Arena Stage
• June 2, 2011

“The Edward Albee Festival”
March 5 – April 24
With lots of events, plays, talks and side activities, and it’s all about Albee.

Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
February 25 – April 10
Perhaps the main event of the Albee Festival, the Steppenwolf Theater Company’s production of the acerbic drama stars Tracy Letts and May Morton as George and Martha.

Edward Albee’s “At Home at the Zoo”
February 25 – April 24

“The Chosen”
March 8 – 27

An Artist Visits the White House Past: The Paintings of Peter Waddell
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Every Tuesday and Thursday through July 26 at 1:30 p.m. at the White House Visitor Center, artist Peter Waddell will discuss his paintings in the exhibit, “An Artist Visits the White House Past.” The exhibit presents fourteen paintings commissioned by the White House Historical Association that’s been six years in the making, depicting the President’s house from construction in 1792 to Theodore Roosevelt’s major renovation in 1902. Through meticulous research and tireless attention to detail, Peter Waddell created a vision of the White House as it was in the nineteenth century. The exhibit, part of a year-long celebration of the association’s 50th anniversary, will be on display through November 28, 2011.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
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“The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs”
March 21 – April 10
Most intriguing prospect and title goes to this one-man show by solo performer Mike Daisy, wherein he discusses the stigma and the harrowing truths of the world’s most mysterious techie icon.

“BootyCandy,” written and directed by Robert O’Hara
May 30 – June 26
O’Hara, who just took home a Helen Hayes Award for “Antebellum,” will be turning out this kaleidoscope of sassy sex education, which discusses growing up gay and African American.

Corcoran Gallery of Art
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NEXT at the Corcoran: BFA Class of 2011
April 23–May 22, 2011

On the footsteps of Corcoran’s progressive and wonderfully fresh “NOW” series, which spotlights contemporary working artists as comprehensively as most museums cover the classics, comes NEXT, an exhibition of the Corcoran College graduating class of 2011. There is sure to be an impressive array of budding artists on display with the bravado and curiosity that students exemplify, like horses chomping at the bit.

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NOW at the Corcoran: Chris Martin
June 18–October 23, 2011

Although abstract, Martin’s paintings are a direct response to the physical world around him. Many of his works integrate objects from his immediate environment into their surfaces, including kitchen utensils, records, photographs, and Persian carpets. The works are as much about daily life—music, travel, and language—as they are about mythology, storytelling, the endurance of symbols, and the role of painting in art history.

The Washington Ballet Presents Carmen at the Harman
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May 19 was opening night of the Ballet’s season finale. The program began with David Palmer’s Passing Through followed by a musical interlude performed by Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Edwaard Liang’s As Above, So Below concluded Act I. Following intermission, Carmen was beautifully interpreted by lead dancers Sona Kharatian, Luis R. Torres, Maki Onuki and Jared Nelson. At a post-performance reception, Board Chair Sylvia de Leon hailed “the year that was” as the Ballet grew to a new level. Incoming Executive Director Peter Branch was welcomed and glasses were raised to his predecessor Russell Allen. [gallery ids="99842,99843,99844,99845,99846,99847,99848" nav="thumbs"]

Freer | Sackler
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Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan
February 26–July 31, 2011 (Sackler Gallery)

Majestic sixth-century Chinese Buddhist sculpture is combined with 3-D imaging technology in this exploration of one of the most important groups of Buddhist devotional sites in early medieval China. Carved into the mountains of northern China, the Buddhist cave temples of Xiangtangshan (pronounced “shahng-tahng-shahn”) were the crowning cultural achievement of the Northern Qi dynasty (550-77 CE). Once home to a magnificent array of sculptures–monumental Buddhas, divine attendant figures, and crouching monsters framed by floral motifs–the limestone caves were severely damaged in the first half of the twentieth century, when their contents were chiseled away and offered for sale on the international art market. The exhibit re-creates the forms and power of these sacred Eastern sculptures as they were originally constructed.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
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Blinky Palermo: Retrospective 1964-1977
February 24, 2011- May 15, 2011

Palermo (1943-1977), renowned throughout Europe as an influential postwar painter, has been largely looked over by America. This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of his work in the United States, reflecting the artist’s progression, follows a loose chronology based on his four main bodies of work.

