EVENT CATEGORIES

ART

Aug. 3 to Sept. 4

Expanding Spacetime: Works by Chae Eun Rhee and Sky Kim

The vivid and evocative paintings of Chae Eun Rhee and Sky Kim ask viewers to imagine how the human mind and body transcend the constraints of time and space. As female artists who have each lived in Korea and the United States, Rhee and Kim employ fundamentally different visual styles and subjects, but both aspire to integrate a sense of spirituality into their work by crossing traditional boundaries between imagination and reality. By examining what makes us who we are, from the cellular to the unconscious, both ask viewers to visualize their own inner worlds that are deeply personal, rarely seen and startling to behold.

Korean Cultural Center

Through Aug. 5

Do Ho Suh: Almost Home

Korean-born Do Ho Suh (b. 1962) is internationally renowned for his immersive, architectural fabric sculptures that explore the global nature of contemporary identity. “Do Ho Suh: Almost Home” will transform the museum’s galleries through Suh’s captivating installations, which recreate to scale several of his former homes from around the world. Through these works, Suh investigates the nature of home and memory and the impact of migration and displacement on an individual’s sense of self.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Through Aug. 5

The Prince and the Shah: Royal Portraits from Qajar Iran

In our age of social media and selfies, it may be difficult to grasp the importance of painted portraits and studio photographs in 19th-century Iran. During this time, known as the Qajar era, rulers such as Fath-Ali Shah, a contemporary of Napoleon, and Nasir al-Din Shah, a contemporary of Queen Victoria, used portraiture to convey monarchical power and dynastic grandeur. Through a selection of about thirty works from the Freer and Sackler collections, this exhibition explores how Persian artists transformed modes of representing royalty and nobility.

Freer Gallery of Art

Through Aug. 5

Sharing Images: Renaissance Prints into Maiolica and Bronze

Inspired by the acquisition of the important William A. Clark maiolica (glazed Italian ceramics) collection from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, this exhibition brings together some 90 objects to highlight the impact of Renaissance prints on maiolica and bronze plaquettes, the two media most dramatically influenced by the new technology of image replication.

National Gallery of Art

Through Aug. 10

Intimate Cartographies: An Approach to Interpersonal Relationships

This contemporary photography features outstanding artists from OAS member states Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela, as well as OAS permanent observer states Italy and Spain. Cartography and photography are similar in that they both originate from a natural reality. But this representation is not exact; it is subjective. The images in this exhibition hold a subtle informative quality, closely connected with the lyrical documentation of Walker Evans, “where many of his landscapes were not documented but created by him.”

Art Museum of the Americas F Street Gallery

Through Aug. 10

A New League: Shared Pastimes and the Story of U.S.-Japan Baseball

To celebrate the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game coming to D.C. this summer, the Japanese Embassy presents an exhibit that celebrates the bonds between the U.S. and Japan forged through the game of baseball. Featuring baseball-related historical objects and artifacts from Japan, the exhibition will trace the history of the sport in Japan, from its introduction and rapid transformation into Japan’s national sport, as well as explore the fascinating history of sports exchange and “baseball diplomacy” between Japan and the U.S. — avenues of contact that have fostered friendship, goodwill, and reconciliation between the two nations.

Japan Information & Culture Center

Through Aug. 11

The Way Things Were: The Painted World of Hashim Al-Samarraie

One of Baghdad’s premier fine artists, Hashim Al-Samarraie captures Iraqi and Kurdish culture through his unparalleled sensitivity to emotion and detail. Living with his family amid the chaos and danger of present day Baghdad, he persists in the work that has nurtured him for the past 25 years as an artist. Hashim’s work evokes an Iraqi past that is now lost to war and conflict, a remembrance of things past brought to life under his brush.

Syra Arts in Georgetown

Through Aug. 12

Does the Body Rule the Mind, or Does the Mind Rule the Body?

