First Friday Dupont: Art Walk

The Chinese American Museum DC is delighted to present three exhibitions this month.  “Under the Bodhi Tree: Art and Architecture of the Longhua Temple” explores the history and art of the Longhua Temple, including the iconic seven-storied Longhua pagoda first built in 977 during the Northern Song Dynasty. “2023 Student Art Competition Exhibition: My Dream” showcases 30 selected winning pieces from our 2023 Student Art Competition. This year’s theme, “My Dream,” is an open-ended topic that emphasizes divergent thinking. And, “Thank you, Corky Lee: The Unofficial Photographer Laureate of Asian Americans” features key images from late activist-photographer Corky Lee. This exhibit is a very personal tribute to Corky as someone that helped diverse groups of all backgrounds to see themselves and to be seen.  The Chinese American Museum DC is located at 1218 16^th Street NW.  To learn more, visit www.chineseamericanmuseum.org.

The Dupont Underground will be showing its Second Annual Women’s Art Show:  “Thoughts, Questions and Shit to Say.”  We are celebrating the complexity of the region’s women artists’ narratives, encouraging a dialogue around issues that resonate with women across various cultural, social, and economic backgrounds.  From introspective reflections to outward queries about societal norms, the exhibit explores the multifaceted nature of women’s experiences.   The Dupont Underground is located at 19 Dupont Circle NW – red entrance behind Starbucks.

The Embassy of Portugal is showing “Terra Firme/Terra Fragil,” “Firm Earth/Fragile Earth,” by Elizabeth Casqueiro.  The artist is fascinated by the intricate interplay between nature, the built environment, and the individual self. Her work seeks to explore and capture the ways in which these three worlds intersect and interact, shaping the spaces we inhabit, the experiences we have within them, and the people we become.  In her paintings, she seeks to find the harmony in these seemingly disparate elements and to celebrate the ways in which they are woven together in our lives.  If you haven’t seen this extraordinary exhibition, this is your opportunity, because next month the exhibit will change.  The Embassy of Portugal is located at 2012 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

The Heurich House Museum is celebrating Spring with our “Castle Blooms” pop-up through April 14th. Join us for Dupont’s First Friday in the museum’s biergarten, 1921, on Friday, April 4th from 4-8pm for a specially curated cocktail and mocktail using Local Makers, Pratt Standard’s small-batch cherry blossom-flavored syrups and Red Bear Brewing’s Peak Bloom, featuring notes of cherry, orange zest, and lemon zest. Also grab spring games, “Grab Hi Ho Cherry-o!” and “Gudetama,” at the bar and play with your friends. 1921 is located with the museum’s exhibit HOME/BREWED, which features objects from a rotating collection of over 1,000 artifacts from the historic Heurich brewery.  Tour guests will also get to access our exhibit, Working Title, (please note: in order to go inside the Heurich House, guests must pre-purchase tickets for house tours on the website). Working Title reframes the Heurich family home as a central juncture for the people who lived and worked there: men and women, immigrant and natural-born, Black and white, rich and lower-income.  The Heurich House Museum is located at 1307 New Hampshire Avenue NW.

IA&A at Hillyer IA&A at Hillyer presents “Contemporary Echoes: Rediscovering Italian Art from 1950-1980,” artworks from the BFF collection; curated by Renato Miracco.  The exhibition features 18 works by 9 prominent Italian artists, and serves as a captivating exploration linking the artistic journey of Italian and American artists, drawing inspiration from BFF’s art collection.  Also, the public is invited to the opening reception for Judith Klausner, “(de)composed/nocturne,” and Deborah Grayson, “They Think of Love as a Reddening of the Earth Under the Sun.”  Free to the public with an $8 suggested donation.  IA&A at Hillyer is Dupont Circle’s largest nonprofit gallery, located in a carriage house at 9 Hillyer Court, NW – behind the Phillips Collection.  To learn more, visit www.athillyer.org.

Last chance to see The Middle East Institute Arts and Culture Center’s current exhibition, “The Sea Of Life: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Kingdom of Bahrain.”  Co-curated by Bahrain-based Hayfa Aljishi and MEI Arts and Culture Center Director Lyne Sneige, the exhibition features 14 artists spanning different generations and art forms exploring their connection to their natural and built environment through painting, photography, sculpture, video, and installation. The 30 featured artworks offer a glimpse into the legacy of Bahrain’s pioneering artists, the evolving arts scene, and the ways in which younger generations are exploring new artistic expressions.  Participating artists: Rashid Al Khalifa, Marwa Al Khalifa, Mohammed Al Mahdi, Mariam AlNoaimi, Jaafar Al Oraibi, Abdul Karim Al-Orrayed, Mashael Alsaie, Jamal AlYousif, Nasser AlYousif, Ebrahim Bu Saad, Balqees Fakhro, Aysha Hafuz, Ghada Khunji, Abbas Yousif. The Middle East Institute Arts and Culture Center is located at 1763 N Street, NW.

