Up next on Shakespeare Hour LIVE! is a discussion of Shakespeare’s Sonnets, featuring Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright (“Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets”). From the Beautiful Youth to the Dark Lady, this episode will seek to dispel long-held myths (and perhaps celebrate a few) about one of the most studied and most mysterious bodies of poetry in the world: Shakespeare’s love sonnets. Why were they written? When? And to whom and what for? If ye seek answers to those questions (and more!), seek ye here.
Future episodes will focus on Training for Shakespeare, Falstaff: Hero or Villain?, and Shakespeare’s Last Act with guests Alec Wild, Senior Director of STC’s Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University, and Prof. Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, Ronni Lacroute Chair in Shakespeare Studies at Linfield University. More special guests will be announced soon.
The Tea: MovaKween
In this online series, women musicians perform original work via livestream on the first Friday of the month. Each session includes a short interview, conducted over a cup of tea, which explores the artist’s creative process. The Tea proudly welcomes MovaKween.
MovaKween hails from Baltimore, Maryland, and sings about her “inner-standing” of consciousness and expressions of love. With a life dedicated to healing and spiritual work, her music reflects her survival stories and journey as a new goddess on Earth. She is currently working on her debut album, titled Anu Kween, coming in spring 2021.
WHERE
Online, streaming on Facebook and nmwa.org
WHEN
Friday, May 7, 12–1 p.m.
PRICE
Free. No reservations required.
On Monday, May 10 at 7:30 pm ET, the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series at the Folger Shakespeare Library, in collaboration with The National Gallery of Art, welcomes poet Billy Collins.
This final reading of the 2020/21 virtual season, the 52nd season of this distinguished Series,
highlights this popular poet. Each year, the Folger Poetry Board, supporters of the O.B Hardison Poetry
Series, selects a distinguished poet to share their favorite poems from other poets and to read from their
own work.
This year’s Folger Poetry Board reader, Billy Collins, has been named “the most popular poet in
America” by The New York Times and is a former United States Poet Laureate. He is the author of several volumes of poetry, most recently Whale Day. His many honors and awards include the Poetry Foundation’s Mark Twain Award for Humor in Poetry.
Collins follows in the steps of noted poets Seamus Heaney, Rita Dove, Octavio Paz, Gwendolyn
Brooks, former British Poet Laureates Sir Andrew Motion, and Carol Ann Duffy, all former Folger
Poetry Board Readers, a designation which began in 1991 with Mr. Heaney.
This reading is free, but reservations are required. Register at www.folger.edu/poetry.
Enduring Images: Enslaved People and Photography in the Antebellum South
Tuesday, May 11, 5 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Closed captioning provided
Presented by Matthew Fox-Amato, Assistant Professor of History, University of Idaho
From the 1840s to the end of the Civil War, some enslaved people paid to have their photographs taken and then used these portraits to shape their identities and social ties. Slave narratives, newspapers and studio records reveal that some enslaved individuals bought images from local photographers, stowed images of sold family members in their cabins and carried images of family on their persons. Considering enslaved people as active agents of early photography, this talk examines what their photographic practices meant, especially in relation to the violent disruptions of the domestic slave trade. It also reflects upon possibilities for writing the history of portraiture when the relevant images are not available. Free—Registration required.
Kate Clarke Lemay, Portrait Gallery acting senior historian, will moderate the Q&A. This program is a part of the Greenberg Steinhauser Forum in American Portraiture and is hosted by PORTAL, the Portrait Gallery’s Scholarly Center.
In Dialogue: Smithsonian Objects and Social Justice
Thursday, May 13, 5 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Heighten your civic awareness through conversations about art, history and material culture. Each month, educators from the National Portrait Gallery will partner with colleagues from across the Smithsonian to discuss how historical objects from their respective collections speak to today’s social justice issues. Why is it important to have agency in how we are portrayed? Together with our co-hosts from the Freer and Sackler, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, we will explore this key question about representation in relationship to a 1937 photograph of actress Anna May Wong and an early 21st century photo-performance by Pushpamala N. Free—Registration required.
