Patrons’ Show, the Art League’s biggest fundraiser, is back on Sunday, February 19, from 6–9 pm. Ticket holders may choose to attend the event in person at the Torpedo Factory or from the comfort of home via the streaming platform Vimeo. This much-anticipated event, now in its 55th year, allows ticket holders to acquire high-quality, original fine art—valued from $235 to upwards of thousands of dollars—while supporting a great non-profit organization and community of artists.
The Patrons’ Show Exhibit features over 600 original fine artworks donated by Art League and Torpedo Factory artists. It opens for viewing in The Art League Gallery and online Friday, February 3, two weeks before the drawing. Ticket holders fill the Gallery during these two weeks studying the artwork and noting their favorite pieces, so they’ll be prepared to select from the available artwork when their turn arrives.
At the Patrons’ Show event, the emcee announces the name of every ticket holder in a random drawing. Each person called chooses their favorite work of art from the Show to take home! In addition to the artwork, ticket holders may win other valuable prizes donated by local businesses.
Tickets for the Patrons’ Show fundraiser are $235 and can be purchased here.
Anyone can see the bevy of paintings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs, printworks, and more on the League’s Patrons’ Show 2023 album on Flickr; and download the handy Art Thief app to pick and organize their favorites on an iPhone, iPad, or iTouch (but grab a ticket if you want to claim artwork!).
Gallery Hours:
Monday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday, 12:00 noon – 6:00 pm
Exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.
Concert Celebrating the Garifuna Language with James Lovell
Saturday, Feb. 25, 2 p.m.
Visit the National Museum of the American Indian and enjoy a concert by James Lovell, a passionate Garifuna artist whose mission is to preserve the Garifuna culture, language and arts through music. He composes and translates songs that uplift and encourage younger generations to stay connected to the endangered Garifuna language, an Arawakan language spoken mainly in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Sunday, Feb. 26, 2–5 p.m.
The National Museum of the American Indian presents Night Raiders as part of the Mother Tongue Festival, which returns in person to the National Mall in 2023.
(Canada/New Zealand, 2021, 97 mins.) Director: Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis)
English, Cree with English subtitles
In a dystopian future in 2043, a military occupation controls disenfranchised cities in post-war North America. Children are considered property of the regime, which trains them to fight. A desperate Cree woman (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) joins an underground band of vigilantes to infiltrate a state children’s academy and get her daughter back. A parable about the experience of Indigenous peoples, Night Raiders is a female-driven sci-fi drama about resilience, courage, and love.
The Mother Tongue Film Festival is a public program of Recovering Voices, a collaboration between the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and the Asian Pacific American Center. Learn more about the 2023 festival and past programs at mothertongue.si.edu.
Indigenous Women Weavers of Chiapas
Saturday, March 11, 12–4 p.m.
Master weavers and embroiderers Maria López Ruíz, Maria de La Luz Gómez Martínez, Anita Ara Pérez and Juana López Díaz of Los Altos de Chiapas, Mexico, will demonstrate the backstrap weaving technique and discuss their community-based work and experience improving the ethical production and trade of weaving products by Indigenous women’s cooperatives. Presented in collaboration with the Inter-American Foundation and NGOImpacto.
Saturday, March 18, 2 p.m.
(USA, 2022, 100 mins.)
Director: Dan Trachtenberg, (Rated: R)
Naru, a skilled warrior of the Comanche Nation, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly evolved Predators to land on Earth. Guest Speakers: Amber Midthunder (Fort Peck Assiniboine) and Jhane Myers (Comanche/Blackfeet)
Live audiovisual event
Past, present, and future of the space exploration with the timeless soundtrack of Chopin’s music
Raising awareness and funds for establishing the Center of Excellence for Polish and Ukrainian specialists for Polytrauma in Poland
Tickets on sale are available at www.thespaceconcert.com
This spring, The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center known as the home to the Space Shuttle Discovery (among other incredible exhibits), will witness an unforgettable event – “Chopin. The Space Concert”. Chopin’s timeless music, the unique NASA Space footage taken during the 2010 STS-130 space mission, and the fascinating panel discussion, at the venue that embodies the past, the present, and the future of space exploration – a match made in… Space.
Chopin. The Space Concert features the music of Frédéric Chopin that reached Space thanks to an American astronaut of Polish origin – Col. George D. Zamka who was the commander of the STS-130 mission. In February 2010 he took a CD with the music of the great Polish composer on board of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Chopin’s compositions were played during the installation of the seven-window dome, from which the astronauts had a view into Space for the first time. The observation dome, called the Cupola, is a seven-window observation portal making it the largest space window launched into orbit! And it has been a real game-changer. The footage of Chopin. The Space Concert is so breathtaking, thanks to the very existence of that Cupola.
