and human landscapes that dwell in the persistent sound reminiscent of the winds of the Southwestern plains. Please call for ticket information.

Atlas Performing Arts Center

DISCUSSIONS

Wed., July 9, 6:45 p.m.

Tea Across Time

Tea drinking, known to have taken place in China in the third century, has long played a role in shaping societies, art, politics and economies. With a pair of exhibitions focusing on Japanese tea culture now on view at the Freer and Sackler Galleries, this evening seminar with tasting looks at the beloved beverage’s rich global history. Tickets are $45; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

Thu., July 10, 6:45 p.m.

Jesuit Missions in the Early Modern World

Thomas Cohen of Catholic University examines the Jesuits’ work in overseas missions from 1549 to 1773, looking at the order’s establishment of missions in a wide range of settings, from the Chinese and Mughal courts to the frontiers of the Iberian empires in the Americas. Tickets are $25; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

Tue., July 15, 6:45 p.m.

Shakespeare at 450: A Standing Ovation

Celebrate the 450th anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare, whom Ben Jonson so aptly eulogized as a man as “not of an age, but for all time,” with Carol Ann Lloyd Stanger, a Tudor and Renaissance scholar and education specialist at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Tickets are $42; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

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

St. Nazaire: The Greatest Raid of All

The British raid on St. Nazaire on the Atlantic coast of occupied France ranks as one of the most extraordinary acts of heroism in World War II. Tickets are $42; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

Sat., July 19, 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

The Regency World of Jane Austen

Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Elliot, and the Dashwood sisters may be fictional heroines, but their creator Jane Austen sets their adventures in romance against the very real social and historical backdrop of Regency England. Art historian Bonita Billman brings the era to life during a delightful day of cultural time traveling. Tickets are $130; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

Wed., July 23, 6:45 p.m.

Masterpieces of Art in Early Renaissance Italy

Elaine Ruffolo explores the early years of the Italian Renaissance, which saw an explosion of artistic energy as the visual arts underwent seminal changes in form, function and status, and as artists’ interests turned from predominantly religious themes to the real world — with startling results. Tickets are $42; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

FESTIVALS

July 7 to 11

Design @+

To mark the 30th Anniversary of the sister-city relationship between the District of Columbia and Beijing, “Design@+” was launched to bridge the creative conversation between two capitals by engaging design professionals in a weeklong series of events. In addition to an exhibit of 80 contemporary designs ranging from furniture and product design to fashion and graphic design, “Design @+” includes various discussions such as “Google Art Night Talk: What is the Role of Technology (such as 3D printing) in Industrial Designs?” on July 9. For information, visit www.jintaimuseum.org or www.facebook.com/dcbeijingdesign.

Powerhouse in Georgetown

July 10 to 27

Capital Fringe Festival

This annual performing arts festival features more than 100 events at venues across town that connect exploratory artists with adventurous audiences by creating outlets and spaces for creative, cutting-edge and contemporary performance ranging from theater, dance and music to poetry and puppetry. For information, visit www.capitalfringe.org.

Various locations

Fri., July 11, 7:30 p.m.

Bastille Day Celebration

The Embassy of France welcomes Washingtonians to the Comité Tricolore’s spectacular annual Bastille Day celebration, which offers access to Washington’s top chefs and their signature dishes; a night of dancing; live jazz and swing music; open bars; and a wide-ranging silent and live auction. This year’s event commemorates the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, a symbol of the enduring American-French partnership. Tickets are $90 to $175; for information, visit www.frenchembassybastilleday2014.eventbrite.com.

Embassy of France

MUSIC

Thu., July 3, 8 p.m.

Magic Songs of the Eternal Steppe

This extraordinary concert presented by the Kazakh American Association takes audiences on a journey to the great Silk Road through the unrivaled technique and passion of Kazakhstan’s greatest musicians, composers and vocalists, who for thousands of years have drawn their musical inspiration from the country’s enchanting landscape. Tickets are $20.

Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Tue., July 8, 8 p.m.

