Coming from the Malaysian word for “to tie,” ikats are made 
by meticulously tying and coloring threads before they are woven into vibrant 
textiles. This show delves into the historical […]

In his first exhibition on the East Coast, Korean-born 
Do Ho Suh invites viewers into his personal world with “Almost Home.” Known 
internationally for his architectural installations, Suh explores ideas […]

Built in 1927, a remodeled Oakland estate in Baltimore County’s Greenspring Valley will open to the public for the 41st Baltimore Symphony Associates’ Designer Show House. Formerly owned by Edgar […]

Now in its 36th year, this 
juried event will feature 120 exhibitors from 33 states. Visitors can peruse works in a wide range of media, from furniture and ceramics to jewelry, basketry and wearable art.

Participants on this self-guided tour can visit unique custom homes and renovations completed by area builders and developers. Proceeds benefit HomeAid Northern Virginia, which builds homeless shelters in the region.

This show explores the modern architectural roots of 
the three unmapped cities built from scratch to support the creation, development and execution of the Manhattan Project. “Secret Cities” examines the […]

Participants operate and race custom, man-powered works of art 
at this annual event. The 15-mile course takes racers through the streets of 
Baltimore, over muddy and sandy terrain and even into the Chesapeake Bay. 
This year’s theme is “Mysteries & Tall Tales.”

This exhibit details the collision of myriad cultures on the Swahili coast in East Africa—a historic crossroads for peoples not only from Africa but also from the Arabian Peninsula, Asia […]

The 90th annual Georgetown Garden Tour invites visitors to immerse themselves in eight lush gardens. The self-guided tour includes the grounds of a historic 1788 residence designed by William Thornton, architect of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the gardens of the home John and Jackie Kennedy shared before his inauguration in 1961.

Celebrating its 27th year, this annual festival creates an 11-block “art walk” where more than 200 artists display everything from paintings to fiber art, ceramics and works in metal, leather and wood. The juried, three-day event culminates with the Festival Party where 10 artist awards are presented.

This exhibit features some 60 works created by nine female Aboriginal artists living in remote communities across Australia. The pieces on view—some specially commissioned for the exhibit—encourage viewers to contemplate […]

Originally woven by women in Turkey’s nomadic communities as adornments for tents and caravans, kilims represent intricate examples of abstract art and artistic ingenuity. This exhibit marks the debut of the museum’s collection of Anatolian kilims from the 18th and 19th centuries.

This exhibition examines portraits of women by Camille Corot, a 19th-century French artist best known for his landscape paintings. Corot, who bridged France’s neoclassical era and Impressionist movement, influenced modernist painters such as Cézanne and Picasso with his figurative paintings. nga.gov

Thick, gestural brushstrokes and loose bands of color characterize Irish artist Sean Scully ’s acclaimed “Landline” series, now making its U.S. debut. The series spans a variety of media,including watercolor, oil painting and sculpture, and will be on display in the Hirshhorn’s second-level galleries.

Photographs, sculptures, drawings and documentary materials form this extensive survey of the works British sculptor Rachel Whiteread created during her 30-year career. Whiteread’s pieces chart the transition from late 20th- to early 21st-century living through the memorialization of everyday objects and public spaces.

Los Angeles-born artist Mark Bradford mines the universe, Greek mythology and his own personal life in monumental abstract collages made of paper and scavenged materials such as billboards, fliers and graffiti. The exhibit explores the artist’s interpretations of identity and the embodiment of abstraction.

The introduction of the printing press and photography in the 19th century challenged traditional Japanese woodblock printmakers to adapt their craft. This exhibit examines the fall and resurrection of this ancient art form as artists became influenced by the challenges of modernity.

The Walters will display nearly 250 Chinese snuff bottles delicately crafted from stone, porcelain, lacquer and precious metals during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Reflecting the artistic virtuosity of their designers, these vessels once held a mix of tobacco leaves, spices and herbs.