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Directions: Grazia Toderi
Opens April 21, 2011

Best known for her large-scale installations, Toderi calls her video projections “frescoes of light.” The artist works from documentary imagery collected from urban night surveillance and military, satellite, and space program footage. Over these she superimposes her own photography and cinematography, altering the effect with digital manipulations and unifying the vista with sepia-tone filters. The result feels both familiar and mysterious, as the eye struggles to determine the horizon line and read the origins of fields of glimmering lights. Shown on an endless loop, these mesmerizing nightscapes represent the artist’s ambition to “visualize the infinite.”

Gallerist on the Go
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Siobhan Gavagan is a rising D.C. gallerist and formerly worked for Margery Goldberg. She is now with Susan Calloway at her elegant Georgetown space on Wisconsin Avenue. Siobhan’s energy, smarts, and charm make her a standout in the gallery scene.

What got you into the art business?

My family has always been involved in the arts. My father went to NYU for film and photography
and has a great love for the arts, so we would always go to museums, foreign films, and the theatre growing up. I’m very fortunate to be working in the field that I studied in college as most people get art degrees and end up not doing anything related to art.

Do you hang out with an “art crowd?”

Not really, I have a couple of friends that are painters and musicians, but D.C. is such a political
city, most of my friends work on the Hill or for NGOs. The art scene in D.C. is coming around and getting the younger crowd more involved, but it has a way to go.

What’s your favorite D.C. museum?

The National Portrait Gallery. I’m a big history buff so looking at all of the old portraits of great leaders is really exciting for me.

You’ve lived in a group house, what’s the inside scoop?

It was wild! I lived with nine roommates in Le Droit Park. It was like The Real World, but better.
I found the house on Craigslist and went in not knowing anyone. I’ve made some amazing friends from that experience. We had friends that lived in other group houses so our group would always grow with new people moving in and out. There was a Fourth of July party that we threw that will go down in history!

How was it working for the legendary Margery Goldberg?

Margery is great. I started off interning at Zenith and eventually took on the role as gallery manager. The openings were always fun at Zenith and Margery knows how to throw a party and get other people excited about art.

What’s your commission on selling a picture?

The most I’ve made from a commission was around $600. It’s a great incentive to really go after a sale.

Who ever gets your first name spelled right?

I think my Mom and Dad are the only ones who get it right. I still have family who misspell my name on birthday and Christmas cards! I was always the kid in class who would sink down in their chair when the teacher was calling roll, Sio-Bahn Gava-Gon — they never could pronounce
it right.

What about your own art, is it suffering or gaining by working in a gallery?

Sometimes I can get inspired from all of the beautiful work that surrounds me in the gallery, but other times it does get a bit draining.

What’s your day-to-day routine at Susan’s gallery?

My morning usually involves entering new sales into QuickBooks and updating the inventory. The gallery does custom framing so that takes up a great deal of time. Another big part of my day includes updating our website.

What’s your tip for a first time buyer?

Do some research on the artist. Also learn about their technique and read their resume. It’s an investment, so make sure you really love the piece. There is art out there for everyone and you don’t have to splurge on something expensive.

The Kreeger Museum
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In Unison: 20 Washington, DC Artists
January 15 – February 26, 2011

The Kreeger initiated this exhibition with DC artist Sam Gilliam, collecting 20 established artists from the local community, all working in different styles and mediums. All artists were invited to come together to create a series of five monoprints each, one of which was selected for the exhibition by Gilliam, Judy A. Greenberg, Director of The Kreeger, Marsha Mateyka of the Marsha Mateyka Gallery and Claudia Rousseau, Ph.D., art critic and art historian. “The ideas of creating a group portfolio and exhibiting together express the ideas of unity and identity that are underlying motives of the project, and which are vital to sustaining a thriving artistic community,” says Rousseau.

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Tom Wesselmann Draws
April 8 – July 30, 2011

American pop artist and collagist Tom Wesselmann (1931-2004) worked feverishly up until the end of his life, creating iconic pop imagery which, almost in contrast to the ironic and dismissive nature of the movement, spoke powerfully toward the history and influences of fine art. The exhibition at the Kreeger, which covers drawings from Wesselmann’s entire career, spanning 1959-2004, is the most comprehensive exhibition of drawings by the artist that has ever been assembled. Many of the 108 works have never been seen outside the artist’s studio in New York. [gallery ids="99608,105051" nav="thumbs"]

Fight Night
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Fight Night for children took place the Hilton Washington on November 11 at 6 p.m. [gallery ids="99561,104629,104635,104633" nav="thumbs"]