Here are some great free arts and culture events from CultureCapital.com! This site is a fantastic resource for free and ticketed events presented by nearly 300 Metro DC Arts Presenters. For quick way to find even more FREE arts and culture events check out the "Free in DC" Inside Out feature, curated by the staff of CultureCapital.com.
TICKETPLACE.org is another great program where you can find discount tickets to performances throughout metro DC @TICKETPLACEDC on twitter and at TICKETPLACE.org.
Thursday, March 3
Lunchtime - Art Talk at the National Portrait Gallery - Chinatown
Thursdays at Noon: Gertrude Stein
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Beth Evans from the Education Department presents a “Slow Looking” and lively discussion on Jo Davidson’s sculpture of Gertrude Stein. Meet in the G Street Lobby for this talk. (Pictured to the right: Gertrude Stein by Jo Davidson, terra-cotta. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Dr. Maury Leibovitz)
National Portrait Gallery
8th & F St NW
Metro: Gallery Pl - Chinatown, elevator exit or museum exit at 9th & G
Evening - Art Opening in Old Town Alexandria - King St, VA
Opening Reception for the Biennial Ikebana Show at the The Art League Gallery in The Torpedo Factory Arts Center
in Old Town Alexandria
6:30pm - 8:00pm
Performance by taiko drummer Mark H. Rooney from 6:45pm - 7:15pm
Note: Exhibit is only on view from Thursday, March 3 - Sunday, March 6. Gallery hours: Mon - Sat 10:00am - 6:00pm, Thursday 10:00am - 9:00pm, Sunday 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Art and nature come together as The Art League welcomes back the Washington, DC branch of The Sogetsu School for our 16th Biennial Ikebana Show. Recognized as a sculptural form of art, Ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arranging, has over 300 schools of thought. Sogetsu Ikebana is a three-dimensional artistic expression composed of flower and plant material arranged in a container. Sogetsu promotes an Ikebana of no limits, in which plant materials of any type may be used and displayed anywhere and in any circumstance. + Flower Arranging Demonstration on Saturday, March 5 at 2:00pm
The Art League Gallery
on the first floor of the Torpedo Factory
105 North Union St - Old Town Alexandria, VA
Metro: King St and take the free trolley down to the Waterfront or walk down King St if you like
Evening - Film Screening at Brentwood Arts Exchange - Brentwood, MD
Garbage Dreams
6:30pm
Directed by Mai Iskander, 2009, 79 min.
Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Egypt's 'garbage people.' When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of their trade, each boy is forced to make choices that will impact his life and the future of his community.
Brentwood Arts Exchange
At the Gateway Arts Center
3901 Rhode Island Ave - Brentwood, MD
Metro: See metro trip-planner for best bus access from metro depending where you are coming from
Find more free events and exhibits on view in DC, MD & VA on the "Free in DC" Inside Out page on CultureCapital.com!
Friday, March 4
Afternoon - Film at the National Gallery of Art, East Building - Judiciary Sq or Archives
Film Event: Winter 2016: Hand Gestures
12:30pm
Also on Saturday at 12:30pm
The daily routines of the Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, a historic bronze foundry in Milan, methodically capture the process of creating a bronze sculpture — one of artist Velasco Vitali’s famous dogs — via the ancient lost-wax casting process, a practice that has essentially remained unchanged since the second millennium BC. "Sculpture is not a concept. Sculpture is the hand gesture. A gesture of love" — Giacomo Manzù. (Il gesto delle mani, Francesco Clerici, 2015, DCP, 77 minutes)
National Gallery of Art
East Building Auditorium
Note: On weekdays the Judiciary Sq exit is open and is closer than the Archives exit, you can also take Archives and walk
Evening - Art Opening at Gallery Underground in the Shops at Crystal City - Crystal City, VA
Opening Reception: Urban Edge Solo Show by Sandi Parker
at Gallery Underground in Crystal City, VA
5:00pm - 8:00pm
Come out for the opening reception for “Urban Edge,” Sandi Parker’s solo show of abstract acrylic paintings depicting urban living. Meant to evoke city walls, the paintings are highly textured, resembling the patina that results from many layers of peeling paint, graffiti and pasted flyers. The paintings are a marriage of abstract and street art. In addition to a new all-media March Members Show in the Main Gallery, also featured are realist painter George Bowles and a tribute to the American painter James McNeill Whistler. Presented by the Arlington Artists Alliance.