“Does the body” is the museum’s first live performance exhibition, introducing the newest generation of American artists who blend the avant-garde legacy of performance art with pop culture, presented together for the first time.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through Aug. 12

Ralph Steadman: A Retrospective

Celebrating the career of one of Britain’s most important graphic artists of the last 50 years, this collection of more than 100 original artworks will take viewers on a journey through Ralph Steadman’s wide-ranging career, from sketches created in the 1950s, to book illustrations, to present-day work. Steadman is famous for his long collaboration with the writer Hunter S. Thompson, most notably providing the illustrations for “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and helping to create what has since become known as “Gonzo” journalism.

American University Museum

Through Aug. 15

Mayas: Spaces of Memory

Documenting Mayan sites throughout Mexico, photographer Javier Hinojosa clearly and forcefully reflects the intimate relationship that exists between the jungle and the Mayas. Over the centuries the Mayas populated, developed and tamed the jungle, leaving behind a vast visual record of their historical and archeological legacy. In the process, they experienced an enormous amount of change, developing from tiny agricultural communities and the first regional centers of power to eventually becoming masters of politics, war and the jungle

Mexican Cultural Institute

Through Aug. 15

Tomb of Christ

Be virtually transported to Jerusalem and discover the fascinating history of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in an immersive 3-D experience unlike anything you’ve seen in a museum before. Groups will be able to virtually visit the church and learn about its storied history and enduring mysteries.

National Geographic

Through Aug. 24

1968: A Time of Uproar in Europe and the U.S.

Riots in Washington, D.C., violent protests in Berlin, a national strike in Paris and the brutal end of the Prague Spring: The year of 1968 was shaped by protest movements and an atmosphere of massive change. On the 50th anniversary of the protests, the Goethe-Institut highlights these historic events with a photo exhibition, offering a view into the movements in these four major cities.

Goethe-Institut

Through Aug. 24

In the Library: The Richter Archive at 75

In celebration of the 1943 arrival of the George M. Richter Archive of Illustrations on Art — the founding collection of 60,000 photographs that formed the nucleus of the department of image collections — this installation presents the history and development of the photographic archives of the National Gallery of Art.

National Gallery of Art

Through Aug. 31

Constructing Mexico68

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the first Latin American Olympic games, this exhibit takes audiences through a simple and concrete exploration of the sporting venues built for the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics and their constant connection to design and urban art. The development of competition sites for the Olympics’ diverse sporting disciplines required not only the adaptation of existing structures, but also the rapid construction of new, modern and functional facilities. In these new spaces, it was possible to implement the use of an applied architecture that met both the needs of the audience and the functional requirements of each sporting event that occupied it.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Through Sept. 3

World on the Horizon: Swahili Arts Across the Indian Ocean

The first major traveling exhibition dedicated to the arts of the Swahili coast reveals the diverse interchanges that break down barriers between Africa and Asia in a space that physically connects the Smithsonian’s African and Asian art museums. The Swahili coast, where East Africa meets the Indian Ocean, has long been a significant cultural, diplomatic and commercial intersection for Africa, Asia and Europe for millennia. “World on the Horizon” offers audiences an unprecedented opportunity to view over 160 artworks brought together from public and private collections from four continents.

National Museum of African Art

Through Sept. 9

Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia

Approximately 60 works, drawn from the collection of Miami-based collectors and philanthropists Debra and Dennis Scholl, spotlight nine leading Aboriginal Australian women artists. The artists are from remote Aboriginal communities across Australia, and the subjects of their art are broad, yet each work is an attempt to grapple with fundamental questions of existence, asking us to slow down and pay attention to the natural world.

The Phillips Collection

Through Sept. 16

Baselitz: Six Decades

The first major U.S. retrospective in more than 20 years of Georg Baselitz, one of Germany’s greatest living artists, marks the artist’s 80th birthday. With more than 100 works, including iconic paintings, works on paper, and wood and bronze sculptures, highlighting every phase of Baselitz’s six-decade career from the 1950s to today, this milestone exhibition features work never before seen in the U.S. and cements Baselitz’s reputation as one of the most original and inventive figurative artists of his generation.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through Sept. 16

Heavy Metal – Women to Watch 2018

Over 50 works made from silver, copper, bronze, pewter, aluminum and more highlight contemporary women artists working with a variety of metals and techniques to create pieces such as wall-size installations, exquisite jewelry and reinventions of familiar objects.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Through Sept. 23

Form and Function: The Genius of the Book

Dive deep into one of the world’s greatest technologies: the book. Discover a history beyond what’s printed on the page, seen in the structure, craftsmanship and beauty of this often-overlooked marvel.

