Note: All submitted events must be approved before they appear in the calendar.
In-Person Programs, June – Aug.
Big Ideas Book Club
Select Thursdays, June 1, July 6 & Aug. 3 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
G Street Lobby
Early readers and their grown-up companions are invited to a book club highlighting big ideas about ourselves and others. Participants are encouraged to read a select picture book at home, then join us to discuss the story. We’ll look at portraits to dive deeper into each topic and inspire continued conversations at home. This summer we will feature bilingual books from Lil’ Libros. This program is ideal for elementary school-aged children and families.
June 1 – “My Mind is a Mountain” by Cindy Montenegro Delgado
July 6 – “Yefferson, Actually” by Katherine Trejo
Aug. 3 – “Sana, sana, colita de rana” by Citlali Reyes
Free— Registration Required.
Weekend Workshops
Select Saturdays, June 3, 10 & 24; July 1, 8, 15 & 29; Aug. 12 & 26
11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Select Sundays, June 4, 11, 18 & 25; July 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30; Aug. 20 & 27
11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Education Center, E151
Calling all artists! Get creative during our drop-in workshops for all ages. Learn about artists and changemakers and create art inspired by their stories.
Portrait Gallery Kids
Mondays, June 5, 12, 19 & 26; July 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31; Aug. 7, 14, 21 & 28
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Education Center, E151
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics, such as colors, emotions, STEM and history. Through close looking at art, hands-on activities, music and movement, Portrait Gallery Kids offers a fun way to engage with art and each other. For kids of all ages.
Free – No Registration Required.
Writing Workshop Inspired by The Struggle for Justice
Friday, June 9, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
G Street Lobby
In this creative writing workshop, we will explore themes of justice, dignity, freedom, community and self-love inspired by the portraits in “The Struggle for Justice.” Through guided writing prompts, we will reflect and respond to portraits of activists and leaders, including Rosa Parks, John Lewis, Eunice Kennedy, Russell Means and Dolores Huerta.
Free – Registration Required.
Terrains of Visuality: Photography, Cartography and Disciplinary Architecture in the Formation of the U.S. Imperial Archipelago: Lecture by Lanny Thompson
Friday, June 9, 5 – 6 p.m.
McEvoy Auditorium
Lanny Thompson, professor emeritus at the University of Puerto Rico, will deliver a public keynote address highlighting themes from the major exhibition “1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions.” His work analyzes the visual representations of the U.S. empire, the colonial gaze and their relation to early systems of governance in Puerto Rico and across the “imperial archipelago.” The hour-long program will include a Q&A and be followed by a public reception.
Free – No Registration Required.
Drawing with the Portrait Gallery
Thursdays, June 15, July 20 & Aug. 17, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
G Street Lobby
Join us for a drawing workshop at the Portrait Gallery. Facilitated by artist Jill Galloway, each session will include guided instruction on figure drawing and time to work on your own. Open to all skill levels, ages 18 and up.
Free – Registration Required.
Guest Curator Talk: One Life: Frederick Douglass with John Stauffer
Friday, June 16, 3 – 4 p.m.
Meet at the “One Life” exhibition, Second Floor
Join guest curator John Stauffer, Sumner R. and Marshall S. Kates Professor of English and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and Ann Shumard, the museum’s senior curator of photographs, for a tour of “One Life: Frederick Douglass.” Don’t miss this rare opportunity to learn about a highly influential abolitionist writer, speaker and intellectual – and be sure to stay for the Q&A.
Free—Registration Recommended.
Expressive Arts Workshop: Spaces of Comfort
Saturday, June 17, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
G Street Lobby
Join the National Portrait Gallery for an interactive art-making workshop that fosters self-reflection and personal well-being. Drawing inspiration from the “Kinship” exhibition, participants will explore themes of community and family by creating their own miniature 3D “comfort cube” to represent a space that brings them feelings of safety, comfort and support. This workshop will be co-facilitated by a registered art therapist and museum educator. No previous art experience is required. Adults ages 18 and up.
Free – Registration required.
