May 22, 2012 | WDC: 78.8 °F
Learn about events happening in and around Washington!
Scroll below to see what's happening today or use the box below to select a date. You can also go to the Calendar Search page to search by keyword or event category. Local arts and cultural organizations are invited to submit events to this calendar.

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Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
July 1 through May 28, 2012
The Portrait Gallery will observe the centennial of the fortieth president’s birthday with a one- room exhibition chronicling Ronald Reagan’s early years in Illinois through his acting and political career, to his presidency from 1981-1989. This exhibition has been funded by the Guenther and Siewchin Yong Sommer Endowment Fund.
Categories: Arts
The Textile Museum
Japan has a remarkably refined textile tradition, and for centuries the Japanese have admired the silks produced in the Nishijin neighborhood of Kyoto as the epitome of beauty and opulence. Woven Treasures will feature some of the sumptuous pieces created in one of Nishijin’s oldest and most illustrious workshops: Tawaraya. The kimono, screens, and other colorful silks in the exhibition demon...
The Textile Museum
The word “museum” derives from the ancient Greek mouseion—"temple of the Muses"—home of goddesses believed to inspire creativity. The Textile Museum’s permanent collections provided the source of creative inspiration for eleven contemporary artists.
Invited to participate by renowned textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen, the artists explored the Museum’s historically and culturally...
The Art League Gallery
Created from “the debris of life,” artist Elissa Farrow-Savos creates narrative, found object sculptures channeling themes and emotions familiar to women. “Every piece I make is about storytelling – each a narrative of some woman somewhere, and every woman everywhere.” This series will be on display at The Art League Gallery in her solo exhibit, “Conversations With My Mother,” May...
Brentwood Arts Exchange
The Brentwood Arts Exchange announces Forest of the Mind, showing April 9 - June 2, featuring sculptures by DC-based Laura G. Thorne and Baltimore-based Marcia Wolfson Ray. Each working in her own way, one using found organic material and the other man-made material, Thorne and Wolfson-Ray’s work meets in their embrace of mystery and improvisation and in their ability to cast the familiar int...
The Art League Gallery
"Bedtime Stories – Storytelling Through Art" will be offered as part of The Art League's programming for MINDS WIDE OPEN: Virginia Celebrates Children and the Arts. This exhibit will feature narrative works that invite the viewer to visually wander through the world the artist has created, whether real or imagined.
Reception: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Gallery Hours:
Mond...
Categories: Arts, Family Oriented, Free
The Art League Gallery
For The Art League’s first internationally juried exhibition “Tea,” 200 ceramic artists from all corners of the United States and Canada turned out to submit various wares associated with the ritual of drinking, serving, and presenting tea. Juror John Neely, ceramic artist and current Professor of Art in Ceramics and Assistant Department Head at Utah State University in Logan, UT, selecte...
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
With the recent Oscar success of THE ARTIST and HUGO, silent cinema hasn't had it this good since the late 1920s. April 13 through June 9, get acquainted with the unique art of silent filmmaking, as well as the dedicated and talented modern musicians who bring these films to life with their inventive accompaniment.
Highlights of the Silent Cinema Showcase include HUGO; THE GENERAL and SPEEDY...
Categories: Film, Music: Classical
National Building Museum
LEGO® Architecture: Towering Ambition through September 3, 2012
LEGO® Architecture: Towering Ambition features 15 LEGO® models built by LEGO® certified professional Adam Reed Tucker. The buildings and structures that Tucker has assembled are some of the most recognizable works of architecture in the world, including the Empire State Building, Burj Khalifa, and the World Trade Center.
Admi...
Categories: Exhibits
National Building Museum
Cityscapes Revealed: Highlights from the Collection, long-term
This survey of the permanent collection explores America’s architectural heritage through exquisitely detailed drawings; antique building toys; rare, early 20th-century photographs; and original building fragments from national historic landmarks.
Cityscapes Revealed: Highlights from the Collection is made possible by the Trust...
Categories: Exhibits
National Building Museum
Washington: Symbol and City, long-term
Discover how the built environment of Washington, D.C. reflects the complex relationship between its role as a national symbol and seat of government and its day-to-day life as an evolving municipality.
Exhibition Tours: Thursday–Sunday at 2:30 pm (based on docent availability)
Washington: Symbol and City is made possible by The Morris and Gwendo...
Categories: Exhibits
Goethe-Institut Washington, the German Cultural Center
Germany has Daniel Libeskind to thank for several museums of great national significance, including the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Military History Museum in Dresden.
The exhibition “Daniel Libeskind: Architecture for the Angel of History” will present photographs of these and other living expressions of memory designed by Daniel Libeskind.
Gallery Hours: Mo-Thur 9am-5pm, Fr 9am-3pm.
Categories: Exhibits
National Building Museum
Building Zone long-term
Monday through Saturday: 10:00am - 4:00 pm; Sunday: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Ages 2-6 with adult supervision
The Building Zone introduces children to the building arts through play in an interactive gallery of hands-on activities for the Museum's youngest visitors.
The National Building Museum gratefully acknowledges The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation for its su...