Amid a celebratory 25th-anniversary MainStage season, MET’s resident comedy troupe that started it all, Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) is thrilled to announce the glorious return of MET’s treasured annual fundraiser and the best party of the year, Retro Prom.
Retro Prom will feature the musical stylings of DJ Genius of Benefactor Events to dance the night away to, delicious food by The Savory Spoon, a gift card tree raffle, a silent auction, fun prom photos, a cash bar and a late night pizza party. This sell out event for guests 21 years and older will be held on Saturday, March 18th from 7:00PM – 11:00PM at the William Talley Recreation Center (121 N. Bentz St. Frederick, MD 21701) in Baker Park.
The roaring ‘20s is this year’s Retro Prom theme. Though it is not a requirement that party guests wear a themed outfit it is encouraged that guests dance the night away dressed for prom, all decades of attire welcomed. New to Retro Prom this year is online bidding, which will allow guests to bid from wherever they are on silent auction items, receive outbid notifications, and seamlessly check out at the end of the night. Raffle ticket purchases and donations may also be completed online.
Tickets or tables may be purchased online at www.marylandensemble.org, by phone at (301) 694-4744, or in person at the MET Box Office. Individual tickets are $50 each. Tables are available for guaranteed seating for 4, 8, 10, or 12 attendees. Costs for tables range from $240 – $720 with advanced registration. Tables include a sign with the party’s name, guaranteed seating, and a bottle of champagne on ice. There will also be standing high-top tables and limited non-table seating for those purchasing individual tickets only.
Proceeds from the event will benefit Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) who for over 25 years have been producing thought-provoking theatre, fun family entertainment, artist residency programs for public schools, challenging classes and side-splitting comedy. MET is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
On Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 pm the Folger Shakespeare Library’s
O.B. Hardison Poetry Series presents the Eudora Welty Lecture with Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Elizabeth Strout (Olive Kitteridge, My Name is Lucy Barton) at the National Press Club. Sponsored
by the Eudora Welty Foundation, this annual lecture celebrates creative origins in the spirit of Welty’s
treasured One Writer’s Beginnings.
Ann Patchett (Bel Canto and The Dutch House), who presented the Lecture from Welty’s living room in
Jackson, Mississippi in 2022, will introduce Strout. The Lecture will be followed by a book signing with
Elizabeth Strout.
Tickets are $25 ($20 for Folger Members and subscribers) and can be purchased at www.folger.edu/poetry
or by contacting the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077.
Previous Welty Lectures were delivered by Salman Rushdie in 2016, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in
2017, Richard Ford in 2018, Jesmyn Ward in 2019, and Ann Patchett in 2022.
Elizabeth Strout is widely known for her works in literary fiction and her descriptive characterization.
She was born and raised in Portland, Maine, and her experiences in her youth served as inspiration for
her novels—the fictional "Shirley Falls, Maine" is the setting of four of her seven novels. Strout's novels
include Amy and Isabelle, Abide with Me, Olive Kitteridge for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for
Fiction, The Burgess Boys, My Name Is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible, Olive, Again, and Oh,
William!. Her latest book Lucy by the Sea was published in 2022.
Ann Patchett is the author of seven novels: The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, The Magician’s
Assistant, Bel Canto, Run, State of Wonder, and Commonwealth. She has written three books of
nonfiction—Truth & Beauty, about her friendship with the writer Lucy Grealy; What Now?, an expansion
of her graduation address at Sarah Lawrence College; and This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, a
collection of essays examining the theme of commitment. In 2019, she published her first children’s
book, Lambslide.
Pink isn’t just a color, it’s a vibe. Celebrate the arrival of cherry blossom season at Long Bridge Park in National Landing for a two-part, pink-themed Saturday festival with morning activities for families and evening events for adults. Pump up the pink at Pink in the Park, presented by Amazon and produced by the National Landing Business Improvement District.
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Pink in the Pool: Jump into a splash of pink at the Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center. From 9 a.m. to noon, families are invited to take a free swim and toss around pink beach balls. After a dip in the pool, continue the family fun with kite and origami making, face painting, giveaways, sweet treats from Kona Ice, and tons of pink.