Portrait Signs
Select Saturdays, June 17, July 22 & Aug. 26, 12 – 1 p.m.
G Street Lobby
Explore the National Portrait Gallery’s collection with a Deaf docent. These 60-minute tours in American Sign Language are offered monthly, both in person and on Zoom.
Free – For more information or upcoming dates, email Jonesve@si.edu, or check Eventbrite.
Weekend Workshop: Kinship
Saturdays, June 17, July 22 & Aug. 19, 1 – 3 p.m.
Education Center, E151
Calling all artists! Get creative during a special drop-in workshop for all ages inspired by the “Kinship” exhibition. Engage in an interactive art-making activity exploring themes of comfort, family and community.
Free – No Registration Required.
Trivia Night: Celebrating Pride
Tuesday, June 27, 5 – 6:45 p.m.
Kogod Courtyard
Celebrate Pride Month at the National Portrait Gallery with our happy hour trivia night in the Kogod Courtyard. With our friends from New Columbia Pub Quiz, we will test your knowledge of historic LGBTQ+ figures, events and artwork – all inspired by the Portrait Gallery’s collection. Our free collections-themed trivia game can be played individually or in teams of up to six people. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the evening. The Courtyard Café will be open during the event, and snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.
Free – No Registration Required.
Trivia Night: Totally 90’s
Tuesday, July 11, 5 – 6:45 p.m.
Kogod Courtyard
Dust off your mixtapes, feed your Tamagotchi and put on your jelly shoes for some totally 90’s trivia! Join us at the National Portrait Gallery for our happy hour trivia night in the Kogod Courtyard. With our friends from New Columbia Pub Quiz, we’re bringing on the nostalgia. Test your knowledge of all things 90’s with questions inspired by the Portrait Gallery’s collection. Our free collections-themed trivia game can be played individually or in teams of up to six people. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the evening. The Courtyard Café will be open during the event, and snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.
Free – No Registration Required.
Writing Workshop Inspired by One Life: Frederick Douglass
Wednesday, July 12, 5 – 7 p.m.
G Street Lobby
In this creative writing workshop, we will explore the life and work of Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery and became an abolitionist, lecturer, author and politically influential activist. Through guided writing prompts, we will examine his enduring impact on American history.
Free – Registration Required.
Expressive Arts Workshop: Caring for the Caregiver
Saturday, July 22, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
G Street Lobby
Taking time for ourselves can be difficult when life is so busy, especially for those who care for others. In this interactive art-making workshop inspired by the Portrait Gallery’s “Kinship” exhibition, caregivers will be invited to take a moment to slow down, de-stress and engage in art making for self-reflection and personal well-being. As a reminder of their strengths and the importance of self-care, participants will be guided in creating their own “support figurine.” This workshop is open to parents, teachers, healers, helpers and caregivers in all forms, and will be co-facilitated by a registered art therapist and museum educator. No previous art-making experience is required. Adults ages 18 and up.
Free—Registration Required.
Kinship: An Artist Talk with Sedrick Huckaby
Saturday, Aug. 5, 1 – 2 p.m.
Sedrick’s “Kinship” Gallery
Join us for an artist talk with Sedrick Huckaby, Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition finalist and artist featured in “Kinship.” His life-size paintings and sculptures reference universal human connections, often relying on faith, spirituality and shared experiences. Huckaby’s work also memorializes figures central to his life – his family members and those close to him. The artist will discuss the centrality of community and kin to his practice.
Free – No Registration Required
Interactive workshop: Figurative Abstraction and Portraiture with Artist Sedrick Huckaby
Saturday, Aug. 5, 3 – 5 p.m.
Education Center, E151
Brush up on your drawing skills in a free workshop led by Sedrick Huckaby, a 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition finalist and artist featured in “Kinship.” While exploring figurative abstraction and portraiture, learn how to create and deconstruct figures. We will use pastels and oil sticks to capture the balance between representation and abstraction.
Free – Registration Required.
Trivia Night: U.S. History and Imperial Revisions
Tuesday, Aug. 15, 5 – 6:45 p.m.