A pop-up couture show and sale invites visitors to view and purchase wearable art in a reimagined, fashion-forward presentation of clothing, jewelry and accessories. More than 60 designers and artists from across the country will participate.

The first major retrospective of avant garde director John Waters ’ visual art in his hometown of Baltimore brings together more than 160 photographs, sculptures, sound works and videos made since the early 1990s—all presented with his trademark renegade humor.

This survey of Nordic art displays works by 54 artists—many of them women—in genres ranging from landscape and portraiture to abstract and conceptual. Artists include Edvard Munch and Anders Zorn.

Members of the remodeling and home-improvement community converge at the annual Home & Garden Show, where attendees may purchase handmade crafts and gifts, or simply find inspiration for their home projects. The show will include an appearance by “MasterChef” Season 7 champion, Shaun O’Neale.

This museum-wide event features floral designs inspired by works in the VMFA collection. The festivities kick off with Kaleidoscope of Flowers, a gala in the museum’s atrium; on subsequent days, guest speakers, luncheons, guided tours and workshops are part of the mix.

While tattoos and piercings are commonplace today, body modifications in the ancient Americas were invested with spiritual transcendence. This exhibit explores these traditions via works spanning 1200 BCE to 1500 […]

This exhibit at The American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington presents paintings and drawings inspired by astronomy, biology, physics and spectra. The show largely focuses on the work of artist Jody Rasch, who uses science images to look beyond what we see in the macro world of our daily lives and challenges […]

Korean artist Yun Suknam, a pioneering feminist, creates portraits of women past and present. Anchored by a wood assemblage portrait of her mother, this exhibition also features paintings of American […]

This exhibit focuses on works on paper by Pakistani-American artist Ambreen Butt, who applies traditional Persian miniature painting to contemporary subject matter.

This exhibit examines the ways in which Japanese artists from the Momoyama and Edo periods (1573-1868) reimagined classical narratives and poetry dating back nearly 1000 years to the Heian period […]

Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is known for blurring the lines between art and technology. In his DC debut, he has designed hypnotic audiovisual installations that measure and incorporate visitors’ own biometric data, from heart rates to fingerprints, to examine the notions of anonymity and community.

This exhibit sheds light on the methods behind chiaroscuro printmaking—an art form that flourished in 16th-century Italy. Artists interpreted works by masters of their time, such as Titian and Raphael, creating color prints using a succession of wood blocks.

During the 18th century, the French word toilette came to signify the pampered process of dressing. This exhibit from Hillwood’s collection features elegant period accoutrements for the toilette such as jewelry boxes, brushes, combs, cosmetic pots and perfume bottles. Costumes and prints on loan illustrate these luxurious rituals.

The first museum retrospective of Cuban artist Zilia Sánchez examines her prolific career, spanning nearly 70 years. About 65 paintings, works on paper, shaped canvases, sculptural pieces and ephemera trace Sánchez’s artistic journey from Cuba to Europe, New York and finally to Puerto Rico, where she now lives and works.

This juried craft show presents handmade works by more than 650 jewelry, clothing and home-décor artisans from around the country. “Let’s Make” sessions will offer attendees an opportunity to interact with local artists, observe demos and enjoy hands-on learning, while “Hip Pop,” will introduce emerging artists.

This exhibit spotlights 25 paintings done by American artist Oliver Lee Jackson during the last 15 years. The large-scale pieces—some of which have never been shown publicly—depict black figures against bright, abstract compositions. Jackson’s influences range from the Renaissance to modernism and are inspired by his study of African cultures and American jazz.

Section 14 refers to an area of downtown Palm Springs, California that was the site of a land battle that lasted from the 1940s to the 1960s between developers and Native Americans who resided there because the land was part of their reservation. This exhibition sheds light on the conflict through photographs, documents and plans.

The brainchild of a women-led collective of five artists, this digital installation celebrates spring with interactive, visual and environmental experiences revolving around DC’s cherry blossom season.

