Home & Design Magazine

Brick City
2023-05-27 - 2025-01-01 | NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
Lego lovers of all ages will delight in an around-the-world tour featuring reproductions of 37 iconic structures and places made entirely of Lego bricks. Edinburgh-based artist Warren Elsmore constructed the intricate models depicting attractions on every continent, from San Francisco’s Painted Ladies to the Shalamar Gardens of Pakistan. Pictured: A model of the Lincoln Memorial, made of 2,000 Lego bricks. https://www.nbm.org/exhibition/brick-city/

Park Chan-kyong: Gathering
2023-10-07 - 2024-10-13 | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ASIAN ART
Inaugurating its new modern and contemporary galleries, the museum spotlights the photographic work of Park Chan-kyong—the Korean artist’s first solo exhibit at a major U.S. institution. Visually powerful still and moving images examine South Korea’s complex history, from the impact of rapid socioeconomic development to effects of the Cold War on politics and society.

Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism
2023-10-20 - 2024-09-02 | National Portrait Gallery
The gallery shines a light on scientists, politicians, activists, writers and artists who played a pivotal role in the conservation movement from the late 19th century until today. Showcasing more than 25 portraits of thought leaders ranging from Henry David Thoreau to Maya Lin, the exhibit also addresses issues of environmental justice, biodiversity and climate.

Hung Liu: Making History
2023-10-21 - 2024-10-20 | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS
Hung Liu (1948–2021) lived through Mao Zedong’s totalitarian regime before immigrating to the U.S. The museum reveals “weeping” paintings and prints by the artist featuring signature paint drips and layers of color. Inspired by vintage photographs discovered on a trip to China in the 1990s, the works convey the dignity and resilience of her subjects—predominantly migrant laborers, sex workers, female soldiers and refugees.

Impressive: Antoinette Bouzonnet-Stella
2023-10-21 - 2024-10-20 | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS
French artist Antoinette Bouzonnet-Stella (1641–1676) is best known for a work entitled The Entrance of the Emperor Sigismond into Mantua. This series of 25 prints is on display as part of an exhibit focusing on her life and career in Paris, where she lived and studied in the Louvre with her uncle, artist Jacques Stella.

Singular Views: 25 Artists
2023-11-02 - 2024-09-04 | RUBELL MUSEUM DC
The museum highlights work by 25 influential contemporary artists from the U.S. and around the world. More than 120 selections in an array of media include paintings by DC-based Rozeal and a self-portrait by Baltimore’s John Waters.

Alexandre Diop: Jooba Jubba, l’Art du Defi, the Art of Challenge
2023-11-02 - 2024-10-31 | RUBELL MUSEUM DC
An exhibit spotlights Franco-Senegalese artist Alexandre Diop, whose mixed-media creations explore legacies of colonialism and the diaspora.

Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea
2023-12-09 - 2026-12-31 | National Museum of African Art
Since the 16th century, Raku ceramics have been central to Japanese tea culture. Built by hand as opposed to on a potter’s wheel, these vessels continue to inspire artistic creativity. The Freer Gallery displays pieces dating back to the 18th century that exemplify glazes and forms unique to Raku ware.

Building Stories
2024-01-21 - 2033-12-31 | NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
An exhibit conceived for young museum-goers celebrates the concept of home and the built environment through the lens of children’s literature. Installations featuring classics such as Winnie-the-Pooh, The Hobbit and Harold and the Purple Crayon are designed to spark curiosity and encourage visitors to create stories of their own.

Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900–1939
2024-04-26 - 2025-02-23 | National Portrait Gallery
The gallery shines a light on the portraits and biographies of 60 visionary American women who lived and worked in Paris in the early 20th century—a time when they ostensibly enjoyed greater personal and professional freedom there than they would have in the U.S. The first exhibit to focus on the impact of American women on Paris—and of Paris on American women—pays tribute to icons such as Josephine Baker, Gertrude Stein (pictured) and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay
2024-09-02 - 2025-07-13 | National Museum of the American Indian
This retrospective celebrates three decades of innovation by fiber artist DY Begay, whose work marries her traditional Diné upbringing on the Navajo Nation reservation with a modern, experimental handling of fiber. Forty-eight tapestries are on view.

Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment
2024-09-08 - 2025-01-09 | National Gallery of Art
A pivotal 1874 exhibition in Paris is considered by many to be the birthplace of modernist painting. Many works that appeared in that historic show—seen as radical at the time—will be on view at the National Gallery in an exhibit exploring political and social shifts that sparked the Impressionist movement. Included are paintings by Cézanne, Degas, Monet and Renoir. nga.gov

Suchitra Mattai: Myth from Matter
2024-09-20 - 2025-01-12 | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS
Los Angeles-based artist Suchitra Mattai creates layered textile installations, sculptures, collages and paintings by combining richly colored saris, vintage needlepoints, book pages, jewelry, tinsel, beads and other found objects. The NMWA’s spotlight on 40 of her mixed-media and textile installations explores how memory, myth and visual culture can counter colonial and patriarchal narratives.

Smithsonian Craft2Wear
2024-09-27 - 2024-09-29 | NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
Peruse—and purchase—one-of-a-kind creations from a curated collection of wearable crafts at this annual event. More than 90 makers display their wares, from jewelry and leather to clothing, accessories and decorative fiber. Proceeds support grants to the Smithsonian for education, outreach and research projects. The Smithsonian Craft2Wear show will feature a necklace by Holly Anne Mitchell (pictured), fashioned from recycled newspaper.