Kogod Courtyard
Calling all history buffs and global citizens! Join us at the National Portrait Gallery for happy hour trivia inspired by our exhibition “1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions.” We’ll be with our friends from New Columbia Pub Quiz in the Kogod Courtyard, where you can test your knowledge about countries and territories spanning the globe. Our free collections-themed trivia game can be played individually or in teams of up to six people. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the evening. The Courtyard Café will be open during the event, and snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.
Free – No Registration Required.
Writing Workshop Inspired by 1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions
Friday, Aug. 18, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
G Street Lobby
In this creative writing workshop inspired by the exhibition “1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions,” we will explore the techniques of writing historical fiction and fantasy. Join us to delve into questions about how subjective narratives become historical truths. We will also consider the diverse voices and perspectives that have been left out of history while exploring portraits and visual works that contextualize the annexations of Hawai‘i, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam in 1898.
Free – Registration Required.
Expressive Arts Workshop: Family Memory Box
Saturday, Aug. 19, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
G Street Lobby
Family memories can connect us to those in our lives, both near and far, and to the loved ones we’ve lost. Join us at the National Portrait Gallery for an interactive art-making workshop that fosters self-reflection and personal well-being. Inspired by the “Kinship” exhibition, participants will create “family memory boxes” to hold special photos and mementos of loved ones past and present. This workshop will be co-facilitated by a registered art therapist and museum educator. No previous art-making experience is required. Adults ages 18 and up. Free.
Free—Registration Required.
Virtual Programs, June – Aug.
Virtual Writing Hour
Select Tuesdays, June 6 & 20, July 11 & 25, Aug. 15 & 295 – 6 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Join us for a virtual, creative writing hour at the National Portrait Gallery! We’ve set up an online space where writers can create, connect and draw inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collection. Bring your own happy hour beverage and write with us. Although we will provide writing prompts, you are also welcome to bring your own writing project-in-progress. We will write for about 30 minutes and end each session with a brief discussion or reading.
Free – Registration Required.
Sexuality and the Harlem Renaissance
Friday, June 9
7 – 8 p.m.
Online via Zoom
In recognition of Pride Month, this conversation with Professors Jacoby Carter and Benjamin Kahan will explore sexuality during the Harlem Renaissance. This program will touch upon the radicalized art of the Harlem Renaissance, its fluid expressions of gender and sexuality and the lives and philosophies of figures such as Alice Dunbar Nelson and Alain Locke. Moderated by a Portrait Gallery historian, this program is hosted by PORTAL, the museum’s Scholarly Center, and is part of the Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia Conversation Series in LGBTQ+ Portraiture.
Free—Registration Required.
Drawn to Figures
Select Tuesdays and Thursdays, June 13 & 29, July 13 & 27, Aug. 10 & 24
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Discover your inner artist in this virtual drawing workshop. Facilitated by artist Jill Galloway, it will include guided instruction on the techniques and challenges of figure drawing. Each program will highlight portraits from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. Open to all skill levels, ages 18 and up.
Free—Registration Required.
Young Portrait Explorers
Select Wednesdays, June 14 & 28, July 12 & 26, Aug. 9 & 23
11 – 11:30 a.m.
Online via Zoom
Join educators from the National Portrait Gallery as we learn about art, history and more! This 30-minute virtual workshop incorporates close looking at portraiture, movement activities and art making. Recommended for children ages three and up and their adult companions.
Free – Registration Required.
Virtual Portrait Signs
Thursday, Aug. 17
5 – 6 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Explore the National Portrait Gallery’s collection with a Deaf docent. These 60-minute tours in American Sign Language are offered monthly, both in person and on Zoom.
Free – For more information or upcoming dates, email Jonesve@si.edu, or check Eventbrite.
National Portrait Gallery
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of the United States through the individuals who have shaped American culture. Spanning the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the nation’s story.
The National Portrait Gallery is located at Eighth and G streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000. Connect with the museum at npg.si.edu and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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