Free Events: Museums
Check here for free museum after-hours events, films, music, talks and tours in the DC Metro area.
54 performances · 45 ongoing events
Performances
Free Parking: Michael B. Platt + Carol A. Beane
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts CenterThu. Feb 21
Academy Award-Nominated Documentaries and Short Subjects Showcase
National ArchivesFeb. 23 – 24
Curtis Opera Theatre Vocal Quartet
National Gallery of ArtSun. Feb 24
Cub Corner: Dogs
College Park Aviation MuseumThu. Feb 28
Thursdays at Noon: Curator's Choice
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Feb 28
Nancy at Ninety Gallery Talk
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts CenterSat. Mar 2
Free Community Day: March
National Museum of Women in the ArtsSun. Mar 3
Thursdays at Noon
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Mar 7
Morning with the Girl Scouts
Smithsonian National Portrait GallerySat. Mar 9
Curator Tour: Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now
Smithsonian National Portrait GallerySun. Mar 10
JRA Distinguished Artist Lecture with Tim Harding
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts CenterSun. Mar 10
After Hours: Evenings at the Edge
National Gallery of ArtThu. Mar 14
Thursdays at Noon: 3 in 30
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Mar 14
Open Studio Pop-Up: Botanical Art
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryFri. Mar 15
Reston Links - Youth Arts Showcase EXPLOSION
Millennium Stage at the Kennedy CenterSat. Mar 16
Art AfterWords: A Book Discussion
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryTue. Mar 19
Symposium—Safety for Our Sisters: Ending Violence Against Native Women
Smithsonian National Museum of the American IndianThu. Mar 21
Thursdays at Noon: Overlooked
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Mar 21
Drawn to Figures
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 6 – 23
Young Portrait Explorers: Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 11 & 25
Thursdays at Noon: Curator’s Choice
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Mar 28
Thursdays at Noon
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Apr 4
Hi Score! Introducing a Game to its Music
Library of CongressFri. Apr 5
Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Family Day
Smithsonian National Portrait GallerySat. Apr 6
Curator Tour: Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence
Smithsonian National Portrait GallerySun. Apr 7
Free Community Day: April
National Museum of Women in the ArtsSun. Apr 7
Haimovitz–Iyer Duo
National Gallery of ArtSun. Apr 7
After Hours: Evenings at the Edge
National Gallery of ArtThu. Apr 11
Thursdays at Noon: 3 in 30
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Apr 11
Morning with the Girl Scouts
Smithsonian National Portrait GallerySat. Apr 13
Curator Tour: Daguerreotypes: Five Decades of Collecting
Smithsonian National Portrait GallerySun. Apr 14
Shakespeare's Birthday
Folger TheatreSun. Apr 14
Americans’ Forgotten Love Affair with Opera
Library of CongressTue. Apr 16
Identify: Performance Art as Portraiture—Jeffrey Gibson: To Name An Other
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryWed. Apr 17
Public Keynote Lecture: Lisa Tetrault
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Apr 18
Thursdays at Noon: Overlooked
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Apr 18
See Me at the Portrait Gallery
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 12 & Apr. 19
The Legacy of the New Dance Group
Library of CongressFri. Apr 19
Portrait InSight
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 21 – Apr. 20
Young Portrait Explorers: Rachel Carson
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryApr. 8 & 22
Women Making Waves: Julie Packard and Marcia McNutt
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryTue. Apr 23
REMIX: Can You Dig It?