Gallery Underground
in the Crystal City Shops
2100 Crystal Drive - Arlington, VA
Evening - Talk about Shakespeare at the Folger - Capitol South
Free Folger Friday: Shakespeare and Sir Thomas More
6:00pm
Free, however RSVP is recommended
Local director Dr. Cassie Ash explores Shakespeare’s connection to the manuscript of the play Sir Thomas More, featured in the Folger exhibition Shakespeare, Life of an Icon.
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol Street, SE
Metro: Capitol South
Art by Ann Barbieri
Evening - Art Opening at the Arts Club - Farragut West
March 2016: Opening Reception
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Held in the club’s historic Monroe and MacFeely galleries, the Arts Club of Washington will feature the works of Ann Barbieri, Kay Fuller, and Robert Sulkin.
Arts Club of Washington
2017 I Street, NW
Metro: Farragut West, also near GWU
Evening - Global Music Concert at the Spectrum Theatre - Rosslyn, VA
Global-Phonic Music Festival: Kiran Ahluwaliaat the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre
8:00pm
Free, however tickets are required, get tickets here
Presented by Arlington Cultural Affairs. Born in India, raised in Canada and currently living in New York City, Ahluwalia’s music reflects love in all its shades from the yearning romantic to the divine love of Sufi Mysticism. Saharan sounds also infuse her music, to include the appearance of the legendary Malian ensemble Tinariwen on her 2011 album aam zameen: common ground. Also performing is Kiran’s musical and marital partner Rez Abbasi, a NYC-based Pakistani-American guitarist named No. 1 Rising Star Guitarist on Downbeat magazine’s International Critic’s Poll who also performs with jazz pianist Vijay Iyer.
Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre
1611 N Kent St. - Arlington, VA
Metro: Rosslyn or take the Circulator bus to Rosslyn, walk to the right, turn left at the light after the metro, walk past the Artisphere on the left and down the hill a little further, you'll see the sign for the Spectrun Theatre
Find more free events and exhibits on view in DC, MD & VA on the "Free in DC" Inside Out page on CultureCapital.com!
Saturday, March 5
Morning - Quilting Workshop at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum - Anacostia
Quilting Art Workshop
11:00am
RSVP Requested
Do you have a drawer or chest full of t-shirts, some from the 60s and 70s that you will never wear again but can't seem to throw away? Find 6 or 8 of these treasured mementos and bring them to a workshop where you will learn how to make a template. Learn basic cutting and basting techniques and design a quilt to completion. Bring photos connected to the shirts to share. No sewing experience required. This workshop, led by artisan Dianne Dale is being presented in conjunction with the exhibition Twelve Years That Shook and Shaped Washington, 1963-1975.
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
1901 Fort Place, SE
Metro: Anacostia and take a bus, taxi, uber, or lyft. See metro trip-planner for bus access. See uber and lyft promotions for new users below.
Final Day to see this exhibit at Zenith Gallery - Upper 16th St
From History to the Dream
In Celebration of Black History Month
Last chance to see this exhibit! Open Wednesday - Saturday 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Featuring: Doba Afolabi, Mason Archie, Francesca Britton, Richard Fitzhugh, Robert Freeman, Cassandra Gillens, Hubert Jackson, Gloria Kirk, Christopher Malone, Joyce J. Scott, Karen Starika, and Curtis Woody. Read more about the show and the participating artists here.
