WASHINGTON—Champion women artists this season at the National Museum of Women in the Arts! Explore works that investigate the psychological experience of something that is strangely familiar, yet alien in Uncanny, opening February 28. Visit new exhibitions of work by Niki de Saint Phalle and the Guerrilla Girls. NMWA Nights, the popular late-night program, returns with dates throughout the spring. Attend a Fresh Talk with podcasters and culture critics Hunter Harris and Peyton Dix, as well as hands-on workshops in the studio.
The information below is current as of December 2024. All times listed are Eastern Time. For more information, visit the museum’s online calendar. To request access services, please check the online calendar for contact information or email accessibility@nmwa.org.
In the Galleries
Free Community Day
Sunday, January 5, Wednesday, January 8; Sunday, February 2, Wednesday, February 12, Sunday, March 2, Wednesday, March 12, Sunday, April 6, Wednesday, April 9, Sunday, May 4, Wednesday, May 14, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Visit us on the first Sunday and second Wednesday of each month for free museum admission. Take this opportunity to explore our collection and current exhibitions. Attend a tour and join NMWA educators in the museum’s studio for free, self-directed drop-in art-making activities inspired by artworks on view. Activities and inspirations change each month. Free. Reservations required.
NMWA Nights
Wednesdays, January 15, February 19, March 19, April 16, May 21, 5:30–8 p.m.
Join us for a creative and engaging after-hours experience! Peruse the galleries, grab a cocktail, listen to a performance, attend a tour or participate in art-making and craft activities. Ticket includes two drinks; additional drinks for purchase. $25; $22 for seniors/students; $20 NMWA members. Reservations required; tickets available the first week of the preceding month.
Opening Day: Uncanny
Friday, February 28, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Visit Uncanny, a new exhibition featuring more than 60 works by nearly 30 artists, from renowned figures of modern art history such as Louise Bourgeois, Leonora Carrington, Meret Oppenheim and Remedios Varo to prominent contemporary artists including Berlinde De Bruyckere, Pipilotti Rist, Shahzia Sikander, Laurie Simmons and Gillian Wearing. Named for the unsettling psychological experience of something both familiar and foreign, Uncanny is the first exhibition to examine this concept through a feminist lens. Free with admission. Reservations recommended.
Slow Art Day Conversation
Saturday, April 5, 1–2:30 p.m.
Slow Art Day is an international event encouraging people of all ages to visit community art spaces and to look at art slowly. NMWA educators will provide a small selection of art to consider along with slow looking prompts to help you get started. You are encouraged to examine at least five works of art from the options provided for 10 minutes each. You can do this alone or with loved ones. Then join an in-person conversation to connect with other art lovers, discuss the experience of slow looking, and learn more about the selected artworks. A NMWA educator will facilitate this conversation. Free with admission. Reservations required.
Tour: Celebrating Earth Day
Saturday, April 19, 12–1 p.m.
Whether rendering expansive vistas or repurposing recycled materials, artists often find creative inspirations in the world around them. On this engaging, interactive tour, you will look closely and consider the natural connections in several works of art. Free with admission. Reservations required.
Gallery Talks
Wednesdays, 12–12:30 p.m.
Thematic talks highlight two to three works on view. Topics and locations in the museum vary. Free. Reservations not required. Meet at the Information Desk. Subject to staff availability.
Collection Highlights Tours
Daily, 2–2:45 p.m.
Explore the museum’s collection during engaging, interactive drop-in tours. These guided experiences will feature six to eight works on view highlighting the creative contributions of artists from the 16th century to today. Free with admission. Reservations not required. Meet at the Information Desk. Subject to docent availability.
Special Events
Spring Gala
Friday, April 11, 6:30–10 p.m.
Join a community of art patrons, changemakers, and philanthropists at the museum’s premier annual fundraising event. This unforgettable night will inspire and delight as we celebrate art, social impact, and the remarkable achievements of women artists. For more information or to reserve your place, please contact gala@nmwa.org.
Women, Arts, and Social Change
Fresh Talk: Photography and Advocacy
Wednesday, January 29, 6–8 p.m.
Join us for a conversation between filmmaker Kristen Lovell and photographer Samantha Box, as they discuss the power of film and photography to amplify the stories of marginalized communities. This dialogue centers on Lovell’s acclaimed documentary The Stroll (2023, available now on Max), which chronicles the lives of transgender sex workers of color in New York City’s Meatpacking District. A key element of the film’s perspective and emotional depth comes from Box’s evocative photographs, which played a crucial role in shaping the visual narrative. Box first met Lovell while documenting unhoused LGBTQIA+ youth at Sylvia’s Place, an emergency shelter in New York City, for her groundbreaking series “The Shelter, The Street” (2005 to 12). The artists will discuss how photography and film can tell powerful stories and inspire social change. Followed by a salon-style cocktail hour. $25; $22 for seniors/students; $20 NMWA members. Reservations required.