Folger Shakespeare Library

Through Oct. 14

Collection of the Art Museum of the Americas

The OAS AMA | Art Museum of the Americas announces the second in a series of exhibitions accompanying “Collection of the Art Museum of the Americas of the Organization of American States, curated by Adriana Ospina. Initiated five years ago, the project aims to rethink the study of the historical and cultural legacy of the Art Museum of the Americas, beginning with a comprehensive catalogue of the permanent collection. The catalogue highlights key pieces of the AMA art collection, representing fundamental artistic trends that have developed in Latin America, including new figuration, geometric and lyrical abstraction, conceptual art, optical and kinetic art. Over the years, the museum has provided valuable support in the expansion of the academic field of modern and contemporary art of Latin America and the Caribbean in the United States.

OAS Art Museum of the Americas

Through Nov. 12

Mark Bradford: Pickett’s Charge

For his first solo exhibition in D.C., acclaimed artist Mark Bradford debuts a monumental site-specific commission inspired by Paul Philippoteaux’s 1883 cyclorama depicting the Battle of Gettysburg. Covering the curved walls of the Hirshhorn’s Third Level Inner Circle, “Pickett’s Charge” presents 360 degrees of abstracted historical narrative.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through Nov. 25

Bound to Amaze: Inside a Book-Collecting Career

Curator Emerita Krystyna Wasserman assembled NMWA’s collection of more than 1,000 artists’ books over a 30-year period. This focus exhibition celebrates her vision and features 20 notable artists’ books from the museum’s expansive collection.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Through Nov. 25

Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age

The Dutch rose to greatness from the riches of the sea. During the 17th century, water was central to their economic and naval successes, but was also a source of pleasure and enjoyment. This exhibition explores the deep, multifaceted relationship the Dutch had with the water, including their gratitude for the sea’s bounty and their fear of its sometimes destructive power.

National Gallery of Art

Through Dec. 25

Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts

More than 300 works of art from the museum’s permanent collection are on view within this exhibition. Working in media as diverse as wood, ceramics, drawing, jewelry, mixed media, sculpture, painting, photography, printmaking, and video, these works of art reflect the visionary ideas and styles developed by men and women from more than half of Africa’s 55 nations. The installation is organized around seven viewpoints, each of which serve to frame and affect the manner in which African art is experienced.

National Museum of African Art

Through Jan. 6, 2019

Sense of Humor

Humor may be fundamental to human experience, but its expression in painting and sculpture has been limited. Instead, prints, as the most widely distributed medium, and drawings, as the most private, have been the natural vehicles for comic content. Drawn from the National Gallery of Art’s collection, this exhibition celebrates this incredibly rich though easily overlooked tradition through works including Renaissance caricatures, biting English satires, and 20th-century comics.

National Gallery of Art

Through Jan. 6, 2019

Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen

Trevor Paglen is an award-winning artist whose work blurs the lines between art, science and investigative journalism to construct unfamiliar and at times unsettling ways to see and interpret the world. This is the first exhibition to present Paglen’s early photographic series alongside his recent sculptural objects and new work with artificial intelligence.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Through Jan. 13, 2019

Fabergé Rediscovered

Designed to delight and surprise, the treasures created by the firm of Carl Fabergé have inspired admiration and intrigue for over a century, both for their remarkable craftsmanship and the captivating stories that surround them. The fascination with Fabergé continues to uncover new discoveries about the storied jeweler to the tsars and his remarkable creations. This exhibit unveils recent research and explore how the 2014 discovery of a long-lost imperial Easter egg prompted new findings about Hillwood’s own collection.