The Museum of the Palestinian People invites you to attend a casual Q&A and discussion led by our docent as we continue to address the ongoing tragedy unfolding in Palestine and the context that precedes it. We also welcome you to view our exhibit in its final month, “Hunt al Quds,” a multi-media display of the cultural and artistic life in Jerusalem during the British mandate. We looked forward to seeing you all then! Light refreshments will be served. The Museum of Palestinian People is located at 1900 18^th Street NW.

The National League of American Pen Women will feature Simone Baron pianist and accordionist, playing original compositions and arrangements of familiar jazz numbers. Simone has just recently been guest lecturer and performer at the three-day Washington Women in Jazz Festival workshop held at Pen Arts. The original art being shown is from the private collection of James Baldwin and dates to1963.  Please join us for special treats for the ears and for the eyes.  The NLAPW is located at 1300 17th Street NW.

Q Street Fine Art will not be open for First Friday on April 5th.  But Barbara Bennett looks forward to welcoming guests for the next First Friday on May 3^rd.  The gallery continues to be open daily by appointment only by calling 202-255-2893.

Studio Gallery presents four brand new exhibits this April by local artists. On our upper level, “The Promise of Dawn” by Thierry Guillemin is on display. Guillemin’s serene paintings are paired with soundscapes by Jim Metzner in this solo exhibit curated by Gaby Mizes. On our lower level, view “The Colors of Fruit” by Elizabeth McNeil Harris and “TEARS ENOUGH TO DROWN ME BUT I SWIM” by Iza Thomas, curated by Gaby Mizes. The “Colors of Fruit” features drawings and musings on the beauty of familiar (and delicious) objects, while “TEARS ENOUGH TO DROWN ME BUT I SWIM” reflects on women’s resiliency and strength through magical realism paintings. In the Garden Gallery, view “Woman/Artist,” a Studio Gallery Staff Show featuring director Halley Sun Stubis, Curator and Fellows Manager Atiya Dorsey, and former gallery associates Lydia Embry and Samantha Van Heest. “Woman/Artist” explores the role of womanhood (and by extension, girlhood) in the artists’ identities and ways of creation.   Studio Gallery is an art cooperative located at 2108 R Street NW.

The Washington Center of ADA Art Gallery, an extension of ADA University’s Art Program, welcomes their Winter 2024 exhibition by noted Charlottesville, VA. artist Frank P. Phillips for his new works on paper and canvas from January 5 – March 31, 2024.  To learn more about this artist, visit EdithGraves.com.  The Washington Center of ADA University is a 501 (c) 3 organization aiming to promote social, fraternal, and networking opportunities, facilitate education activities, and advance cultural ties between the United States and Azerbaijan. You can find the ADA Art Gallery at 1627 21st Street, NW on Gallery Row.

Join the Washington Studio School on Friday, April 5th for Dupont Circle’s First Friday Artwalk for the opening exhibition of “Journey” by Hsin-Hsi Chen. This solo exhibition invites viewers to witness Hsin-Hsi’s artistic evolution, spanning from her early two-dimensional drawings to her latest work in diverse scales and materials. View never-before-seen sketches and small drawings that will also be included in the show!  The Washington Studio School is located at 2129 S Street NW.  You can sign up for classes too!

The Woman’s National Democratic Club is proud to exhibit Cymn Wong’s “Poesy Spectrum Flow.” The exhibition shows Wong’s unique aesthetic of painting: a fusion of fluidity and freedom of abstract expressionism with the contemplative practice of Zen calligraphy, which integrates free energetic and still-dynamic brush strokes.  Wong, a mixed-media artist and bilingual poet, grew up in Hong Kong and was named Chosen Artists for Winning Entry at the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibitions in 1994, 1996, and 1998. She was also awarded the Grand Prize at the Ideco International Painting Award in Spain in 1997.  A cash bar will be available from 6:00 p.m. The Woman’s National Democratic Club is located at 1526 New Hampshire Avenue NW.