photo by Pablo Raw
From a press release:
“The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden Ice Rink will reopen on November 19, marking the return of a beloved winter activity after last year’s season was canceled. Located on the National Mall between 7th and 9th Streets along Constitution Avenue NW, the ice rink will remain open through March 6, weather permitting. (more…)
Photo by Tonje Thilesen
From an email:
“Set your alarm! Tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 am, American artist Abigail DeVille marks the arrival of her multimedia sculpture, Light of Freedom (2020) on the National Mall with the premiere of, WAKE UP: Liberation Call at Dawn (2021) in the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden. DeVille’s invocation of freedom in voice and percussion includes contributions from artist-scholar-sound healer Jadele McPherson; West African drumming from Farafina Kan, and go-go music from The JoGo Project. The free, outdoor performance begins at 7:30am and last approximately 45 minutes. Registration is appreciated.
WAKE UP is a one-time, site-specific artwork. DeVille created Light of Freedom as “a commemoration of the Black Lives Matter protests and movement and the Black lives here on this continent for 400 years.” Her mixed-media sculpture will be on display on the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, Oct. 15-April 17, 2022.
DETAILS: (more…)
photo by Idit Knaan
From the Smithsonian Office of Public Affairs:
“We made the decision to not host the Zoo’s traditional Halloween or ZooLights events because we didn’t feel we could do them well for multiple reasons and within our COVID safety parameters. Our number one priority remains the safety and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and animals. We all feel hopeful that 2022 will bring new opportunities.”
From an email:
“The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will once again host its annual “Air & Scare” family day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. (more…)
Photo by Tim Brown
From a press release:
“The historic Arts and Industries Building (AIB), America’s first National Museum, will open its groundbreaking new museum experience “FUTURES” Saturday, Nov. 20. On view through July 6, 2022, “FUTURES” is the Smithsonian’s first major building-wide exploration of the future and will temporarily reopen the Smithsonian’s oldest museum for the first time in nearly two decades.
The part-exhibition, part-festival will celebrate the Smithsonian’s 175th anniversary with more than 150 awe-inspiring objects, ideas, prototypes and installations that fuse art, technology, design and history to help visitors imagine many possible futures on the horizon. (more…)
Thanks to Alice for sending from “the southeast corner of 15th and U St NW (by the gas station) heading toward 14th Street. All the left/right arrows are wrong.”
The National Museum of American Jewish Military History does not need to be harder to find!! (more…)
photo (and query) by Katherine Zhao
Katherine asks: “DC folks: any art museums (broadly defined) in the DC area to add to this list? Found myself going to same few and wanted to check out some other places.”
The early replies: (more…)
“View east across the Hudson River from Exchange Place, Jersey City, New Jersey; July 4, 1978. Courtesy National Building Museum, © Camilo José Vergara.”
From a press release:
“As the United States approaches the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, the National Building Museum announces the new exhibition The Towers of the WTC: 51 Years of Photographs by Camilo José Vergara. Located in the Museum’s second-floor galleries, the exhibition will open on September 4, 2021, and be available through March 6, 2022. (more…)
From a press release:
“Starting Friday, July 30, the Smithsonian will require all visitors ages 2 and older to wear a mask in its museums and indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status. Fully vaccinated visitors will not be required to wear a mask in outdoor areas at the National Zoo and the Smithsonian’s outdoor gardens but must wear a mask to visit indoor areas, including restrooms. (more…)
Photo by angela n.
From a press release:
“Starting Tuesday, July 20, the Smithsonian will no longer require timed-entry passes to visit most of its museums. However, free passes will still be required to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Zoo. In addition, museums on the National Mall will return to their pre-pandemic hours, which for most museums is 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (more…)
courtesy National Museum of Asian Art
“Dear PoPville,
Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai may be best known for his iconic woodblock print, “Great Wave off Kanagawa,” (which as you know has been frequently imitated and parodied – including on the side of this Georgetown house) yet few are familiar with another work–a breathtaking painting titled “Breaking Waves”–that was created 15 years later at the height of his career. Now that rarely seen painting, the culmination of Hokusai’s lifelong effort to capture the sea, will go on view when the Freer Gallery of Art (Jefferson Drive at 12th St. S.W.) reopens on Friday, July 16.”
Full release: (more…)