Arts & Entertainment
New doc ‘Hilma af Klint’ reclaims female artist’s place in history
For most of the last century, art scholars generally credited Bauhaus artist Wassily Kandinsky with creating the first paintings of the abstract movement around 1911.
As it turns out, they were wrong – a Swedish artist named Hilma af Klint had quietly become the world’s first abstract artist five years earlier, before the term even existed, and by the time of Kandinsky’s first effort had already produced a considerable body of abstract work.
How did this important contribution to art history manage to go unnoticed by critics and historians for so many years? It’s not at all surprising, really – Hilma af Klint was a woman, and therefore, to the male-dominated art world of the early 20th century, irrelevant.
Now, her life and work is being explored in a new documentary from German director Halina Dyrschka. “Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint” introduces film audiences to a visionary trailblazing figure who, inspired by spiritualism, modern science, and the riches of the natural world around her, created a series of huge, colorful, sensual works that were without precedent in the world of painting.
According the the film’s official description, it’s a “course-correcting documentary” that not only covers the artist’s biographical details, but “investigates the role accorded to women in art history and reveals how and why Hilma af Klint was scandalously denied the status of a pioneer of modern art,” as it tells the story of how her art was “rediscovered” and unveiled to a modern audience that was ready to finally give her the recognition she deserved.
Director Dyrschka says the documentary – her first feature, though she has directed several shorts – was first sparked when she read a 2013 article about af Klimt, and was fascinated by the idea of such a monumental figure being obscured by history. A few months later, she went to an exhibition of the artist’s work, and she was hooked.
“I was standing in the middle of a hall surrounded by Hilma af Klint’s ‘Ten Largest, altogether 25 meters of paintings, 3.60 meters high,” she says. “And beyond the paintings – a whole world. But why have they been kept from me so long? I almost felt personally insulted when I read that this was a new discovery and the paintings have been hidden for decades.”
She started her research “immediately afterward,” she says, and was surprised by what she learned about the artist.
“Here was a woman who consequently followed her own path in life,” she says. “Despite all restrictions, Hilma af Klint explored the possibilities that go beyond the visible. She knew that she was doing something important not only for herself but for many people.”
“It is more than time to tell the untold heroine stories,” Dyrschka adds. “This is a film about a truly successful life – a woman who was not dependent of the opinion of others, and kept on going her very unique way of living and working.
“Hilma af Klint’s oeuvre goes even beyond art because she was looking for the whole picture of life,” the director concludes. “And with that she comes close to the one question: What are we doing here?”
“Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint” will premiere in the US with an April 10th opening in New York, with other cities to follow.
You can watch the trailer below.
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
The Washington Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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