D.C. Area Museum Listings

AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM

800 Key Highway
Baltimore
410-244-1900
avam.org

• The Art of Storytelling: Lies, Enchantment, Humor & Truth — The museum’s 18th, year-long exhibition explores the power of stories to inspire and enchant, spread lies or to inform through visual narratives created by 30-plus artists, working in all manner of media, from sculpture to film to diorama to embroidery. (Through 9/1)
• A Very Visionary Star-Spangled Sidewalk — An installation, intended to be fun and informative, going up right on the public pavement running alongside the museum’s historic Federal Hill location in conjunction with Maryland’s ”Star Spangled 200” National Bicentennial. (Through 9/30/14)

ARTHUR M. SACKLER GALLERY

1050 Independence Ave. SW
202-633-4800
asia.si.edu

• Nine Deaths, Two Births: Xu Bing’s Phoenix Project — A complementary exhibition to this Chinese artist’s massive installation at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, which is comprised of two birds fabricated entirely out of found materials at construction sites in Beijing. (Through 9/2)

ARTISPHERE

1101 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington
703-875-1100
artisphere.com

• DC Conspiracy: Comics Making Studio — Members of this comics-creating collaborative will have onsite working hours drawing their actual comic art intended for the Spring 2014 edition of Magic Bullet, a free, semi-annual local comics newspaper (8/21-11/3, Works in Progress Gallery)

THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART

10 Art Museum Drive
Baltimore
443-573-1700
artbma.org

• Nathaniel Mellors & Jimmy Joe Roche — Featuring irreverent, edgy and absurdist videos by two artists exploring human behavior when social norms are stripped away. (Through 9/23)

CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART

500 17th St. NW
202-639-1700
corcoran.org 

• David Levinthal: War Games — Works on the subject of war that span the entire career of this central figure in the history of American postmodern photography. (Through 9/1) 
• War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath — Epic in scope and ambition, and featuring many of the most indelible photographs ever made, this exhibition is intended to immerse viewers in the experience of soldiers and civilians during wartime. (Through 9/29) 

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

201 East Capitol St. SE
202-544-7077
folger.edu 

• A Book Behind Bars: The Robben Island Shakespeare — A copy of Shakespeare’s Complete Works signed by prisoners on South Africa’s Robben Island, including Nelson Mandela, on exhibit for the first time in the U.S., along with a series of sketches Mandela made in the early 2000s reflecting on his prison life. (Through 9/29) 
• The Folgers Our Founders — Find out just who the Folger is named after in this special exhibition taking place in the Founders’ Room while the Folger Great Hall is under renovation. (Through 9/29)

HIRSHHORN MUSEUM & SCULPTURE GARDEN

Independence Avenue and Seventh Street SW
202-633-1000
hirshhorn.si.edu 

• Barbara Kruger: Belief+Doubt — Installation fills the lower-level lobby and extends into the relocated museum bookstore, wrapping the entire space in text-printed vinyl questioning ideology, social norms and consumption. (Through 12/14) 
• Over, Under, Next: Experiments in Mixed Media, 1913-Present — Approximately 100 examples of collage and assemblage, most from the Hirshhorn’s collection. (Through 9/8)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Thomas Jefferson Building
10 First St. SE
202-707-8000
loc.gov/exhibits/

• A Day Like No Other: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington — 42 black-and-white images, plus a video demonstration of 50 additional images commemorate the 250,000 people who participated in the largest non-violent demonstration for civil rights that America has ever witnessed. (8/28-3/1/14) 
• Herblock Gallery – Every six months the library presents a selection of 10 cartoons demonstrating the value of the late Washington Post editorial cartoonist’s pointed commentaries on the state of affairs. (Ongoing)

NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

Independence Ave at 6th St. SW
202-633-2214
airandspace.si.edu

• The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age – The 1903 Wright Flyer, the world’s first successful airplane, serves as the centerpiece of this exhibition. (Ongoing)

NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM

401 F St. NW
202-272-2448
nbm.org

• Mini Golf — Two unique nine-hole mini-golf courses designed by some of the most creative minds around. (Through 9/2) 
• Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces — Rafael Guastavino Sr. was arguably one of the most influential architectural craftsmen working in America a century ago, designing tiles in New York’s Grand Central Terminal, the Baird Auditorium of the National Museum of Natural History and the Washington National Cathedral, among other venues. (Through 1/20) 
• House & Home — A long-term exhibition surveys houses both familiar and surprising, through past and present – including a same-sex couple – challenging ideas about what it means to live at home in America. (Through May 2017)

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

3rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW
202-737-4215
nga.gov

• Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909-1929: When Art Danced with Music — Showcasing costumes, set designs, paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings, photographs and posters from the most innovative dance company of the 20th century. (Through 10/6) 
• In The Tower: Kerry James Marshall — One of the most celebrated contemporary American painters, one whose art reflects on African-American history and culture. (Through 12/8) 
• The Transformation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses — Through selections from the library’s rare book collection, along with prints, drawings, medals and decorative arts objects, this exhibition illustrates the history and enduring popularity of this mythological tale. (Through 2/9)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MUSEUM