Fresh Talk: Hunter Harris and Peyton Dix
Wednesday, February 12, 6.–8 p.m.
In a world where pop culture shapes societal norms and values, how are women depicted and discussed? Hunter Harris and Peyton Dix bring their sharp wit and insightful commentary from the podcast “Lemme Say This” to NMWA, examining the portrayal of women in media, film and literature. Through their unique lens, Harris and Dix will explore the often-harsh scrutiny women face compared to their male counterparts. Followed by a salon-style cocktail hour. $25; $22 for seniors/students; $20 NMWA members. Reservations required.
Creative’s Keynote: Sandra Jackson-Dumont
Sunday, March 16, 6.–8 p.m.
Sandra Jackson-Dumont shares her vision and strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion in the arts. Drawing from her experience as director and CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles, Jackson-Dumont will discuss the importance of telling stories and how the Lucas Museum and NMWA are leaders in championing underrepresented artists and art forms. Attendees will hear about the role of narrative art in amplifying diverse stories and experiences, innovative approaches to curating exhibitions that reflect a wide range of perspectives, collaboration between museums that can elevate underrepresented art, and forward-thinking ideas for inclusivity in the art world. Followed by a salon-style cocktail hour. $25; $22 for seniors/students; $20 NMWA members. Reservations required.
Makers’ Market
Sunday, May 4, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Join us for a special market featuring goods from women and gender-expansive vendors, makers and artists. Shop handmade jewelry, art, ceramics and vintage finds in our museum’s Great Hall. Free. Reservations not required.
In the Studio
Firsthand Experience: Cyanotypes
Saturday, January 11, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
In this session, learn about the history, science and art behind the camera-less photography technique of cyanotypes. Create your own with the instruction and encouragement of artist Natalie Cheung. $25; $22 students, seniors and D.C residents; $20 members. Reservations required.
Firsthand Experience: Pinhole Pics
Saturday, March 8, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Learn about the history of pinhole cameras and how contemporary artist R.C. Barajas uses this basic tool to make surreal and ethereal photographs. Join us to create your own lens-less camera, capture images and develop your photographs. $25; $22 students, seniors and D.C residents; $20 members. Reservations required.
Firsthand Experience: Hula Hoop
Saturday, May 10, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Inspired by works of art featured in the exhibition Uncanny, Queen of Hoops Erin Jeannier will teach participants various spins and movements with a hula hoop. After time to practice, everyone will learn how to make their own hoop! $25; $22 students, seniors and D.C residents; $20 members. Reservations required.
Virtual Programs
Artist Talk: Suchitra Mattai
Wednesday, January 8, 6–7 p.m.
Online
During this virtual program, multidisciplinary artist Suchitra Mattai joins Assistant Curator Hannah Shambroom and Senior Educator Adrienne L. Gayoso in conversation about her vibrant, layered works and how they speak to history, identity and belonging. Join to learn more about how Mattai conceives of and creates her art, ask the artist questions, and celebrate the closing week of NMWA exhibition Suchitra Mattai: Myth from Matter. Free. Reservations required.
Art Chats
Fridays, January 24, February 28, March 28, April 25, May 23, 5–5:45 p.m.
Online
Jump-start your weekend with art from home! Join NMWA educators online for informal 45-minute art chats about selected artworks in the collection. Each week the group will consider a new sampling of artworks. You can even enjoy your favorite happy hour drink or snack during the sessions. Free. Reservations required. Registration for each month’s Art Chats opens by the 20th of the preceding month.
Exhibitions
Suchitra Mattai: Myth from Matter
Through January 12, 2025
In her multifaceted artistic practice, Suchitra Mattai (b. 1973, Georgetown, Guyana) explores and complicates understandings of binaries such as East and West, art and craft, and history and memory. The way certain histories are remembered—or not—is central to much of her art. This exhibition pairs Mattai’s recent work, including mixed-media installation and sculpture, with historical objects sourced from nearby collections in Washington, D.C. For the first time, this exhibition provides the opportunity for a visual call and response between historical objects and Mattai’s contemporary work.
Suchitra Mattai: Myth from Matter is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The exhibition is generously supported by Stephanie Sale and the members of NMWA.
