Arts & Entertainment
Area museums offer wide-ranging exhibits
Hot summer days are a great time to stay cool indoors while learning about a range of topics
One of the photos in the ‘SHARKS: On Assignment with Brian Skerry.’ (Photo by Brian Skerry; courtesy National Geographic)
Hot summer days are a great time to stay cool indoors while learning about a range of topics including science, art and history. Whether it’s with kids, friends, a significant other or even a solo trip there are plenty of museum options to take advantage of in the city.
Renwick Gallery is offering “Parallax Gap,” designed by architectural design practice FreelandBuck through Feb. 11, 2018. The piece will be suspended from the ceiling and surround the length of the Renwick. The installation combines both Eastern and Western perspectives in nine depictions of famous American buildings. For more details, visit amercianart.si.edu/exhibitions.
National Building Museum (401 F St., N.W.) hosts Hive, a large-scale model built from 2,700 wound paper tubes, from July 4-Sept. 4. The installation is 60 feet tall with a reflective silver exterior and magenta interior. Other Hive summer programming include behind-the-scenes construction tours and an after-hours program for teens on Aug. 10. Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for students and seniors and $5 for Blue Star children ages 3 and up.The museum will also host Hill Country Backyard Barbecue on the West Lawn on Thursdays and Fridays from 4-9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m.-9 p.m.For more information, visit nbm.org/exhibition/hive.
Foundry Gallery (2118 8th St., N.W.) presents, “A Mathematically Transformed World,” an exhibit by artist Allen Hirsh, through July 30. Hirsh distorted images, ranging from abstract landscapes to President Donald Trump, using mathematical programs he designed himself. Admission is free. Visit foundrygallery.org for more details.
“Connecting the Dots” by Claudia Samper, an exhibit consisting of drawings, paintings and transparencies, is on display at Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., N.W.) from July 5-30. Samper’s work uses avian imagery to examine human communication. Touchstone Gallery will also present its Touchstone Gallery Member Show and work from youth and adults from New Community ArtSpace. Free admission. For more information, visit touchstonegallery.com.
The National Museum of Natural History (10th St. and Constitution Ave., N.W.) opens “Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend” on Aug. 3 through 2019. The exhibit will explore the connection between narwhals and the Inuit. Guests can see real narwhal tusks and skulls, Inuit artwork and cultural artifact. An 18-foot, life-sized model of a narwhal will be suspended above the first floor. For more information, visit naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/narwhal.
The National Museum of American History (14th St. and Constitution Ave., N.W.) presents “JFK Centennial Celebration,” a commemoration of John F. Kennedy’s 100th birthday anniversary, through Aug. 27. The showcase will display nine photographs of Kennedy and his family taken in 1961. It will be included as part of the American Presidency exhibit. Visit americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions for more details.
Artechouse D.C. (1238 Maryland Ave., S.W.) presents “XYZT: Abstract Landscapes,” an interactive, sensory experience, through Sept. 3. Visitors can experience walking on grass or touching sand using modern technology to create a realistic, virtual reality. Guests can view the exhibit during daytime hours from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. or evening hours from 5:30-10 p.m. Guests six and up are invited to the daytime showing. Visitors must be 21 and over for evening hours. General admission tickets are $15. Tickets for children, students and seniors is $10. For more information, visit artechouse.com.
U.S. Botanical Garden Conservatory (100 Maryland Ave., S.W.) hosts You Can Grow It through Oct. 15. Visitors can explore the outdoor and indoor gardens while learning the basics of growing plants and how to solve plant problems. The exhibit is recommended for both advanced and beginner gardeners. For more details, visit usbg.gov/youcangrowit.
National Geographic Museum (1145 17th St., N.W.) presents “SHARKS: On Assignment with Brian Skerry” through Oct. 15. Skerry is an Award-winning National Geographic photographer who documented sharks using photography. His work highlights the importance of sharks in the ecosystem and explores why they should be protected and appreciated. The exhibit also includes models, large-scale images, videos, artifacts, and interactive experiences. Skerry’s new National Geographic book “SHARK” is an accompanied piece to the exhibit. Regular tickets are $15. Member, student, military and senior tickets are $12. Children tickets are $10. Tickets also give entry into “National Geographic Presents: Earth Explorers,” an interactive exhibit that lets visitors emulate National Geographic explorers in the field. For more information, visit nationalgeographic.org/dc/exhibitions/sharks.
“Drawing Justice: the Art of Courtroom Illustration” is at the Library of Congress (101 Independence Ave., S.E.) through Oct. 28. Original art depicting courtroom dynamics from cases in the last 50 years are on display in the Thomas Jefferson Building. For more details, visit loc.gov/exhibitions.
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages
They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.
You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.
When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.
Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.
That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”
She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.
Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.
She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.
And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.
And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”
“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.
If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.
These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.
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