Jose Alberto “El Canario” and Domingo Quinones

Jose Alberto, a Dominican salsa singer, became a major Latin star after the release of his 1984 debut “Noches Calientes,” while his 1991 album “Dance With Me” established a new style of salsa called salsa romantica. Tickets are $29.50 to $60.

Howard Theatre

Tue., July 15, 9 p.m.

Los Pericos

Los Pericos, a reggae rock band from Argentina formed in 1987, has enjoyed international success, especially throughout South America, and was featured on an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s show “No Reservations.” Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door.

Howard Theatre

Thu., July 24, 6:45 p.m.

The Eblen Macari Trio

This summer concert features the acclaimed Eblen Macari Trio, which fuses improvisation and world music by using myriad instruments to uncover the baroque and Levantine influences in Mexican music.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Fri., July 25, 9 p.m.

Pupy y Los Que Son Son

César “Pupy” Pedroso, one of Cuba’s best and most prolific composers, played a seminal role in revolutionizing the art of salsa piano playing. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

Howard Theatre

THEATER

Through July 5

Happy Days

Scena Theater presents the absurdist classic “Happy Days” by the esteemed Irish playwright Samuel Beckett and directed by local acting veteran Nancy Robinette. Tickets are $20 to $40.

Atlas Performing Arts Center

Through July 6

Cloak and Dagger

Third-rate detective Nick Cutter is down on his luck when a beautiful blonde bombshell tosses a very intriguing case (and herself) into his lap in this zany, mile-a-minute whodunit that features four actors playing nearly 20 roles. Please call for ticket information.

Signature Theatre

July 11 to 27

Medea’s Got Some Issues

As part of the Capital Fringe Fetival, No Rules Theatre Company and SPAIN arts & culture present the D.C. premiere of Spanish playwright Emilio Williams’ award-winning farce, which delivers a sidesplitting take on the infamous Greek myth. Finally audiences get Medea’s uncensored side of the story: the whirlwind romance that drove her to murder her children, the tragedy that is modern theater, and the portrayal of women in the age of Rihanna and JLaw. Tickets are $17.

Warehouse

July 12 to 27

Report to an Academy by Franz Kafka

An ape evolves to behave like a human and presents his fascinating tale of transformation — and the horrid details of his former ape life — to a top scientific academy. For ticket information, visit www.ScenaTheater.org.

Caos on F Street Gallery

Through July 14

Side Show

Chronicling their rise from freak circus attractions to famous vaudeville entertainers during the Great Depression, “Side Show” follows conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton in their heartwarming search for love and normalcy amidst the spectacle of fame and scrutiny. Tickets are $45 to $130.

Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

Through July 15

Noël Coward’s Private Lives

Noël Coward’s quick-witted comedy opens in a blissful hotel in France where divorcées Elyot and Amanda are on a honeymoon with their new spouses. When the ex-couple discover each other on neighboring balconies, they try to maintain a veneer of etiquette and respectability, but old feelings make matters complicated. Tickets are $40 to $100.

Shakespeare Lansburgh Theatre

July 25 and 26

Globe to Globe Hamlet

Shakespeare’s Globe launches a worldwide tour of “Hamlet,” bringing their acclaimed production back to the Folger after a highly successful run in 2012. The London-based Shakespeare’s Globe production will visit all 205 nations on earth in an unprecedented theatrical adventure, including this stop in the United States. Tickets are $60 to $85.

Folger Shakespeare Library

July 28 to Aug. 17

Stupid F###king Bird

An aspiring young director rampages against the art created by his mother’s generation while a nubile young actress wrestles with an aging Hollywood star for the affections of a renowned novelist in this irreverent remix of Chekhov’s “The Seagull.” Please call for ticket information.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre

Through Aug. 17

Disney’s The Lion King

Winner of six Tonys including Best Musical, “Disney’s The Lion King” returns with direction and costumes by Julie Taymor and a score by Elton John and Tim Rice that brings the African Pridelands to life. Tickets are $40 to $190.

Kennedy Center Opera House