February 28, 2020 at 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.
Studio K
DC’s storytelling pros bring their best and funniest stories to the stage about real situations that are so ridiculous, you just have to laugh.
Tickets: $20-$25
Multimedia play: Hear Me Say My Name
Saturdays: Feb. 15, 22, and 29, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
“I am not your mascot, and I don’t live in a tipi. See me for who I am, hear me say my name.” How do stereotypes of American Indians, prejudice, and identity shape the discussion of what it means to be a young person in our country today? This original multimedia play, created in collaboration with Smithsonian Associates Discovery Theater, tackles America’s assumptions about American Indians and starts a conversation with audiences reclaiming rich history, challenges, hopes, and dreams. After the play, the audience is invited to explore the museum’s Americans exhibition to learn more.
This program is generously supported by the Rasmuson Foundation. Free; first-come, first-served seating. No registration is required.
The first Sunday of the month is Community Day at the National Museum of Women in the Arts! Visit us on Community Day for free admission to the museum—take this opportunity to explore our collection and special exhibitions before they close.
Current exhibitions on view: Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico tells a visual story of Mexico since the late 1960s through the groundbreaking photography of celebrated Latin American artist Graciela Iturbide. Delita Martin: Calling Down the Spirits features multimedia artist Delita Martin’s meticulous, multilayered and monumental portraits, particularly of black women. Betsabeé Romero: Signals of a Long Road Together is the latest installation in NMWA’s public art series, the New York Avenue Sculpture Project.
Fierce Women Tours
Fierce Women Tours are available from 1–2 p.m. during Free Community Days. Discover a diverse cast of fierce women artists who refused to let men define their place; pushed back on the limited roles society accorded them; and blazed trails as artists, activists and innovators.
WHERE:
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-783-5000
nmwa.org
WHEN:
Community Day: Sunday, March 1, 12–5 p.m.
Fierce Women Tour: 1–2 p.m.
TICKETS:
No tickets are required for Community Days, but space is limited for Fierce Women Tours. First come, first served; sign up at the Information Desk upon arrival. Tours departs from the Great Hall.
One Woman One Vote 2020 Presents Merata: How Mum Decolonized the Screen
(New Zealand, 2018, 89 min. Director: Hepi Mita)
Saturday, March 7, 2 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
A documentary portrait of the pioneering Indigenous filmmaker and activist Merata Mita, Merata is an intimate tribute from a son about his mother that delves into the life of the first woman from an Indigenous Nation to solely direct a film anywhere in the world.
Merata Mita was a woman of firsts: the first Māori documentarian, the first Māori woman to write and direct a feature film on her own, a trailblazing activist who broke taboos in New Zealand by speaking openly of racism and domestic violence. Her most important role was being a mother. Merata Mita’s youngest child, filmmaker Heperi (Hepi) Mita, tells Merata’s story through a unique lens that shares her inspirational life and legacy.
The museum is hosting Merata in collaboration with the One Woman One Vote 2020 Festival—films, concerts, exhibitions and public events celebrating the centennial of the 19th Amendment presented by an association of national organizations and cultural institutions. Bringing together a coalition of women in the film and media industry, the festival embraces both history and contemporary issues that make a difference for all women today.
Multimedia play: Hear Me Say My Name
Sunday: March 8, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
“I am not your mascot, and I don’t live in a tipi. See me for who I am, hear me say my name.” How do American Indian stereotypes, prejudice, and identity shape the discussion of what it means to be a young person in our country today? This original multimedia play, created in collaboration with Smithsonian Associates Discovery Theater, tackles America’s assumptions about American Indians and starts a conversation with audiences reclaiming rich history, challenges, hopes, and dreams. After the play, the audience is invited to explore the Americans exhibition to learn more.
This program is generously supported by the Rasmuson Foundation. Free; First-come, first-served seating. No registration is required. Please note that event dates and times are subject to change, check the museum’s website for the latest schedule.
International Women’s Day
Sunday, March 8, 12–5 p.m.
Celebrate International Women’s Day at NMWA with free admission! The museum hosts signature Fierce Women and #5WomenArtists tours, hands-on activities for young learners, special offers in the museum shop and more. The Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center, usually only open on weekdays, will also welcome visitors. Visit the calendar for more details about tour times and programs. Free. No reservations required.
Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Women Artists of Latin America
Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
NMWA hosts its 7th annual Art+Feminism edit-a-
Dance Performance: The Mush Hole: Truth, Acknowledgement, Resilience
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre
Santee Smith, Artistic Director
Saturday, March 14, 2 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
The Mush Hole is a heartbreaking dance theater piece that moves through Canada’s residential school history with hope and empathy. The performance by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, created, directed, produced by Santee Smith, reflects the realities of the Mohawk Institute Residential School experience and offers a compelling way to open dialogue and to heal. Created in collaboration with Mohawk Institute Residential School survivors and including school documentation in recounting its history, The Mush Hole is about survival and intergenerational resilience.
The Mohawk Institute, also known as the Mush Hole, is Canada’s oldest residential school, after which all other residential schools were modeled. Operating in Brantford, Ontario, from 1828 to 1970, the Mohawk Institute served as a boarding school for First Nations children from Six Nations and other communities in Ontario and Quebec. It was a key tool in the effort to assimilate First Nations children into European Christian society and sever the continuity of First Nations culture from parent to child, leaving a legacy of trauma.
Through Her Eyes: Celebrating Indigenous Women of the Andes
Saturday, March 21, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Potomac Atrium
A special Women’s History Month program, Through Her Eyes celebrates the stories, experiences and perspectives of Andean Indigenous women. Cultural and content experts will lead a series of performances, demonstrations and activities offering visitors a window into the rich traditions and contemporary life of women in these Indigenous communities.
Julia Garcia (Quechua) will demonstrate how to dress a fashionable llama. Did you know that colorful ear tassels are a clue to a llama’s ownership and that bells can help you find your llama in the dark? Visitors can learn how to make ear tassels and neck adornments fit for a llama. Isabel Hawkins will share stories woven into Andean textiles, including the cardinal direction markers, constellations and equinox symbols that make up the patterns of some Andean textiles. Zuly Jimenez (Quechua) will use potatoes to create figures for a retablo (a small scene represented in a box frame).
The museum’s Collections Conservation staff will share their expertise on the care of weavings. Kathleen Martin, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Textile Conservation, will discuss her research, show samples and demonstrate the indigo dye process. Conservator Susan Heald will lead a hands-on demonstration with cochineal and show how the color can be shifted from orange to red to purple, and conservator Emily Kaplan will share the history of ceremonial drinking cups called qeros.
Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie are pleased to announce the presentation of the fifth annual Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to Melanne Verveer, with actor and performer Heather Headley headlining the 2020 Arena Stage Annual Gala. The Gala will be held on Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at The Anthem (901 Wharf Street, SW).
The evening kicks off with a cocktail reception, followed by the award presentation, a three-course seated dinner and performance. The dinner will feature the presentation of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to Melanne Verveer, in recognition of her efforts for women’s rights and her continual support of the arts. She is currently the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. Verveer served as the first United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues to which she was nominated by President Obama in 2009. Previously, she was the chair and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international NGO that she founded to invest in emerging women leaders. She also served as assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady during the Clinton administration.
“Arena Stage, under the exceptional leadership of Molly Smith, has become a national hub for the best in American theater in our nation’s capital. The theater company has made it possible for the public to access innovative, engaging and transformative productions that not only entertain, but also inspire and even move us to action,” shares Verveer. “It is an honor to receive the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award as Beth has set a high and exemplary standard throughout her life as an entrepreneur and civic leader. We owe her an enormous debt of gratitude for her many contributions to our community.”
The award was first presented to Arena Stage board chair Beth Newburger Schwartz in 2016. Other recipients include Arlene Kogod in 2017, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2018 and Nina Totenberg in 2019. The award celebrates a female leader who strives to better the community in which she lives through her own unique strengths and talents.
“Melanne Verveer is an international champion for girls and women. She is dynamic, she is brave and she is unabashedly driven about creating a better world with women, girls and vital voices,” says Smith. “A collaborative leader, Ambassador Verveer has been successful in changing attitudes and building bridges while promoting the critical role of women in establishing peace internationally. She is a huge proponent of the arts and we are thrilled to honor her with the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award.”
All proceeds will benefit all Arena Stage artistic and educational programs.
The 70th Anniversary Gala is presented by Ourisman Automotive Group and generously sponsored by Diamond Sponsors AT&T and Hoffman & Associates and Platinum Sponsor Exelon.
Event Schedule
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
6 p.m. Cocktail reception
7 p.m. Award presentation and seated dinner
8:30 p.m. One-night-only performance with Heather Headley
For additional event details, visit: arenastage.org/gala.
