Events

Join us for a talk with Dr. Richard Bell, the author of Stolen, a new book that tells the incredible story of five boys whose courage forever changed the fight against slavery in America. Their ordeal shines a glaring spotlight on the Reverse Underground Railroad, a blackmarket network of human traffickers who stole away thousands of legally free African Americans to fuel slavery’s rapid expansion in the decades before the Civil War.

Right over Left: DMV Runway Review (2017-Present) is a group exhibition, curated by Danyela J Brown. The exhibition, comprised of videos from legendary DMV runway clips and archived effects, seeks to juxtapose the artists’ relationships to craft and performance with the call-and-response timescale of Runway as a genre determined on the floor. Danyela insists upon critical ballroom studies as a methodology for reckoning with the material realities and urgencies of Black and brown, queer and trans, neurodiverse and disabled artists. Ballroom as a genre is stridently competitive, decidedly ephemeral, and absolutely ungovernable—at the same time it is the only platform many have to celebrate their expertise and self-determination. Brown started voguing in 2017 at SMYAL and has walked internationally in the mainstream and Kiki ballroom scenes. Currently, she is VA Mother of the Kiki House of Supreme, and she serves as Director of Operations for DMV Kiki Nights Inc, curating ballroom programming in DC.

The Sound of DC: A Visual History is a four-part exhibition series focused on the rich history of the music scene in the DMV area.

The newest chapter of this series focuses on Go-Go, a style of funk that originated in D.C. in the 1970s; leading into a look at how fashion factored into these unique DC music scenes; and concluding with photography from behind-the-scenes at prominent local music venues. Each section will collaborate with local stakeholders and exhibit artifacts such as posters, flyers, zines, photographs, and audio recordings.

Cabaret Noir is a series of dark, comic vignettes featuring Femmes Fatales and fedoras, trench coats and torch songs, intrigue, suspense, and shadows. Happenstance Theater’s ensemble mesmerizes in a virtuosic display of physical comedy, object manipulation, and period style, with music played on multiple instruments, and characters costumed in vintage attire. Happenstance Theater, winner of five Helen Hayes Awards, has been called “DC’s leading peddler of whimsy” by the Washington Post.

Event runs February 1 through 28 (timing is flexible)

Looking to get back at your “ex?” Let Clearwater Nature Center’s “Ex-Terminators” do that for you! For a fee, you can name a frozen cockroach or a vegetable after your “ex” and watch one of our animals eat it. Neo, our American Crow, loves veggies and her eating style is “determined.” Chiba, our Common Snapping Turtle, devours frozen roaches with no hesitation. In-person and virtual options are available. This event runs for the full month of February.