WASHINGTON—While the museum building may be temporarily closed during our extensive renovation, you can continue to jointhe National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) for meaningful moments with art. Celebrate the lives of women artists with interactive virtual happy hours, or join a discussion about creation and divinity during Fresh Talk: Art and the Ecstatic. July also marks the last chance to see Lookout: MISS CHELOVE, the first installation in our new outdoor public art series.

The information below is current as of May 2022. For more information, visit the museum’s online calendar. Live transcriptions are provided during most virtual programs. To request additional access services, please check the online calendar for contact information or email access@nmwa.org. Four weeks’ notice is appreciated but not required.

Women, Arts, and Social Change Programs

The Tea: YahZarah
Friday, September 2, 12–1 p.m.
Ghanian American singer and music producer YahZarah features in this monthly online series in which women musicians perform original work via livestream. Each session includes a short interview, conducted over a cup of tea, which explores the artist’s creative process. YahZarah began her career in the 1990s as a background singer for Erykah Badu and is known for her hits “Wishing” and “Why Dontcha Call Me No More.” The Ceremony, her newest set, was released in February 2021. Free. No reservations required. Stream live at nmwa.org/livestream.

FRESH TALK: Beyond the Wall—Women Muralists
Sunday, September 25, 4:30–6 p.m.
Location to be announced
Murals and graffiti art add color and vibrancy to a wide variety of public spaces. In addition to their visual beauty, these artworks have the power to highlight issues of social change. How can women muralists harness this potential? How are the perspectives of women and nonbinary people a necessary force in this medium? Join us for a conversation with women artists, including MISS CHELOVE, and experts in the field; full lineup to be announced. This program will take place in person at a venue in Washington, D.C. Registration required. $25 general admission, $20 for members, students and seniors. The conversation will also be livestreamed at nmwa.org/livestream.

Fifth Annual MakeHER Summit Workshops
Monday, September 26, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Location to be announced
Join us for a day of meaningful connection and in-depth workshops that will offer practical tips and resource sharing for creative entrepreneurs who are looking to start or grow a business. This year, workshops will focus on setting goals and taking actionable steps to achieve them. This program will take place in person at a venue in Washington, D.C. $15 general admission, $10 for members, students and seniors. Registration required.

Cultural Capital: A Celebration of Black Girls’ Childhood
Wednesday, September 28, 6–7:30 p.m.
Online
For the last decade, the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality has worked to achieve race and gender equity in the lives of Black girls through its Initiative on Gender Justice and Opportunity. The program has generated groundbreaking research, reports and events on the challenges and jubilations of Black girlhood. In recognition of the center’s 10th anniversary and contributions to the field, we invite you to an evening uplifting Black girls’ voices in celebration of the joys of Black girlhood. Featured poets, speakers and presenters to be announced in July. Registration required. This program is available for free to the public, but if you would like to support the museum, please make a $10 donation. Recording available on YouTube one week after the event.

The Tea: Like Water
Friday, October 7, 12–1 p.m.
Online
Baltimore-based musician Like Water features in this monthly online series in which women musicians perform original work via livestream. Each session includes a short interview, conducted over a cup of tea, which explores the artist’s creative process. By seamlessly blending electronic and acoustic instruments with transcendent vocals, Like Water is changing the way people experience music. She allows the audience to watch as she masterfully layers unique sounds while looping them on the spot. Free. No reservations required. Stream live at nmwa.org/livestream.

FRESH TALK: Art and the Ecstatic
Sunday, October 23, 4:30–6 p.m.
Online
For thousands of years, humans have created art expressing their thoughts on creation, spirituality, and the divine for thousands of years. In this way, art serves as a collective tool of witness to what cannot always be expressed in language. Like much of artistic expression, the ecstatic space has been dominated by men. What does it mean for women to document creation and divinity? As witnesses to the divine and creators of life and art, how can women illuminate spirituality? Join us for a conversation featuring women artists discussing their work documenting the divine. Free. $10 donation suggested. Registration is required. Recording available on YouTube one week after the event.

Special Events

Virtual Happy Hours
Online
Join NMWA staff and special guests to celebrate the lives of women artists. AJ Johnson, partner and bar director of Serenata, demonstrates how to make a specialty cocktail (or mocktail) in the artists’ honor as we share artworks and stories and explore the museum’s collection and archives. Free. Registration required. To support these programs and others like them, please consider making a donation.

• Tuesday, July 5, 5:30–6:30 p.m.: Frida Kahlo Birthday Celebration
• Wednesday, September 14, 5:30–6:30 p.m.: Misattributions in the Art World
  Where are all the great women artists in the history books? One reason for their absence is that art by many historical women was misattributed to male artists! Learn about famous works that were long thought to be by men but were really created by women artists.
• Monday, October 31, 5:30–6:30 p.m.: Halloween Spectacular

Art Talks

Art Chats @ 5
Fridays, July 1–October 28, 5–5:45 p.m.
Online
Jump-start your weekend with art! Join NMWA educators online every Friday for informal 45-minute art chats about selected artworks in the collection. Discuss a new sampling of art each week. You can even enjoy your favorite happy hour drink or snack during the sessions. Free. Registration required and limited. Register online. Registration for each month’s Art Chats opens by the 20th of the preceding month.

For Educators

Virtual Educator Summer Camp Series
Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 5–28, 10–11:30 a.m.
Online
NMWA’s virtual Educator Summer Camp is designed for all educators, school teachers, adults supporting students learning remotely, home school instructors and scout leaders. Inspired by the Art, Books, and Creativity (ABC) Institutes and NMWA’s collection, sessions are hands-on, participatory and fun. Sessions will explore the museum‘s collection and resources, introduce historic and contemporary women artists, and engage participants in experimental making and close looking. Guest instructors include artists and educators from around the country.

Participants will receive a recommended supply list, applicable digital resources and a Zoom meeting link in advance of each session. Camp activities are designed to use materials and tools attendees might have at home, to encourage repurposing and seeing everyday objects in a new light. Session participants can request professional development certificates of completion reflecting total earned participation hours. Free. Registration required.

Installations

Lookout: MISS CHELOVE
Through July 31, 2022
Lookout: MISS CHELOVE is the first in a series of public art installations presented on the exterior of NMWA during its building renovation. Reseeded: A Forest Floor Flow, by Washington, D.C.-based artist MISS CHELOVE (a.k.a. Cita Sadeli), is a four-story mural of a woman immersed in botanicals native to the islands of Indonesia. The work reflects on the resurgence of the natural world during the pandemic and the critical role of women in ecological activism.

Lookout: MISS CHELOVE is supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The project is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Information

RENOVATION: The museum building at 1250 New York Avenue NW is closed for a major renovation, with plans to reopen in fall 2023. Visit nmwa.org/renovation for more information.

INFORMATION: nmwa.org, 202-783-5000

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