A gift from dedicated contemporary-art collectors Mary and Paul Roberts, 35 post-War works on paper are on view by such significant American artists as Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Diebenkorn, Jasper Johns, Sol LeWitt, Louise Lawler and Gerhard Richter. Drawings, photographs and prints explore politics and personal identity.

The activist and ceramicist Roberto Lugo has masterminded the first installation in the Walters’ nearby annex, 1 West Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore. Lugo, who aims to illustrate his experience as an artist of color, adorns traditional forms with contemporary likenesses, including those of Frederick Douglass and Freddie Gray.

An enduring slice of Americana, the basketball hoop is the subject of 75 large-format prints on display by photographer Bill Bamberger. His images capture hoops of every kind across the globe, from urban, graffiti-covered courts to the playgrounds of South Africa.

The National Building Museum mined its collection of 320,000 objects related to the built environment to put on this exhibit of architectural objects depicting animals as decorative elements. Sketches, sculptures, architectural drawings and decorative plaster molds are among the many treasures to be showcased.

Participants on this popular, self-guided tour can visit custom homes and renovations completed by top area builders and developers. Proceeds benefit HomeAid Northern Virginia, which connects regional builders with non-profits to combat homelessness in the region.

Indian artist Ranjani Shettar’s “Earth Songs for a Night Sky” is part of The Phillips Collection’s series on the intersection between old and new in art, materials and techniques. Shettar’s hand-carved wood sculptures and installations respond to Sounds, a book of woodcuts by Wassily Kandinsky, and paintings by Paul Klee from the museum’s collection.

Museum founder Charles Lang Freer amassed the world’s largest collection of watercolors by James McNeill Whistler, most of which have never left the confines of the Freer. More than 50 are now on display, including figures, landscapes, nocturnes and interiors.

This is the first exhibit to highlight how animals have been represented in Japanese art over the past 16 centuries. The assemblage of 315 works focuses on a wide variety of media, including sculpture, painting, lacquerwork, ceramics, textiles, woodblocking and metal, by luminaries such as Yayoi Kusama, Issey Miyake and Murakami Takashi.

This exhibition showcases designs for DC landmarks that never made it past the planning stages. Discover unbuilt concepts for Memorial Bridge, the Washington Monument and more through historical prints and paintings from the museum’s Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection.

Sculptor and glass artist Ginny Ruffner combines traditional glasswork with augmented-reality technology to create an interactive experience. Viewers download an app that superimposes digital information over colorless glass tree stumps, then watch the sculptures “grow” mythical flora and fauna through the AR lens.

Through August 30 • This year’s exhibition of recent acquisitions showcases 25 new portraits of individuals who have influenced history and culture in the U.S. Subjects include Morgan Freeman, Audrey Hepburn and composer Philip Glass; depictions of 2019 American Portrait Gala honorees such as Philip Glass (left), Jeff Bezos and Anna Wintour are also on […]

The Art Nouveau movement experienced a boom at the end of the 19th century, popularizing works by Scottish artist, architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who was part of an enclave of Glaswegian artists. This collection of 165 furniture pieces, textiles, posters, drawings and ceramics explores the impact of Mackintosh and Glasgow Style.

After the Corcoran Gallery of Art closed its doors in 2014, American University acquired nearly 9,000 works from its collection. Taking cues from the museum’s late, unconventional director Walter Hopps, 18 AU graduate students curated this exhibit of 87 pieces from the Corcoran Legacy Collection, dividing them into five sub-groups and juxtaposing them in provocative […]

Drawing from the gallery’s permanent collection, this exhibit traces the history of pastels from their Renaissance origins to the present day. Seventy works are on display, some for the first time, by luminaries including Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and James McNeill Whistler.

This exhibit celebrates women artists whose work reflects major 20th-century movements, from Cubism to Abstract Modernism. Georgia O’Keeffe, Maria Martinez, Grace Turnbull and Grace Hartigan are among those whose paintings, sculptures and decorative arts are showcased.

