Mostly Virtual Arts Round Up, July 23, 2020
By • July 23, 2020 0 960
You may now view aircraft and bison. As for attending concerts, talks and workshops, if we cannot resume, we can always re-Zoom. Click on the headings for details.
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities: Public Art Installation
“Warming Waters,” a public art installation by artist and climate activist Monica Jahan Bose and multimedia artist and video journalist Robin Bell, will be dedicated tonight, July 23, at 8 p.m. at the C&O Canal wall in Georgetown behind Blue Bottle Coffee. On view from sunrise until 10 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday, the installation drapes the wall with massive, colorful cotton fabric saris from Bangladesh, covered with printmaking and writing about climate change by residents of Washington, D.C., and of Katakhali Village, Bangladesh. Tickets to watch Bell’s video projections on the saris from 9 to 10 p.m. each evening, weather permitting, are free, with visitors required to wear masks and maintain social distancing.
Tonight, July 23, Georgetown’s legendary jazz club Blues Alley will live-stream an 8 p.m. show by the Carr-Keys Quintet, then stream it again at 10 p.m. The group’s headliners are Howard graduate Paul Carr on tenor sax and D.C. native Marshall Keys on alto and soprano. Carr’s early mentors were fellow Houstonians Arnett Cobb and Don Wilkerson. Keys has worked with, among others: Jimmy Witherspoon, Jimmy Heath, Pepper Adams, Miriam Makeba, Jimmy Scott, Stevie Wonder and blues organist Jimmy McGriff. Tickets are $10 for the 8 p.m. stream and $5 for the 10 p.m. replay.
Museum of Asian Art: Filmmaker Q&A
Also tonight, July 23, at 9 p.m., the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art will host via Zoom a live Q&A with Ray Yeung about his groundbreaking 2019 film “Twilight’s Kiss” (originally titled “Suk Suk”), a sensitive drama about elderly, closeted gay men in Hong Kong. The film is available HERE for streaming in D.C., Maryland and Virginia through July 31. Both the Q&A and access to the film are free.
The National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW, will reopen tomorrow, July 24, with 5,000 free passes available daily. Those planning a visit can reserve up to six passes for dates up to 30 days in advance. A limited number of walk-up passes will be distributed daily after 1 p.m. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Latest additions: juvenile female American bison Gally, named for the Gallaudet University mascot, and Lucy, honoring tennis champion Lucy Diggs Slowe, the first dean of women at Howard University.
The first Smithsonian museum location (not counting the zoo) to announce its reopening date — also July 24 — is the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the National Air and Space Museum branch in Chantilly, Virginia. The center will make available 1,500 free daily passes. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and parking is $10.
Potomac Riverboat Company: Mount Vernon Cruise
This narrated water taxi excursion departs for Mount Vernon from 580 Water St. SW on Saturdays and Sundays — including July 25 and July 26 — at 9 a.m., arriving at the former home of George and Martha Washington at 10:15 a.m. (It makes a 9:30 a.m. stop at the Alexandria City Marina, 105 North Union St.) Face coverings are required on board for passengers age 3 and up. The return trip leaves Mount Vernon at 2 p.m. Roundtrip tickets are $50 ($45 for seniors and $29 for ages 2 to 11).
Phillips Collection: Amulet Workshop
On July 25 from noon to 2:30 p.m., Red Dirt Studio artists Diana N’Diaye and Alison Kysia will share their evolving dialogue about art, Islam and social justice in a free amulet-making workshop held via Zoom. After Kysia recently lost a loved one, she asked N’Diaye to help her make something to hold her powerful memories. The two Muslim women see the making of amulets as a practice of community empowerment. Materials for two to three amulets: 8-by-12-inch fabric or fabric scraps; 8-by-12-inch paper; needle and (preferably) embroidery thread; 1 to 1 ½ yards of thin leather, string or ribbon; and glue. Optional: a poem, a handwritten letter, a picture, song lyrics, a line drawing, a scriptural passage or dirt from a special place.
DCPL: Baseball Program (Ages 3 to 5)
The DC Public Library invites kids three to five years old to a free books-and-baseball program conducted via WebEx on July 27 at 5 p.m. Participants will enjoy a book read aloud with library staff plus fun movement activities and baseball exercises with coaches from the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy.
Strathmore: Live from the Mansion
Performing live from the Mansion at Strathmore on July 29 at 7:30 p.m. will be a trio made up of tenor saxophonist Elijah Jamal Balbed, known for his JoGo Project, melding jazz and D.C.’s homegrown go-go music; versatile, fierce female drummer Isabelle De Leon; and soulful pianist Mark G. Meadows. The free series, presented on Strathmore’s Facebook page, is hosted by hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon.
Ford’s Theatre: Cabinet Conversation
Part of a series on creativity, history and leadership live-streamed by Ford’s Theatre, this 30-minute Cabinet Conversation on July 30 at 4 p.m. will feature Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and historian Kevin M. Levin discussing Confederate monuments. The free event can be viewed on the Ford’s website, Facebook Live, YouTube or Twitter.
Washington Revels: Jubilee July
The Washington Revels Jubilee Voices ensemble is marking its 10th anniversary performing traditional African American songs, dances and stories. On July 31, time TBD, the grand finale of Jubilee July — a monthlong virtual celebration on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram — will be a free Facebook Live broadcast combining musical performances, dramatic readings and the sharing of traditions by Jubilee Voices members, plus guest appearances. As with all Washington Revels programs, there will be opportunities for the audience to sing along.
Pyramid Atlantic: Virtual Workshop
In this Zoom workshop on Aug. 8 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., led by collage artist and book designer Bel Mills of Scrap Paper Circus, students will create a clever “file cabinet” in the form of a book from an assortment of upcycled office supplies such as manila folders, business envelopes, cardboard and file labels. Unlike the typical boring file cabinet, these stitched and stenciled “cabinets” are designed to hold images of anything the student is obsessed with, whether typography, birds, roses or race cars. Tuition is $113. Note: registration closes July 28 to allow time to purchase materials.
