What’s new in Washington, DC

The eyes of the world will again be on Washington, DC this election year.

It’s easy to miss that DC is much more than the seat of government and political intrigue.

Check out the wealth of world-class museums, top notch fine dining and a huge range of unique and immersive events.

 

Anniversaries and New Developments

National Museum of the American Indian’s 20^th Anniversary

The first national museum dedicated exclusively to Native Americans will celebrate with special exhibitions and events, some of which will be centered around the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. www.americanindian.si.edu

 

Hirshhorn Museum’s 50^th Anniversary

The Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden – the modern and contemporary art brand of the Smithsonian  network, is undergoing a renovation of its Sculpture Garden and opening a landmark exhibition to celebrate its 50^th anniversary. Many of the sculptures include masterworks by Auguste Rodin, Lucio Fontana, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Sterling Ruby. www.hirshhorn.si.edu

 

Go-Go Museum

The Go-Go Museum & Café provides a foundational introduction to Go-Go music and culture from its headquarters in the historic Anacostia neighbourhood of Washington, DC. A mix of funk, R&B, hip-hop and Afro-Latin rhythms created in the 1970s by ‘Godfather of Go-Go’ Chuck Brown, appreciate Go-Go music with digital and interactive exhibits showcasing its creation in Washington, DC and tracing its roots to West Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. www.gogomuseumcafe.com

 

National Museum of American Diplomacy

The National Museum of American Diplomacy will highlight the power of peaceful American negotiations, including artifacts like a bugged brick from the U.S. embassy in Moscow and the first base from the 2016 U.S.-Cuba baseball game. www.diplomacy.state.gov

 

DC JazzFest’s 20^th Anniversary

A pillar of the DC community for 20 years, the DC Jazzfest attracts thousands of visitors and allows guests to experience the distinctly American genre in the birthplace of Duke Ellington, one of the greatest jazz composers of his time. The DC Jazz Festival brings together heritage, history, culture and music. www.dcjazzfest.org

 

‘A Soldier’s Journey’ Sculpture Wall at the National World War I Memorial (2024)
Set to be installed in 2024, A Soldier’s Journey will be the longest free-standing bronze sculpture in the Western hemisphere at 58 feet (17.8 meters). Located across from the White House Visitor Center, Sabin Howard’s sculpture will feature thirty-eight soldier figures portraying the experience of one American soldier. Starting from the left, the soldier takes leave from his wife and daughter, charges into combat, sees the horrors of war and recovers from the shock to come home to his family.

 

Folger Shakespeare Library renovation

Housing the world’s largest Shakespeare collection and historic theater, the Folger Shakespeare Library welcomes millions of visitors online and in person. This year, it will be renovated to add two exhibition halls and an accessible outdoor pavilion and garden. www.folger.edu

 

11th Street Bridge Park (2025)
Washington, DC’s first elevated public park will be perched over the Anacostia River and feature an amphitheater, picnic gardens, interactive art and waterfalls among other attractions. This venue will be a space for healthy recreation, environmental education and the arts.

 

New Exhibitions

The National Building Museum: Brick City – May 2023 – May 2025
The National Building Museum presents Brick City, displaying iconic architecture from across the globe made completely from LEGO bricks. The 37 constructions by U.K.-based artist Warren Elsmore gives visitors a tour of the world by displaying recognizable buildings from across the globe, from the Sydney Opera House in Australia to St. Pancreas Station in London. Visitors of all ages can create their own masterpieces out of LEGO on an expansive “graffiti wall.” This canvas allows builders to create pixelated art using toy bricks and their imagination. https://www.nbm.org/exhibition/brick-city/

 

National Gallery of Art: “Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment” – 8 Sept 2024 – 20 Jan 2025
Honoring the 150th anniversary of the first impressionist exhibition, Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment brings together 130 paintings, works on paper, prints, sculptures and photographs to explore the various ways that artists responded to a city recovering from war and political and social upheaval.

 

National Gallery of Art: “The Anxious Eye: German Expressionism and Its Legacy” – 11 Feb – 27 May 2024
The National Gallery of Art has important holdings of prints and drawings by German expressionists Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Emil Nolde, among others. The Anxious Eye: German Expressionism and Its Legacy presents insights into the work of these inventive early 20th-century artists and their continuing impact a century later. The exhibition features recent acquisitions as well as works that have rarely, if ever, been on view, including gifts donated by celebrated Washington, DC collectors Jacob and Ruth Cole Kainen. In addition to Heckel, Kirchner, and Nolde, it features key figures Otto Dix, Käthe Kollwitz, Egon Schiele, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, as well as lesser-known artists such as Walter Grammatté.

 

National Portrait Gallery: “Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900-1939” – 26 April 2024 – 25 Feb 2025
Brilliant Exiles is the first exhibition to focus on the impact of American women on Paris – and of Paris on American women – from the turn of the 20th century until the outbreak of World War II. Included in the exhibition will be portraits of cultural influencers, such as Josephine Baker, Isadora Duncan, Zelda Fitzgerald, Loïs Mailou Jones, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Anaïs Nin, Gertrude Stein, Ethel Waters and Anna May Wong.

l Georgetown – 2025
A five-story former office building will be combined with adjacent townhouses to create a 106-room property under Marriot’s Tribute portfolio. www.tribute-portfolio.marriott.com

 

New Events

The Capital Pride Alliance Selected to Host WorldPride 2025 in Washington, DC

InterPride, an international association of over 400 Pride organisations from over 70 countries, have announced that the Capital Pride Alliance (CPA) has been selected to host WorldPride in 2025. WorldPride DC 2025 will feature a vibrant and innovative slate of cultural programs that highlight the best that Washington, DC has to offer. It will include a Human Rights Conference, in partnership with the 34^th annual DC Black Pride, along with partner events, such as Trans Pride, Latinx Pride, AAPI Pride, Silver Pride, and Youth Pride. The proposed dates for WorldPride DC are May 22 – June 8 2025. visit: www.WorldPrideDC.org and www.CapitalPride.org.

 

 

  

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