Arts & Entertainment
Busy season for local galleries
Sculpture, painting, jewelry included in upcoming shows
‘Homage to Andy’ is one of the many images by Pete McCutchen on display at Touchstone Gallery in March. (Photo courtesy Touchstone)
Touchstone Gallery’s (901 New York Ave., N.W.) March exhibit is “Tracks” featuring photographs of roller coasters by Pete McCutchen. The images are bright and colorful. McCutchen has altered some, turning the sky purple or pink, giving them a pop art feel. “My goal is to take a mundane object — in this case a roller coaster — and to give it new life,” McCutchen said in a press release. For more information, visit touchstonegallery.com.
Gallery plan b (1530 14th St., N.W.) has a couple of exhibits coming up this spring.
Its current exhibit, “Precious Metals” will run through April 8 and features the work of Donna Cameron, Shelley Carr, Robert Cole, Mike McClung and Andrew Wapinksi. There will be a trunk show on March 24-25 featuring jewelry by Tina Bark Designs. The gallery has an exhibit opening April 11 with paintings by Kathy Beynette and May 16 with works by Michael D. Crossett. For more information, visit galleryplanb.com.
Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington) has an exhibit opening March 14 in its Works in Progress gallery. The exhibit will feature Jenny Sidhu Mullins creating new paintings for the Art on the Art Bus program for May. Mullins creates painting and electronic, interactive sculptures looking at national identity, American spirituality and corporate mythology. For more information, visit artisphere.com.
Torpedo Factory Art Center (105 N. Union St., Alexandria) also has several exhibits planned.
Opening on Saturday is March Madness, an exhibit featuring 200 panels of artwork. This exhibit is done as a fundraiser for The Target Gallery and the March of Dimes. Each panel is $150 ($100 on March 16 at the Art Party). The Newly Juried Artists Exhibition opens on March 24 while the Friends of the Torpedo Factory Mentor Show opens April 3. There’s also “Push, Pull, Play,” and all media show looking at the art of the toy, opening April 12. For more information, visit torpedofactory.org.
The National Portrait Gallery (8th and F streets, N.W.) has a new exhibit “In Vibrant Color: Vintage Celebrity Portraits,” opening Friday. The exhibit will feature 24 photographs from the Harry Warneck Studio from the 1930s and 1940s. The celebrities featured include Lucille Ball, Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters and more.
The gallery also has other exhibits coming up including “The Confederate Sketches of Adalbert Volck” opening March 30, “Mathew Brady’s Photographs of Union Generals” opening March 30 and “A Will of Their Own: Judith Murray and Women of Achievement in the Early Republic” opening April 20. Visit npg.si.edu for details.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (1250 New York Ave., N.W.) has a variety of exhibits opening soon. Opening March 9 is “R(ad)ical Love: Sister Mary Corita” featuring 62 prints created by Sister Mary Corita to communicate her vision of peace and love in the 1960s. An exhibit of artists’ books will open on March 16 and in honor of its silver anniversary, the museum will have an exhibit on women silversmiths opening March 23. Visit nmwa.org for details.
Opening April 15 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art (500 17th St., N.W.) is the “Next at the Corcoran: Class of 2012” exhibit featuring work by the graduating students at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. Details at Corcoran.org.
The Baltimore Museum of Art (10 Art Museum Drive) has an exhibit opening June 16 featuring the Sondheim Artscape Prize 2012 finalists. Visit artbma.org for details.
The Addison/Ripley Fine Art Gallery (1670 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) has an exhibit, “Bits of Elsewhere,” opening March 10 featuring the works of Isabel Manalo. Details at addisonripleyfineart.com.
The 2025 Baltimore Pride Parade was held on Saturday, June 14.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
You’ve done your share of marching.
You’re determined to wring every rainbow-hued thing out of this month. The last of the parties hasn’t arrived yet, neither have the biggest celebrations and you’re primed but – OK, you need a minute. So pull up a chair, take a deep breath, and read these great books on gay history, movies, and more.
You probably don’t need to be told that harassment and discrimination was a daily occurrence for gay people in the past (as now!), but “American Scare: Florida’s Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives” by Robert W. Fieseler (Dutton, $34) tells a story that runs deeper than you may know. Here, you’ll read a historical expose with documented, newly released evidence of a systemic effort to ruin the lives of two groups of people that were perceived as a threat to a legislature full of white men.
Prepared to be shocked, that’s all you need to know.
You’ll also want to read the story inside “The Many Passions of Michael Hardwick: Sex and the Supreme Court in the Age of AIDS” by Martin Padgett (W.W. Norton & Company, $31.99), which sounds like a novel, but it’s not. It’s the story of one man’s fight for a basic right as the AIDS crisis swirls in and out of American gay life and law. Hint: this book isn’t just old history, and it’s not just for gay men.
Maybe you’re ready for some fun and who doesn’t like a movie? You know you do, so you’ll want “Sick and Dirty: Hollywood’s Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness” by Michael Koresky (Bloomsbury, $29.99). It’s a great look at the Hays Code and what it allowed audiences to see, but it’s also about the classics that sneaked beneath the code. There are actors, of course, in here, but also directors, writers, and other Hollywood characters you may recognize. Grab the popcorn and settle in.
If you have kids in your life, they’ll want to know more about Pride and you’ll want to look for “Pride: Celebrations & Festivals” by Eric Huang, illustrated by Amy Phelps (Quarto, $14.99), a story of inclusion that ends in a nice fat section of history and explanation, great for kids ages seven-to-fourteen. Also find “Are You a Friend of Dorothy? The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped Shape” by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Levi Hastings (Simon & Schuster, $19.99), a lively book about a not-often-told secret for kids ages six-to-ten; and “Papa’s Coming Home” by Chasten Buttigieg, illustrated by Dan Taylor (Philomel, $19.99), a sweet family tale for kids ages three-to-five.
Finally, here’s a tween book that you can enjoy, too: “Queer Heroes” by Arabelle Sicardi, illustrated by Sarah Tanat-Jones (Wide Eyed, $14.99), a series of quick-to-read biographies of people you should know about.
Want more Pride books? Then ask your favorite bookseller or librarian for more, because there are so many more things to read. Really, the possibilities are almost endless, so march on in.
Music & Concerts
Indigo Girls coming to Capital One Hall
Stars take center stage alongside Fairfax Symphony
Capital One Center will host “The Indigo Girls with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra” on Thursday, June 19 and Friday, June 20 at 8 p.m. at Capital One Hall.
The Grammy Award-winning folk and pop stars will take center stage alongside the Fairfax Symphony, conducted by Jason Seber. The concerts feature orchestrations of iconic hits such as “Power of Two,” “Get Out The Map,” “Least Complicated,” “Ghost,” “Kid Fears,” “Galileo,” “Closer to Fine,” and many more.
Tickets are available on Ticketmaster or in person at Capital One Hall the nights of the concerts.
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