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Apr 25
Thursdays at Noon: Curator’s Choice
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThu. Apr 25
Conversation Circles
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 1 – Apr. 26
Open Studio Fridays
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 1 – Apr. 26
Dead Letter Office: Gallery Experience
Smithsonian National Postal MuseumFeb. 21 – Apr. 27
Portrait Signs
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 28 – Apr. 27
Portrait Discovery Kits
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 2 – Apr. 28
Portrait Story Days
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 2 – Apr. 28
After Hours: Evenings at the Edge
National Gallery of ArtThu. May 9
Gallery Talk: Women Abstractionists
National Gallery of ArtMon. Jun 17
Tour: Italian Renaissance Collection
National Gallery of ArtThu. Jul 11
Open Studio Fridays
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryFeb. 22 – Aug. 9
Ongoing Events
Juggling the Middle Ages
Dumbarton OaksThru Feb. 28
Alexander Hamilton: Soldier, Secretary, Icon
Smithsonian National Postal MuseumThru Mar. 3
Trailblazing: 100 Years of Our National Parks
Smithsonian National Postal MuseumThru Mar. 3
Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThru Mar. 10
Dawoud Bey: The Birmingham Project
National Gallery of ArtThru Mar. 17
Jiří Kolář (1912-2002): Forms of Visual Poetry - From the Collection of Museum Kampa, Prague
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts CenterThru Mar. 17
Michael B. Platt + Carol A. Beane: Influences and Connections
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts CenterThru Mar. 17
Nancy at Ninety: A Retrospective of Form and Color
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts CenterThru Mar. 17
The Gifts of Tony Podesta
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts CenterThru Mar. 17
A Revolution in Arms: Weapons in the War for Independence
Anderson House – The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the CincinnatiThru Mar. 24
Special Tour—Native Women Rising
Smithsonian National Museum of the American IndianMar. 1 – 29
First Chefs: Fame and Foodways from Britain to the Americas
Folger Shakespeare LibraryThru Mar. 31
The REDress Project
Smithsonian National Museum of the American IndianMar. 1 – 31
In the Library: The Evans-Tibbs Archive of African American Art
National Gallery of ArtThru Apr. 12
Orchids: Amazing Adaptations
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThru Apr. 28
Lincoln's Contemporaries
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThru May. 19
Champions
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThru May. 19
One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThru May. 19
Drawing in Tintoretto’s Venice
National Gallery of ArtMar. 10 – May. 26
Venetian Prints in the Time of Tintoretto
National Gallery of ArtMar. 10 – May. 26
Postmen of the Skies
Smithsonian National Postal MuseumMay. 1 – 27
Daguerreotypes: Five Decades of Collecting
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThru Jun. 2
Baseball Americana
Library of CongressThru Jun. 29
Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice
National Gallery of ArtMar. 10 – Jul. 9
Beautiful Blooms: Flowering Plants on Stamps
Smithsonian National Postal MuseumThru Jul. 14
The American Pre-Raphaelites: Radical Realists
National Gallery of ArtApr. 14 – Jul. 21
The Life of Animals in Japanese Art
National Gallery of ArtMay. 5 – Jul. 28
Eye to I: Self-Portraits from 1900 to Today
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThru Aug. 18
Oliver Lee Jackson: Recent Paintings
National Gallery of ArtApr. 14 – Sep. 15
Portraits of the World: Korea Exhibition
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryThru Nov. 17
Gallery Tours
Smithsonian National Museum of the American IndianThru Dec. 31
Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMar. 29, 2019 – Jan. 5, 2020
A Monument to Shakespeare: The Architecture of the Folger Shakespeare Library
Folger Shakespeare LibraryApr. 13, 2019 – Jan. 5, 2020
By the Light of the Silvery Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs from the 1850s to Apollo 11
National Gallery of ArtJul. 14, 2019 – Jan. 5, 2020
Andrea del Verrocchio: Sculptor-Painter of Renaissance Florence
National Gallery of ArtSep. 15, 2019 – Jan. 12, 2020
Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain
National Gallery of ArtOct. 13, 2019 – Feb. 17, 2020
In Mid-Sentence
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryMay. 3, 2019 – Mar. 29, 2020
A Right to the City
Smithsonian Anacostia Community MuseumThru Apr. 20, 2020
One Life: Marian Anderson
Smithsonian National Portrait GalleryJun. 28, 2019 – May. 17, 2020
The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire
Smithsonian National Museum of the American IndianThru Jun. 1, 2020
New York Ave Sculpture Project
National Museum of Women in the ArtsThru Sep. 20, 2020
Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World
Smithsonian National Museum of the American IndianThru Sep. 30, 2020
Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations
Smithsonian National Museum of the American IndianThru Dec. 31, 2021
Return to a Native Place: Algonquian Peoples of the Chesapeake
Smithsonian National Museum of the American IndianThru Jan. 1, 2022
Americans
Smithsonian National Museum of the American IndianThru Dec. 31, 2022