Samantha Box: Confluences
Through March 23, 2025
Bronx-based photographer Samantha Box (b. 1977, Kingston, Jamaica) navigates social and cultural landscapes through complex images exploring race, gender, class and sexuality. Black-and-white documentary photographs from her series “Invisible” depict New York City’s LGBTQIA+ youth of color. The series reveals community-defined spaces and chosen family bonds that work to counter her subjects’ experiences with homophobia and transphobia. In vibrant staged images, Box’s ongoing studio practice, “Caribbean Dreams,” shifts inward, as the artist articulates her own diasporic Indo-Afro-Caribbean identity through personal and historical narratives.
Samantha Box: Confluences is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in partnership with the Des Moines Art Center. The exhibition is generously supported by the members of NMWA.
February 28–August 10, 2025
Unearthly, enigmatic and psychologically tense, the works in Uncanny give form to women artists’ powerful expressions of existential unease. This exhibition surveys the use of the uncanny from the Surrealist movement to the present. Artists subvert gender stereotypes and explore feminist issues through disquieting spaces, fantastical figures and technology that appears eerily human.
In Focus: Artists at Work
Through April 20, 2025
Enjoy a close-up look into the practices and perspectives of eight contemporary collection artists via short documentary-style videos. Presented in NMWA’s ground-floor Long Gallery, welcoming visitors to the renewed museum, these videos feature Ambreen Butt, Sonya Clark, Colette Fu, the Guerrilla Girls, Graciela Iturbide, Delita Martin, Rania Matar and Alison Saar. The installation’s intimate and immersive design sparks curiosity, inspires advocacy and encourages slow looking during visitors’ exploration of the museum. Dynamic graphic panels include information about each artist and share online resources as well as a map leading to their art on view at NMWA. Presented in two phases, with four artists highlighted in each phase, this series spotlights groundbreaking women artists at work today. For this project, NMWA partnered with Emmy and James Beard award-winning film production company Smartypants and experiential design firm Art Processors to ensure an accessible and enriching experience.
In Focus: Artists at Work is produced by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in collaboration with Smartypants Pictures and Art Processors.
The video series is generously supported by the members of NMWA. Project design is made possible through the generous support of Denise Littlefield Sobel, with additional funding provided by Jamie Gorelick and Richard Waldhorn.
Display screens contributed by Sony Corporation of America.
Guerrilla Girls: Making Trouble
April 12–September 28, 2025
The dynamic artist collective known as the Guerrilla Girls (est. 1985), who declared themselves “the conscience of the art world,” mark their fortieth anniversary in 2025. Drawn from NMWA’s extensive holdings of work by the Guerrilla Girls, this exhibition presents an enthralling visual timeline of the group’s progress and ever-expanding subject matter, including gender disparity in the arts as well as politics, the environment and pop culture.
Guerrilla Girls: Making Trouble is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts and generously supported by the members of NMWA.
A Radical Alteration: Women’s Studio Workshop as a Sustainable Model for Art Making
April 25–September 28, 2025
A Radical Alteration: Women’s Studio Workshop as a Sustainable Model for Art Making examines the organization’s rich history as a proponent of book arts for marginalized communities in the U.S., where documentation and critical analysis in the field are still largely devoted to white male artists. Through artists’ books, zines, printed materials, ephemera and archival materials, the exhibition shows how Women’s Studio Workshop’s policies, programming and operations have evolved over the last fifty years, creating a space where the conditions of art-making and institutional support help to build a sustainable and more equitable art ecosystem.
This exhibition is hosted by the National Museum of Women in the Arts and supported in part by a generous bequest from Marjorie B. Rachlin.
Niki de Saint Phalle In Print
May 9–November 30, 2025
Twenty never-before-exhibited prints from the museum’s collection reveal Niki de Saint Phalle’s unique vision of the powers at work in our universe. Her brightly colored and ebulliently drawn images and texts center on romantic love, the mysteries of the Tarot and urgent social issues, illuminating her impassioned engagement with the world.
Niki de Saint Phalle In Print is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts and generously supported by the members of NMWA.
Remix: The Collection
Ongoing
Remix showcases familiar collection favorites as well as never-before-exhibited recent acquisitions. Artworks are grouped around themes, in some cases anchored by a medium and in others by an idea, that resonate among global artists across time, including photography, fiber works, the colors red and purple, nature, domesticity and more.
Remix: The Collection is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
The exhibition is sponsored by Lugano Diamonds.
Additional funding provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sue J. Henry and Carter G. Phillips Exhibition Fund, and the Clara M. Lovett Emerging Artists Fund.
Information
Hours: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; Closed Mondays and select holidays
Location: 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005, two blocks north of Metro Center
Admission: $16 for adults, $13 for D.C. residents and visitors 70 and over; free for visitors 21 and under and visitors with disabilities. Admission is free the first Sunday and second Wednesday of each month.
Information: nmwa.org, 202-783-5000
Social Media: Broad Strokes blog, Facebook or Instagram