It’s no secret DC has a ton of arts and cultural institutions, each one with its own character. From renowned Smithsonian museums and galleries to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, there is no shortage of exhibitions representing a plethora of cultures. We’ve compiled a list of awesome exhibitions going on during the Symposium. See one you’re interested in? Click on the exhibition title for more information!
Three major installations from Lozano-Hemmer’s “Pulse” series and six public-art documentaries come together for the first time in Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Pulse, filling the museum’s entire second-floor galleries with evocative, immersive environments that use heart-rate sensors to create kinetic and audiovisual experiences from visitors’ own biometric data.
@Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
November 1, 2018 - April 28, 2019
“Trained in traditional Indian and Persian miniature painting, Pakistani-American artist Ambreen Butt (b. 1969) reimagines the genre to feature contemporary female protagonists and political subject matter. While the intricate details of her works on paper invite close looking and discovery, her content tackles larger global issues of oppression, violence, and the role of art as social commentary.”
@National Museum of Women in the Arts
December 7, 2018 - April 14, 2019
“To usher in the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, Votes for Women: An American Awakening, 1840–1920 reveals the women and organizations often overlooked in the complex narrative of women’s suffrage in the United States. Through portraiture, biography, and material culture, the exhibition examines the contributions of the radical women in antislavery societies; women activists of the late nineteenth century; the “New Woman” of the turn of the century; and the militant suffragists of the 1910s.”
@National Portrait Gallery
March 1, 2019 - January 5, 2020
“For more than two millennia, ironworking has shaped African cultures in the most fundamental ways. Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths reveals the history of invention and technical sophistication that led African blacksmiths to transform one of Earth’s most basic natural resources into objects of life-changing utility, empowerment, prestige, spiritual potency, and astonishing artistry.”
@National Museum of African Art
February 27, 2019 - October 20, 2019
“For a limited time, enjoy the Peacock Room as Whistler saw it—as a work of art in itself. The shelves of the Peacock Room are empty prior to an installation of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain of the type that filled the room in the late nineteenth century. Here is a rare chance to examine the peacock patterns and color harmonies Whistler created in this icon of American art.”
@Freer Gallery of Art
January 19, 2019 - mid-April 2019
“The Phillips Collection presents the first museum retrospective of Cuban artist Zilia Sánchez (b. 1926, Havana). This long-overdue exhibition examines the artist’s prolific yet largely unknown career that spans almost 70 years, featuring more than 60 works including paintings, works on paper, shaped canvases, and sculptural pieces, alongside illustrations, design sketches, and ephemera.”
@The Phillips Collection
February 16, 2019 - May 19, 2019