Mostly Virtual Arts Round Up, July 30, 2020
By • July 30, 2020 0 887
Why not pop open a can of Senate Beer or Liberty Cider tonight in the Heurich House Castle Garden? Those staying put this weekend can go on virtual tours of Prohibition-era U Street and Rock Creek Cemetery. The headings below link to registration information for these events and others.
Heurich House Museum: Happy Hour
On July 30 from 5 to 8 p.m., the Castle Garden bar at the Heurich House Museum, 1921 Sunderland Place NW, will open for a Heurich Revivals Happy Hour featuring Senate Beer and Liberty Apple Cider, sold in cans for on-site consumption ($6 for Senate and $7 for Liberty). Outside food will be permitted and six-foot social distancing will be in effect, with masks required in common areas and optional within your group. Admission to this first-come, first-served, 21+ event is free.
Smithsonian Associates: Virtual Walking Tour
Local historian Garrett Peck will lead a virtual walking tour, “Jazzy Nights in Washington: A Stroll Through the 1920s Shaw Neighborhood,” on July 31 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Using prerecorded footage and live commentary via Zoom, the tour will begin at the legendary Howard Theatre on U Street NW — then known as “Black Broadway” — and proceed to the sites of Club Caverns, Club Bali, Murray’s Palace Casino and the Minnehaha Theatre, later the location of Ben’s Chili Bowl. Tickets are $55 ($45 for Smithsonian Associates members).
Chamber Dance Project: Virtual Showcase
At this virtual showcase on July 31 at 7 p.m., Chamber Dance Project will present a live red carpet with the artists and a preview of rising-star choreographer Christian Denice’s newest work. A screening of filmed outdoor performances of two duets — Diane Coburn Bruning’s “Berceuse” in Milwaukee and Cooper Verona’s “In The Silence” in Columbus, Ohio — and of Bruning’s solo dance piece “Sarabande” in Los Angeles will follow. Tickets are free.
Museum of Women in the Arts: Reopening
After three days of members-only access, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW, will reopen to the public on Aug 1 with timed admission tickets, face masks and social distancing. Hours are Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. (special Tuesday admission from 9 to 10 a.m. for age 65+ and individuals with high-risk health conditions). Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students and free for age 18 and under. The photography exhibition “Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico” is on view through Aug. 23.
Politics and Prose: Online Class
Poet Kim Roberts, author of “A Literary Guide to Washington, DC: Walking in the Footsteps of American Writers from Francis Scott Key to Zora Neale Hurston,” will be the instructor for an online class, “Rock Creek Cemetery Tour: Literature and Sculpture in DC’s Oldest Burial Ground,” offered by Politics and Prose on Aug. 1 from 10 a.m. to noon. Sites to be covered include the Adams Memorial, Heurich Mausoleum, Rabboni-Ffoulke Memorial, Kaufman Memorial, Levi Leiter Gravesite, Gaff Memorial and Keep Monument. Tickets are $50.
The long-running D.C. open-mic series known as Spit Dat is now in residence at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company as a free monthly series of online spoken-word performances. On Aug. 3 from 8 to 9:30 p.m., Spit Dat will be streamed on Zoom and Facebook Live. The “virtual lobby” opens at 7:30 p.m.
African Art Museum: Zoom Dance Webinar
The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is presenting a free Zoom webinar for ages 9 to 14: “Sewa! Traditional West African Dance with Lesina Martin.” Sewa means joy in the Malinke language. Young people who participate will experience the joy of African dance as a functional aspect of society and see the common threads in the expression of people around the world. The last session will take place on Aug. 4 from 2 to 3 p.m.
African American History and Culture: Hands-On Art
On Aug. 5 from noon to 1 p.m., the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture will offer one in a series of free digital, interactive programs led by NMAAHC educators for students in grades three to 12. Each session will focus on a different work of visual art by an African American artist, engaging students in conversation and guiding them in a hands-on art project using household materials.
Folger Shakespeare Library: Lightning Round
Tana Wojczuk, editor, writing teacher and author of “Lady Romeo,” a new biography of 19th-century cross-dressing actor Charlotte Cushman, will be the guest at the Folger’s next Shakespeare Lightning Round, presented on Instagram Live on Aug. 5 at 5 p.m. In each episode, 30 questions about the Bard of Avon are fired at a literate and quick-witted visitor. Admission is free.
Mexican-born artist Aliza Nisenbaum will join Hirshhorn Assistant Curator Betsy Johnson on Aug. 5 from 8 to 9 p.m. (rescheduled from June 10) for a discussion via Zoom about Nisenbaum’s intimate portraits of fellow immigrants. Nisenbaum frequents social arenas that offer community, and sometimes sanctuary, for groups that often face scrutiny for their age, gender, nationality or sexual orientation. “Mis Cuatro Gracias (Brendan, Camilo, Carlos, Jorge),” Nisenbaum’s painting of artists who dance together at salsa clubs, recently entered the Hirshhorn’s permanent collection. Admission is free but advance registration is required. Click HERE to watch Nisenbaum’s contribution to the Hirshhorn Artist Diaries video series.
Starting Aug. 5, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia, will present five consecutive nights of drive-in movie screenings, weather permitting, at 8:30 p.m. in the park’s east parking lot. Gates open at 7 p.m. The lineup is: “This Is Spinal Tap” (Aug. 5), “Mamma Mia!” (Aug. 6), “Sing” (Aug. 7), “Dreamgirls” (Aug. 8) and “Dirty Dancing” (Aug. 9). Admission is $40 per car with snack and kids’ packs available for advance purchase.