1145 17th St. NW
202-857-7700
ngmuseum.com

• Real Pirates — Artifacts recovered from the first authenticated pirate ship found in U.S. waters, a technologically advanced 18th century vessel that was a slave ship until it was captured by pirates on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic. (Through 9/2) 
• A New Age of Exploration — Celebrating the National Geographic Society’s 125 years of vivid storytelling through stunning photography, film and interactive experiences. (Through June 2014)

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY

1400 Constitution Ave. NW
202-633-1000
americanhistory.si.edu

• Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963 — Celebrating milestone moments in American civil rights history, in collaboration with the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (Through 9/15) 
• American Stories – The American History museum’s newest signature exhibition features an engaging mix of artifacts telling the various stories of the country’s history, from the Pilgrims’ arrival to the historic 2008 election. (Ongoing)

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
202-633-1000
mnh.si.edu

• Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code — A review of the $3 billion effort to sequence the human genome. (Through September 2014) 
• The Census of Marine Life: A Decade of Discovery — A review of the most comprehensive inventory of known marine life every compiled and catalogued, which culminated in 2010. (Indefinite)

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

Independence Avenue and 4th Street SW
202-633-1000
nmai.si.edu

• Ceramica de los Ancestros: Central America’s Past Revealed – Ceramics made over the past 3,000 years, plus works made from gold, jade, shell and stone, illustrate the region’s richness, complexity and dynamic qualities. (Through February 2015) 
• Grand Procession: Dolls from the Charles and Valerie Diker Collection – Five female artists from plains and plateau tribes are represented in this exhibition, featuring 23 colorful and meticulously detailed dolls originally created as both toys and teaching tools in their communities. (Through 1/5/14)

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS

1250 New York Ave NW.
2020-783-5000
nmwa.org

• Bice Lazzari: Signature Line — As part of the ”Year of Italian Culture” initiative, a selection of 25 paintings and drawings from one of Italy’s most revered modern artists. (Through 9/22) 
• Awake in the Dream World: The Art of Audrey Niffenegger — The artist and bestselling author of The Time Traveler’s Wife gets the mid-career retrospective treatment. (Through 11/10)

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

F and 8th Streets NW
202-633-1000
npg.si.edu

• One Life: Martin Luther King Jr. — Historic photographs, prints, paintings and memorabilia, mostly drawn from the gallery’s extensive collection, trace the trajectory of King’s career. (Through 6/1/14) 
• Bound for Freedom’s Light: African Americans and the Civil War — Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation with a focus on the roles individual African-Americans played during the course of this hard-fought conflict. (Through 3/2/14) 
• A Will of Their Own: Judith Sargent Murray and Women of Achievement in the Early Republic – Portraits of eight prominent American women of the late 18th century. (Through 9/2) 
• Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2013 — Juried exhibition of 48 portraits, including a few made from rice, glitter and thread. (Through 2/23/14) 
• Mr. Time: Potraits by Boris Chaliapin — Time‘s most prolific artist created 413 covers for the magazine. (Through 1/5/14)

NEWSEUM

555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
888-NEWSEUM
newseum.org

• JFK Timeline — Two new exhibits, ”Creating Camelot” and ”Three Shots Were Fired” plus a new documentary mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the 35th president. (Through 1/5/14) 
• Make Some Noise: Students and the Civil Rights Movement — Exploring the new generation of student leaders that emerged in the 1960s to fight against segregation and for civil rights, from John Lewis, now a U.S. representative from Georgia, to Julian Bond, a former chair of the NAACP. (Through 2015)

THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION

1600 21st St. NW
202-387-2151
phillipscollection.org

• Intersections: Sandra Cinto – One Day, After the Rain is composed of intricate ink and acrylic drawings on canvas that cover the café walls. (Through 12/30) 
• Georges Braque and the Cubist Still Life, 1928-1945 — The first in-depth study of still life in Braque’s career after he pioneered cubism alongside Picasso. (Through 9/1) 
• Ellsworth Kelly: Panel Paintings 2004-2009 — Seven large-scale works featuring a spectrum of colors and geometric forms that have dominated the prolific career of this painter, who turns 90 in May. (Through 9/22)

SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

8th and F Streets NW
202-633-7970
americanart.si.edu

• A Democracy of Images — Photographs from the collection, amassed during the past 30 years, offering a survey of photography in America, tracing its evolution from a purely documentary medium to a full-fledged artistic genre. (Through 1/5/14)

THE TEXTILE MUSEUM

2320 S St. NW
202-667-0441
textilemuseum.org

• Out of Southeast Asia: Art That Sustains — Historic textile artworks from the museum’s collection plus the work of four contemporary artists and designers demonstrate how contemporary artists are preserving the traditional arts even as they interpret them in new and innovative ways. (Through 10/13)

UNITED STATES BOTANIC GARDEN

100 Maryland Ave. SW
202-225-8333
usbg.gov

• Food for Thought — Plants in the collection offering culinary, ornamental, medicinal and cultural value are on display in the annual outdoor terrace exhibit, intended as inspiration to cook something new, plant food for pollinators or even grow your own food. (Through 9/14)

VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

428 North Boulevard
Richmond
804-358-4901
vahistorical.org

• Revolutions: Songs of Social Change, 1860-56 and 1960-65 — Offering a comparative look at two dramatic periods of civil strife and the music they inspired, from ”The Battle Hymn of the Republic” to ”Blowing In The Wind” (Through 1/5/14)