Categories: Family Oriented
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
This nearly comprehensive retrospective of Japan’s greatest animation studio, Studio Ghibli (often referred to as the Disney of Japan), presents a unique opportunity for audiences to see the masterworks of Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and others on the big screen. Series made possible by GKIDS.
Highlights include Miyazaki’s MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, which follows two young girls who move to t...
Categories: Family Oriented, Film, International
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
Actor, director and mogul Raj Kapoor (1924-1988) was one of the giants of Indian cinema, and is synonymous with the rise of the monolith known as "Bollywood." May 12 through June 28, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in downtown Silver Spring will host Raj Kapoor and the Golden Age of Indian Cinema, a retrospective featuring some Kapoor’s greatest works. The series is co-presented by...
Categories: Film, History, International
Folger Shakespeare Library
Directed by Aaron Posner
Featuring real life husband and wife team Cody Nickell & Kate Eastwood Norris
Riotous events lead to the ill-fitting marriage of the arrogant Petruchio and the headstrong Kate. Full of wit and lusty humor, Shakespeare’s quintessential battle of the sexes redefines the boundaries of love.
Categories: Theater
Artisphere
The Tooth of Crime by Sam Shepard; Words & Music by T. Bone Burnett; Directed by Kathleen Akerley
Set in the near future, Sam Shepard's The Tooth of The Crime shows us a world where only those on the top of the charts survive. This play with music tells the tale of the battle between two rival rock stars: “Marker” Hoss, and the upstart “Gypsy” Crow. A combination of a heavyweight priz...
Categories: Theater
Artisphere
The Bacchae by Euripides; translated by Nicholas Rudall; directed by Steven Scott Mazzola
For the first play in our rep, Steven Scott Mazzola brings you WSC's take on The Bacchae, a tragic tale of rebellion versus conformity. Mixing history with myth to recount the story of the god Dionysus’ tumultuous arrival in Greece, this tragedy centers on King Pentheus of Thebes and his refusal to wo...
Categories: Theater
Target Gallery
10:00am – 6:00pm
Reception: June 14, 6-8pm
Target Gallery presents "Forged", an exhibition that examines contemporary approaches to one of the oldest known metalworking processes. Juror Twylene Moyer selected works by 18 artists that represent a broad range of formal qualities, techniques, and subjects. As stated by the juror, the selected works have “…the power to make us think, again, about how the mos...
Torpedo Factory Art Center
10:00am – 6:00pm
Studio 9
Reception: Thursday, May 10, 6-8pm, during 2nd Thursday Art Night
The Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Target Gallery presents "Diverging Mediums: Photography versus iPhoneography" an exhibition that examines the shifting role of iPhoneography in our culture and its impact on the nature and definition of art. The nineteen selected artists include photographers from the Torpedo Fact...
Ping Pong Dim Sum Chinatown
11:00am – 11:00pm
For the month of May graduates are encouraged to skip the steak dinners and opt for a more fun, interactive and unique graduation celebration with the folks at Ping Pong Dim Sum. For any sized graduation party booked at DC’s two locations, champagne is on the house (for those 21+ of course!). Graduation parties can be booked by emailing marketing@pingpongdimsum.us.
Categories: Food & Wine
Dumbarton House
11:00pm – 3:00pm
A special case exhibition to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Dumbarton House being turned over for use as headquarters of the DC Chapter of the American Red Cross during World War II! Available for viewing during regular tour hours, Tue-Sun, 11am-3pm (last entry at 2:45pm). On exhibition, for example, will be circa 1940s photos, a World War II Red Cross uniform, and documents explaining t...
Categories: Exhibits
Tuesday Concert Series at The Church of the Epiphany
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Upcoming Programs in March at the Church of the Epiphany’s Tuesday Concert Series
1317 G ST, NW (Metro Center)
12:10-1:00pm
Every Tuesday Year-Round
Free-Will Offering ($5 suggested contribution)
10 April Levine School of Music Faculty — Hyeweon Lee Gessner, piano
17 April Dahlia Flute Duo: Mary Matthews & Melissa Wertheimer, flutes
24 April Clive Carroll, guitar
1 May W...
Categories: Arts, Music: Classical
Revolve
6:00am – 6:45am
By popular demand, Revolve is now offering an early morning class on Tuesdays at 6 AM. Those fitness enthusiasts who like to begin their workouts even earlier can join instructor Christianne Phillips for a Complete Body Ride. This all-encompassing class is designed to offer everything needed at once – cardio, strength and flexibility – by combining cycling with upper body weight training i...
Categories: Other Events
Colvin Run Schoolhouse
6:30pm – 10:30pm
Hosted by Ed Cottrell and Gail Crum and held every Tuesday at the historic Colvin Run Dance hall, Great Falls, Virginia. Beginner and Intermediate lessons in West coast Swing from 6:30-8:00 pm. Dance from 8:00 to 10:30 p.m. to a wide variety of DJ'D contemporary and classic dance music.
$10.00 cover charge includes lessons, Dancing and refreshments.No partner or prior dance experience needed...
Categories: Dance
WETA offers this events calendar as a community service. Listings are collected from site visitors, arts organizations, venues, and other sources. All submissions are reviewed and approved before appearing on the website. We do not, however, check the details of the events. Please visit each event's website to verify the accuracy of the information presented here. If you notice inaccurate information in any of the event listings, please contact us.