Collectors Barbara and Aaron Levine recently made a gift to the Hirshhorn encompassing more than 50 historical artworks—including 35 by French-American icon Marcel Duchamp, who pioneered the use of everyday objects in 20th-century art. This exhibit of Duchamp’s most famous ready-made sculptures, drawings and prints shares space with works by contemporaries whom he inspired.

While celebrated Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai is best known for his iconic woodblock print The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa, he created thousands of works during his long life. Charles Lang Freer assembled the world’s largest collection of Hokusai’s prints, paintings and drawings, many of which will be on view in this yearlong […]

Japanese American artist Chiura Obata married East and West by depicting American landmarks like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite using Japanese calligraphic brushstrokes and washes of color. More than 100 of Obata’s sketches, woodblock prints, hanging scrolls and personal effects will be on display, many for the first time.

Ongoing • This unique exhibit celebrates African heroes through tales of human accomplishment that reflect the continent’s trials and triumphs. Pulled from the museum’s permanent collection, each of the nearly 50 works of art on display is paired with an historic African individual who embodies the values reflected in the selected work. africa.si.edu

In 19th- and 20th-century sub-Saharan Africa, artistic expression was divided by gender, with men glorifying leaders in wood and metalwork while women employed textiles, beads, jewelry and more for everyday creations. This exhibit of 24 pieces from the BMA’s collection demonstrates the critical role women played in shaping African social identity. artbma.org

The Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore taps into its archive of costumes, clothing and accessories for an exhibit spanning four centuries. Hermès, Pierre Cardin and “Project Runway” alum Christian Siriano are among the designers featured; fashion pieces, rooted in the state’s history, have connections to former slaves, presidents and royalty. mdhs.org

Through February 9 • Six women photographers chronicle Iran’s social and political realities in this timely show. On view are images by Hengameh Golestan, who documented women protestors following the 1979 revolution; work by Newsha Tavakolian, Shadi Ghadirian, Malekeh Nayiny, Gohar Dashti and Mitra Tabrizian explores themes of defiance, memory, home and displacement in modern […]

Known for tonal compositions featuring solitary female figures, turn-of-the-20th-century American painter Thomas Wilmer Dewing was part of a bustling network of collectors and art dealers. This exhibition explores the influence of Dewing’s friendships and social life, supplementing his art with archival photography. asia.si.edu

In the 17th and 18th centuries, wealthy families decorated banquet tables with extravagant centerpieces made of sugar and fine porcelain. Displayed in the Hillwood House dining room, an elaborate centerpiece by present-day Dutch artist Bouke de Vries reinterprets these sculptures with seven vignettes made of sugar, porcelain and pieces of plastic toys—all ironically depicting an […]

More than 40 dealers from the U.S. and Europe will display their wares during this annual antiques show. Dubbed “Iconic George!,” the event includes an exhibit of George Washington-themed decorative arts from the Winterthur Museum. A preview gala, designer panels and dealer talks will also take place. washingtonwintershow.org

Fashioned out of jade, agate, onyx, amethyst, lapis and other semiprecious stones, about 100 decorative objects from the Marjorie Merriweather Post estate will be on display at Hillwood. The collection includes a chalice commissioned by Catherine the Great, a Fabergé snuff box and a Florentine mosaic tabletop.

Influential Washington, DC, artist Robert Franklin Gates (1906-1982) was a muralist, painter, printmaker, draftsman—and an American University professor of art for more than 40 years. This exhibit, featuring works in watercolor, oil-on-canvas and more, spans Gates’ career.

A solo show of American artist Ellen Lesperance’s work features gouache paintings based on clothing worn by women activists, warriors and cultural figures. The exhibit reveals seven pieces from the artist’s ongoing “Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp” series, inspired by garments worn at the end of the last century by feminists protesting U.S. nuclear weapons […]