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Pink in the Park: The fun continues from 3 to 7 p.m. in the lot at Long Bridge Park for unforgettable music and entertainment with special guest and celebrity host Orlando Jones, and performances by DJ Chan Don, Crush Funk Brass, Umami House, Footwerk, Reesa Renee, and headliner Black Alley. Enjoy a beer and wine garden, food trucks, immersive art installations, Instagrammable moments, and much more. Performance lineup includes:
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3:00 p.m.: DJ Chan Don
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3:30 p.m.: Crush Funk Brass
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4:00 p.m.: Umami House
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4:30 p.m. Footwerk
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5:00 p.m.: Reesa Renee
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5:45 p.m.: Black Alley
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Adult beverages, including beer and wine, will be provided by Crystal City Wine Shop, DC Brau, Drunk Fruit, Lost Boy Cider and more. Guests can also sample flavors of National Landing restaurants and food trucks including:
“With Pink in the Park, we are excited to bring all the pink energy and celebratory spirit of the National Cherry Blossom Festival across the river to National Landing in Arlington, Virginia,” said Tracy Sayegh Gabriel, President and Executive Director of the National Landing BID. “We’re proud to be highlighting the festival in our neighborhood’s signature park in collaboration with our sponsors and vibrant National Landing businesses and look forward to being part of our region’s storied cherry blossom celebration.”
“Amazon is thrilled to partner with the National Landing BID and the National Cherry Blossom Festival to bring the joy of the cherry blossoms to National Landing,” said Patrick Phillippi, Senior Manager of Community Engagement for Amazon. “Pink in the Park will be one of the largest National Cherry Blossom Festival events ever in Virginia and we are excited to celebrate spring with our community.”
WHEN: Saturday, April 1
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Pink in the Pool from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
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Pink in the Park from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center; 333 Long Bridge Drive, Arlington, Virginia
HOW: FREE festival tickets and pool passes are available at NationalLanding.org/Pink. Tickets are required.
Over 30 exhibitors from across the DMV, the US, Canada and Mexico will present books as works of art, editions about art or artists, limited run books, prints as well as DIY zines, graphic novels and art magazines. Exhibitors include fine artists, independent publishers, small presses, illustrators and photographers.
East City Art partnered with nearby Capitol Hill Arts Workshop and Hill Center to co-locate offsite programming during the fair. Programming includes a panel discussion on art publishing, exhibitions and a free children’s art workshop.
DC-based, award-winning artist Carolina Mayorga will create ephemeral, site-specific work using hand-cut vinyl pieces for the 2023 Capital Art Book Fair in Eastern Market’s North Hall.
Exhibitors include the following individuals and organizations:
Baltimore Photo Space [Baltimore, MD]
Karin Edgett [Washington, DC]
Ediciones Concordia MX [Querétaro, Qro, Mexico]
FAIX [Washington, DC]
Girls, on Film [Washington, DC]
Michelle L. Herman [Washington, DC]
HOMOCATS [Brooklyn, NY]
Hotam Press [Vancouver, BC, Canada]
inner loop press [Philadelphia, PA]
Late Comeback Press [Northern Virginia]
Lavender Lizard Press [Bethesda, MD]
Alex Luciano [Richmond, VA]
The Mirrors of Society Quartet [Fairfax, VA]
My Dead Aunt’s Books [Hyattsville, MD]
Mame NDiaye and Friends [Cheverly, MD]
Paper Cuts [Washington, DC]
Mark Parascandola Photography [Washington, DC]
Permian Designs [Silver Spring, MD]
Ryan Pic [Wilmington, DE]
Plus Equals [Philadelphia, PA]
The Print Party [Pittsburgh, PA]
Pyramid Atlantic Art Center [Hyattsville, MD]
Stephanie Rudig/Rude Doggie [Washington,DC]
Tori Sprankle [Arlington, VA]
Starryhouse Studio [New York, NY]
Lee Strawberry [Northern Virginia]
Carolyn Toye Photography [Washington, DC]
The Turnaround Magazine [Washington DC]
Track and Field [Washington, DC and Austin, TX]
Wondrous Works LLC [Columbia, MD]
Eastern Market’s North Hall is located at 225 7th Street SE, Washington, DC, 20003. North Hall is accessed from the south via the indoor food stalls or from the north at North Carolina Avenue SE. Eastern Market is located a block from Metro.
Co-located, Offsite Art Book Fair Programming
Saturday, April 1 Art Book Fair Programs at CHAW
Capitol Hill Arts Workshop | 545 7th Street SE, Washington DC, 20003 (Three blocks south from Eastern Market)
- 2023 Capital Art Book Fair Exhibitor Panel Discussion | Presented by Paper Cuts | Saturday, April 1 from 11am-12pm
- Capitol Hill Art League Exhibition Open Juried Exhibition Reception| Saturday, April 1 from 5:30-7pm
Sunday, April 2 Art Book Fair Programs at Hill Center (Three blocks east from Eastern Market)
921 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC, 20003
- Free Workshop | Children’s Painting with Buck Herring|Sunday, April 2 from 3-5pm
- Exhibition: Hill Center DC Regional Exhibition Juried by Nehemiah Dixon III | See works from over 105 Artists from DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia | Sunday, April 2 from 10am-5pm