Zenith Gallery
1429 Iris St NW
Metro: Silver Spring or Columbia Heights and take a bus along 16th or 14th, see metro trip-planner
Lunchtime - Event for Kids 3-7 at Prince George's African American Museum - Brentwood, MD
Early Keepers
12:00pm - 1:30pm
designed for ages 3-7, Please RSVP here
Theme: The Powerful Women of Prince George’s Kids can explore multicultural heritage through story-telling, music, movement/dance, and arts & crafts. Parents can spend quality time with their children while engaging in fun and culturally rich activities that incorporate problem-solving, math, and reading skills. Parents must remain with their children throughout the duration of the program.
Prince George's African American Museum
4519 Rhode Island Ave - North Brentwood, MD
Metro: See metro trip-planner for best bus access from metro depending where you are coming from or take uber or lyft there, see promotions for new users at the bottom of this post
Afternoon - Film at the National Gallery of Art, East Building - Archives
Event: Winter 2016: Hand Gestures
12:30pm
The daily routines of the Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, a historic bronze foundry in Milan, methodically capture the process of creating a bronze sculpture — one of artist Velasco Vitali’s famous dogs — via the ancient lost-wax casting process, a practice that has essentially remained unchanged since the second millennium BC. "Sculpture is not a concept. Sculpture is the hand gesture. A gesture of love" — Giacomo Manzù. (Il gesto delle mani, Francesco Clerici, 2015, DCP, 77 minutes)
National Gallery of Art
East Building Auditorium
401 Constitution Ave NW
Metro: Archives
Afternoon - Family-Friendly Talk at the National Portrait Gallery - Chinatown
Portrait Story Days: Clara Barton
1:00pm
Also Sunday at 2:00pm
Young visitors and their families may drop by to listen to a story about Clara Barton from our friends at the DC Public Library and complete an art project. This program is sponsored in part by the Reinsch Family Education Endowment.
National Portrait Gallery
8th & F St NW
Metro: Gallery Pl - Chinatown, elevator exit or 9th & G exit
Afternoon - Talk at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum - Anacostia
Talk: From the Great Society to DC Law and Order
2:00pm
RSVP Requested
Join George Washington University history professor Bell Julian Clement as she talks about the shift in attention from the 1960s Great Society aspirations for D.C. , “law and order” and home rule goals. The talk includes an examination of the early community organizing efforts of Marion Barry.
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
1901 Fort Place, SE
Metro: Anacostia and take a bus, taxi, uber, or lyft. See metro trip-planner for bus access. See uber and lyft promotions for new users below.
Afternoon - Film at the National Gallery of Art, East Building - Archives
Film Event: Winter 2016: The Iron Ministry
3:00pm
(J. P. Sniadecki, 2014, DCP, subtitles, 82 minutes)
The Iron Ministry paints an oblique but evocative portrait of modern China through an immersive experience on the Chinese railways. Recorded between 2011 and 2013 by J. P. Sniadecki (an alumnus of Harvard’s Sensory Ethnography Lab [SEL]) as he crisscrossed the country on innumerable trains, the film speeds along on many levels: the rhythmic tones of heavy metal in motion, dim close-ups of crowded car interiors, fabrics, bolts, tracks, and the enticing chatter of candid conversations. A remarkable achievement in filmmaking, it abides by SEL’s goal to capture ordinary experiences rather than interpret them. "The best film about China in the twenty-first century" — Travis Jeppesen.
National Gallery of Art
East Building Auditorium
401 Constitution Ave NW
Metro: Archives
Evening - Art Opening Reception at the Foundry Gallery - U St
Opening Reception for Folded and Framed - Fran Abrams: Polymer clay art
5:00pm - 8:00pm
For more than a decade, Fran Abrams has been creating sculptural polymer clay artwork that hangs on the wall in the manner of bas relief. Abrams relies on these original and blended colors of the clay and does not use any paint in her work. She bakes the clay pieces, glues them to canvas that she has covered with actual fabric, and frames the completed works.