American Vignettes: Symbols, Society and Satire
2024-09-27 - 2025-11-30
Nearly 100 contemporary works spanning multiple disciplines comprise this collection by more than 40 emerging and established artists—some American by birth and others who have adopted this country as their home.

Basquiat × Banksy
2024-09-29 - 2025-10-26 | HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN
Two ground-breaking paintings—one by Jean-Michel Basquiat and the other by Banksy—are placed in dialog in the Hirshhorn’s first presentation of either artist’s work. Also on display are 20 small Basquiat pieces made between 1979 and 1985, along with Downtown 81, a film starring Basquiat as a struggling artist.

Washington Winter Show
2025-01-10 - 2025-01-12 | AMERICAN UNIVERSITY MUSEUM AT THE KATZEN ARTS CENTER
Now in its 70th year, this annual event will attract more than 40 dealers from the U.S. and Europe presenting furniture, art, jewelry and collectibles. Visitors can browse antiques and decorative arts from historic houses in a special anniversary exhibit.

Otho Branson: Paintings
2025-02-08 - 2025-03-30 | AU MUSEUM AT THE KATZEN ARTS CENTER
A lifelong resident of Washington, DC, Otho D. Branson is known for his mathematical compositions of intersecting lines and color. His first solo show highlights modern works from 1970 to 2022, detailing his career and his dedication to craft.

Watershed: Transforming the Landscape in Early Modern Dutch Art
2025-02-09 - 2025-07-27
About 40 paintings, prints and drawings from the BMA’s collection explore the roles of water and landscape in defining the early modern Dutch Republic. Pieces by luminaries such as Frans Hals, Rembrandt van Rijn and Jacob van Ruisdael will be on view.

Air Quality: The Influence of Smog on European Modernism
2025-02-09 - 2026-02-22 | BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART
Could pollution have played a role in the emergence of European modernism in art? This exhibit poses that question using paintings and works on paper by Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and James McNeill Whistler to demonstrate how their artistic styles emerged partially in response to industrial-era smog in London and Paris.

A South Forty: Contemporary Architecture and Design in the American South
2025-02-14 - 2025-03-21 | NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
How does Southern architecture reflect the needs of its locale and its people? This exhibition aims to examine the contemporary architecture and design practices of the American South as the region deals with population growth as well as rebuilding after several devastating natural disasters.

Setting Sail: The Story of Sea Cloud
2025-02-15 - 2025-06-15 | HILLWOOD ESTATE, MUSEUM & GARDENS
Sea Cloud, a windjammer that was once the world’s largest sailing yacht, was commissioned by Marjorie Merriweather Post and her husband, E.F. Hutton, in the early 20th century and survives today as a luxury cruiseliner. Its story is presented through documents, photographs, decorative arts, paintings and more.

We Gather at the Edge: Contemporary Quilts by Black Women Artists
2025-02-21 - 2025-06-22 | Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20006
Acquired by the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, 35 vibrant quilts honor Black history and culture. The collection celebrates the legacy of the Women of Color Quilters Network, founded in 1985 so that isolated makers could connect and pass on their textile traditions.
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American Craft Made Baltimore
2025-02-21 - 2025-02-23 | Baltimore Convention Center
The largest juried craft fair on the East Coast highlights creations by more than 350 artists and makers from across the country, alongside demonstrations, talks and hands-on experiences.

Capital Remodel + Garden Show
2025-02-21 - 2025-02-23
More than 250 companies will showcase the latest products and services in home remodeling, décor, landscape and garden design at this event, headlined in 2025 by Mika and Brian Kleinschmidt of HGTV’s “100 Day Dream Home.” Seminars by home-remodeling and landscape experts will take place throughout the weekend.

Intrinsic Beauty: Celebrating the Art of Textiles
2025-02-22 - 2025-06-14
In 1925, George Hewitt Myers founded The Textile Museum to showcase his global collection of carpets and textiles. This show will bring together iconic pieces from the museum’s coffers as it launches its centennial year.

Timeless Mucha: The Magic of Line
2025-02-22 - 2025-05-18
The career of Art Nouveau illustrator and designer Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) is the subject of an exhibit that explores the development of his style and its impact, from the psychedelic album covers of the 1960s and ’70s to today’s Japanese manga artists.

Uncanny
2025-02-28 - 2025-08-10 | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS
The idea of perception versus reality informs this exhibit of painting, sculpture, photography, works on paper and video by women artists spanning the Surrealist movement to the present. Art by Louise Bourgeois, Laurie Simmons and many more subverts gender stereotypes and explores feminist issues, expressing an overall mood of existential unease.

Maryland Home & Garden + Craft Show
2025-03-01 - 2025-03-09 | MARYLAND STATE FAIRGROUNDS, TIMONIUM
This yearly spring showcase features more than 450 exhibitors, along with 125 crafters and the latest home and outdoor-living products. Presentations by HGTV landscape expert Chris Lambton and hosts Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb of “Unsellable Houses” are also part of the mix. The show takes place on March 1 and 2 and from March 7 to 9.

Masterpieces and Makeovers: Spring Spruce Up
2025-03-08 | Workhouse Arts Center, 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton, VA, United States
Consumers who want to update a living room, transform a bedroom into a spa retreat or create a more efficient workspace can get professional design advice at a special rate during ASID's annual Spring Spruce Up. For $150 per hour (maximum two hours), a certified ASID designer will lend their expertise to help homeowners with everything from color recommendations to layout ideas and feedback on design projects. The March 8th event includes a reception from 6 to 8 pm at Workhouse Arts Center. Visit the web site below to complete an application. Proceeds from Spring Spruce Up support educational initiatives for the ASID Washington Metro Chapter.