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

Through Jan. 21, 2019

No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man

Each year in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, a city of more than 70,000 people rises out of the dust for a single week. During that time, enormous experimental art installations are erected and many are ritually burned to the ground. Cutting-edge artwork created at Burning Man, the annual desert gathering that is one of the most influential events in contemporary art and culture, will be exhibited in the nation’s capital for the first time this spring.

Renwick Gallery

DISCUSSIONS

Fri., Aug. 3, 6:45 p.m.

New Frontiers and Old Traditions: Trends in South American and Australian Wines

Argentine Malbec and Aussie Shiraz may still rule the export markets, but today’s producers in South America and Australia create a richly varied range of high-quality wines that deserve to be better known. Joined by a pair of wine experts, Taylor Parsons, a Los Angeles-based sommelier, guides a two-part exploration of the history, development, and diversity of these two pivotal axes of the wine world. Ticket are $65; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

Sat., Aug. 4, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Decoding Air Travel: A Practical Guide for Frustrated Flyers

Does each news report on the latest air passenger’s nightmare strengthen your resolve to never step on a plane again? Nicholas Kralev, a globe-trotting author and entrepreneur who has visited almost 100 countries and flown more than 2 million miles, decided that knowledge is the most effective key to affordable and comfortable travel. Learn his tricks as he discusses his book “Decoding Air Travel: A Guide to Saving on Airfare and Flying in Luxury.” Tickets are $140; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

Sat., Aug. 11, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Buzz on Bees

In a day-long program, discover the ways humans and bees are inextricably linked, and how much we rely on them: When the hive thrives, we all thrive. Tickets are $140; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

Wed., Aug. 15, 6:45 p.m.

Heavenly Bodies at the Met: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

A new exhibition at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art examines fashion’s ongoing engagement with the devotional practices and traditions of Catholicism. Inspired by the exhibition, art historian Anne Higonnet surveys an unexpected range of style leaders, from the archangel Gabriel to Pope Francis I, and their influence on recent fashion. Tickets are $45; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

MUSIC

Aug. 2 to 5

WIPAC 2018 Piano Artist Competition

The Washington International Piano Arts Council (WIPAC) — an organization dedicated to a renaissance of classical piano artistry that includes both professional and outstanding amateur pianists showcasing their many talents — will be holding its 16th annual piano competition for outstanding piano amateurs in the Music Department at The George Washington University starting at 10 a.m. on Aug. 2. Preliminary rounds will be on Aug. 2 and 3; the semi-final round will be held on Aug. 4, with finalists being announced at 6 p.m. that Saturday. The final round will be held on Aug. 5 at 1 p.m. at the Cosmos Club and will be followed by cocktails, the awarding of prizes (including $3,000 for the first prize) and a celebratory dinner. Admission for the preliminary and semi-final round is $25.00; seating is between pianists. Admission for the final round is $25 for the concert; $50 for cocktails and awarding of prizes; or $150 for the celebratary dinner. Tickets may be purchased at the door, but reservations must be made in advance for the celebratory dinner. For more information, visit www.wipac.org.

The George Washington University
Cosmos Club

Thu., Aug. 2, 6:45 p.m.

La Música de México: Recital with Mexican Composer Alfredo Sánchez

As part of its 2018 Music Series, the Mexican Cultural Institute presents a recital titled “Mexico’s nueva canción” with Mexican composer Alfredo Sánchez. Sánchez will play a number of his songs from over the years, offering a panorama of his work as composer and sampling the many different musical genres that have influenced him throughout his career, including music from Mexico, Latin America, as well as rock, jazz and more. To RSVP, visit www.instituteofmexicodc.org.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Mon., Aug. 6, 8 p.m.

Dani Cortaza: Jazz and Latin American Folklore

Composer and performer Dani Cortaza specializes in South American folklore, Brazilian and Latin jazz in nylon and electric jazz guitar. He returns to Blues Alley for the U.S. release of his album “Together/Oñondivé.” Please call for ticket information.