Foundry Gallery
2118 8th St NW - ear the 9:30 Club
Metro: U St - African American War Memorial exit
Evening - Concert featuring Women's Voices at the University of Maryland - College Park, MD
12th Annual Celebration of Women's Voices
at the UMD Memorial Chapel
8:00pm
Enjoy a program of music for treble voices by the UMD Women's Chorus and guest ensembles to mark the beginning of Women's History Month.
UMD Memorial Chapel
1101 Memorial Chapel at UMD - College Park, MD 20742
Metro: College Park and take a bus, taxi, uber or lyft. See uber and lyft promo codes for new users at the bottom of this post.
Find more free events and exhibits on view in DC, MD & VA on the "Free in DC" Inside Out page on CultureCapital.com!
Sunday, March 6
Afternoon - Literary and Poetry Reading at The Writer's Center - Bethesda, MD
Open Door Reading: Franklin Portugal & Danuta Kosk-Kosicka
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Franklin Portugal reads from The Least Likely Man: Marshall Nirenberg and the Discovery of the Genetic Code. He is joined by poet Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka, author of Oblige the Light. The reading will be followed by a reception and book signing.
The Writer's Center
4508 Walsh St - Bethesda, MD
Metro: Bethesda, elevator exit is closest, If taking metro, note that Walsh St is only accessible from the left/ northbound side of the Wisconsin so best to cross the street when you exit the metro so you don't miss the turn.
Afternoon - Family-Friendly Talk at the National Portrait Gallery - Chinatown
Portrait Story Days: Clara Barton
2:00pm
Young visitors and their families may drop by to listen to a story about Clara Barton from our friends at the DC Public Library and complete an art project. This program is sponsored in part by the Reinsch Family Education Endowment.
National Portrait Gallery
8th & F St NW
Metro: Gallery Pl - Chinatown, elevator exit or museum exit at 9th & G
Afternoon - Concert at the National Gallery of Art, West Building - Archives
Concert: Avi Avital
3:30pm
Program: Between Worlds
National Gallery of Art
West Building, West Garden Court
601 Constitution Ave NW
Metro: Archives
Afternoon - Film at the National Gallery of Art, East Building - Archives
Film Event: Winter 2016: In Transit
4:00pm
(Albert Maysles, Lynn True, Nelson Walker, David Usui, and Ben Wu, 2015, DCP, 76 minutes)This new and final film from the legendary Albert Maysles (1926 – 2015) — America’s celebrated direct cinema ethnographer — was recorded on board the historic Empire Builder, Amtrak’s popular long-distance passenger train, once the flagship of the Great Northern Railway running from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest. Most people making this scenic forty-six-hour journey are in transition — breaking away, at a juncture, turning over a new leaf, or simply going home. "In Transit breathes new life into the cross-country commute and asks us to contemplate the unknowns that lie at our final destination" — Genna Terranova.
National Gallery of Art
East Building Auditorium
401 Constitution Ave NW
Metro: Archives
Afternoon - Youth Orchestra Concert in Arlington, VA - Virginia Sq or Ballston
Crescendo Tango, Pops, Jazz Concert
4:00pm
Crescendo, the youth chamber music group of the Arlington Philharmonic, presents a lively and festive concert of Tango, Pop, and Jazz. The students will play a number of hit tunes from several eras including "Billie Jean" from the famous Thriller album to Henry Mancini's "Moon River." The young musicians will be joined by their professional coaches for side-by-side performances at this free family friendly concert.
Culpepper Garden Senior Center
4335 N Pershing Dr - Arlington, VA
Metro: Virginia Sq or Ballston and walk 20 minutes from either station, or take an uber or lyft.
Find more free events and exhibits on view in DC, MD & VA on the "Free in DC" Inside Out page on CultureCapital.com!
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