As part of a series of events commemorating AAPI Heritage Month at Hook Hall a group of noted DC chefs will prepare a three-course dinner and offer a conversation between courses. The event, to be held at the Park View bar and event space and benefitting “Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate” will take place May 20 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
The evening of food and drink will feature dinner prepared by Chefs Michelle Brown, Teaism; Kevin Tien, Moon Rabbit; and Eric Bruner Yang, Maketto.
Each course will be paired with cocktails by House of Suntory.
Christine Platt, managing director of American University’s Antiracism and Policy Center, will lead a conversation with Chefs Brown, Tien, Bruner Yang and Tim Ma of Lucky Danger.
Tickets are priced at $190 per person. Ticket information: https://www.exploretock.com/hookhall/ Hook Hall is located at 3400 Georgia Ave NW
Livestream Discussion with Artist Vladimir Kanevsky
Wednesday, May 26, 2021, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Join Wilfried Zeisler, chief curator, and Vladimir Kanevsky, artist, for a behind-the-scenes look of the exhibition The Porcelain Flowers of Vladimir Kanevsky. Explore Kanevsky’s home studio before asking questions in real time.
4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008
Tune in for a very special talent show hosted by Miss District of Columbia, Katelynne Cox! You’ll be able to see the 2021 contestants for Miss District of Columbia perform their talents and entertain audiences. One of these lucky ladies will go on to compete at Miss America later this year. Can you predict which one you’ll see on TV?
This ticket grants access to one (1) virtual attendee of the Miss District of Columbia virtual talent show. You will be emailed more information on how to virtually on the day of the talent show, June 2nd. Your entry fee will be donated to the American Childhood Cancer Organization to help them serve childhood cancer warriors in the DC area and beyond!
Tickets to this all virtual event are $5. Proceeds will go to American Childhood Cancer Organization.
On June 17, the Embassy of Sweden will host a virtual artist talk with Swedish photographer Helene Schmitz about her exhibition “Dreamland,” currently on display in House of Sweden. The conversation will focus on Schmitz’s artistic practice and how art can shape and influence society. “Dreamland” is a photographic account of the extraction and depletion of natural resources, and consists of two photography series that examine human-induced changes in bedrock and forest in Sweden. Throughout the month of June, images from “Dreamland” are also projected on the glass facades of House of Sweden as part of the Focus on the Story International Photo Festival.
WHEN
Thursday, June 17, 2021
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (ET)
WHERE
This event is virtual. Please register here.
WHO
The conversation with Helene Schmitz will be moderated by Helene Larsson Pousette, Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of Sweden. Joe Newman, founder of Focus on the Story, will provide opening remarks.
Canopy by Hilton North Bethesda believes guests shouldn’t have to leave their pup at home to enjoy a much needed getaway and are launching their pet-friendly amenities with an event no dog-loving yogi could say no to. Redefine the dog days of Summer with Canopy by Hilton North Bethesda’s A Dog’s Life package. The package includes an overnight stay in a Standard King room (inclusive of pet fee), pet welcome amenity and 1-Day pass to Bark Social, where guests can enjoy 20+ craft beers on tap, food and drink menus for humans and dogs, a coffee shop, spacious dog park, and self-serve dog baths. The ideal vacay for dogs and their owners after a ruff week!
Guests can stretch it out alongside some furry adorable support in a Puppy Yoga class provided by Knine Rescue and North Bethesda Pike & Rose Sport&Health as the hotel officially launches A Dog’s Life on Saturday, June 26. Since guests will be waking up surrounded by puppy love during the class at 10:00 AM, Canopy encourages folks to book a stay to maximize the enjoyment of their experience at the Pike & Rose property. Guests can expect puppies named Pike, Rose, and Canopy to be in attendance while practicing an unforgettable yoga session on Canopy’s terrace. Tickets are $18 and available at https://tinyurl.com/
Call 1-844-MY-CANOPY to book the A Dog’s Life Package or for more information on the hotel and bookings.