Blues Alley

Mon., Aug. 6, 6:30 p.m.

Tango Jazz Quartet in Concert

Tango Jazz Quartet mixes the melodic and rhythmic patterns of tango with the improvisation of jazz, taking its unique brand of music to venues in Europe, Brazil, Russia, China and Africa. To RSVP, visit http://tjq.eventbrite.com.

Embassy of Argentina

Mon., Aug. 6, 6 p.m.

Upbeat Strings: Jakub Trasak and Jiří Nedoma

This is not your ordinary violin and piano duo but a groovy acoustic and electric experience across the genres. The concert, showcasing Jakub Trasak (violin) and Jiří Nedoma (piano), features virtuosic arrangements and an emotionally packed delivery of music by Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Coldplay and more.

Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

Mon., Aug. 7, 8 p.m.

Angélique Kidjo’s Remain in Light

In her newest project, Angelique Kidjo reinterprets The Talking Heads’s classic album, “Remain in Light” (1980), adding electrifying rhythms, African guitars and layered backing vocals. Cross-pollinating the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk, and jazz, Kidjo is nothing short of exhilarating and transcendent. Tickets are $28 to $60.

Wolf Trap

Sun., Aug. 26, 8 p.m.

Bollywood Boulevard

Bollywood Boulevard — a harmonious fusion of live music, dance and film — leads audiences from the birth of Hindi cinema to present day. Experience the spirit, artistry, and history of India’s famous film industry from the classics of the black and white era and the timeless songs of Bollywood’s Golden Era to the foot-tapping blockbusters of today. Tickets are $25 to $55.

Wolf Trap

THEATER

 Aug. 4 to Sept. 2

The Bridges of Madison Country

A sweeping romance about the roads we travel, the doors we open and the bridges we dare to cross, this 2014 Tony Award-winner for Best Score and Orchestrations captures the lyrical expanse of America’s heartland and the yearning entangled in the eternal question of “what if?” Tickets are $55.

Andrew Keegan Theatre

Through Aug. 5

The Story of the Gun

Mike Daisey returns to tackle our nation’s most intractable subject: America’s relationship with guns. Throwing easy answers and partisan bickering out the window, he delves into the history of the gun and its place in our national culture, cutting through the political static with hilarious comedy, brilliant observation, and pitch-perfect timing. Tickets are $20 to $75.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Aug. 10 to Sept. 2

Melancholy Play: A Contemporary Farce

Tilly, a bank teller, is consumed by a melancholy so exquisite that everyone she meets becomes infatuated with her. But when Tilly inexplicably discovers happiness, her joy wreaks havoc on the lives of her paramours. Please call for ticket information.

Constellation Theatre Company at The Source

Through Aug. 12

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

A wizard stuck in a land far away from home; a Scarecrow tied to a pole; a Tinman rusted in a forest; and a Lion afraid of his own shadow. Join Synetic Theater’s brand new adaptation of one of the most important cultural texts of the 20th century, L. Frank Baum’s American masterpiece “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Tickets start at $35.

Synetic Theater

Aug. 14 to Sept. 23

Passion

Set in 1860s Italy, this gorgeous musical ignites a fiery love triangle when a handsome army captain is transferred to a remote military outpost and into the blinding infatuation of Fosca, the ailing cousin of his superior. Fosca’s fervent longing draws him in as it threatens to upend his career in an exhilarating tangle of obsession, desire, madness and above all, passion. Please call for ticket information.

Signature Theatre

Through Aug. 19

Dave

From a Tony and Pulitzer Prize Award-winning creative team and adapted from the Oscar-nominated film, “Dave” tells the story of high school teacher (and presidential lookalike) Dave Kovic, who is hired by the Secret Service as a stand-in for the commander-in-chief. Tickets are $40 to $90.

Arena Stage

Through Aug. 26

The Color Purple

With a soul-raising score of jazz, gospel, ragtime, and blues, this joyous American classic has conquered Broadway in an all-new “ravishingly reconceived production that is a glory to behold” (The New York Times). Tickets are $69 to $149.

Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater