First, let's catch up on all the art news from the week. We like the changes we hear going on over at the Smithsonian. The Post reports that Acting Secretary Cristián Samper has announced that Martin E. Sullivan will be the new Director over at the National Portrait Gallery. Though his resume alone proves he's a worthy fellow for the job, the cajones he showed by stepping down as chairman of the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee after the U.S. showed no effort to preserve Iraq's antiquities hopefully means he values his commitment to art over the other perks by which some Smithsonian appointees have been swayed.

Elsewhere at the Smithsonian, it would seem that getting their business and their museum people to work together is a little bit like getting the CIA and the FBI to team up. Samper is working on a "course correction" -- a task force that will examine the profit sharing arrangements between the Institution's branches and will offer critical oversight reports directly to the Acting Secretary.

Oh, and aeronautics nerds can clap their hands with glee: the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center just received a $15 million gift that will be used for a new wing inside their hangar, which holds the space shuttle Enterprise, among other feats of aviation.

Lastly, if you read about art at all on the internet, you know about the controversy going on regarding artist Cara Ober and the artist who copied her style and arguably hung it as her own, which essentially boils down to a story of art school drama (though perhaps also a cautionary tale for young artists working with agents who think they deserve more attention than the artist does). We only have one thing to say on the issue: if the only time the Washington Post's chief art critic will deign small gallery coverage of local artists worthy of his time is when it involves breaking a big gossip story in which he backhandedly slaps a talented local artist in order to bask in the inevitable attention, please resign your position at the Paper of Record and start a just start a damn blog already.

Alright, let's get to the agenda:

Photo by Terecico

>> The place to see and be seen this Friday evening is the opening reception for Collectors Select at the Arlington Arts Center. With six notable D.C. collectors, including DCist’s recent interviewee Phillipa Hughes, choosing some of their favorite artists to display, the opening is sure to be packed with some of our city’s most prominent artists and art collectors. Artists featured include performance artist Kathryn Cornelius, graffiti artist Tim Conlon, photographer William Christenberry, and Brooklyn video artists Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry. The Arlington Arts Center is located at 3550 Wilson Boulevard, one block from the Orange line at the Virginia Square stop. The reception runs from 6 to 9 p.m.

>> Tonight, stop by the Ring Auditorium at the Hirshhorn for a Meet the Artist Talk with Wangechi Mutu. Born in Kenya and living in Brooklyn, Mutu creates compelling collage work with National Geographic and fashion magazines to explore issues of personal, cultural and feminine identity. Doors open at 6:30; advance ticketing starts at 6:15. The event is free, and seats are available on a first-come basis.

>> On Saturday, Transformer opens its new exhibition, Absence Presence, featuring work by D.C. artists Richard Chartier and Paul Vinet. Chartier is perhaps better known for his sound work, having just DJ’ed last night at St. Ex, or his digital work, which received Honorable Mention at Berlin’s 2007 Transmediale. His work at Transformer, however, consists of small and intentionally subtle pencil drawings that were erased and then painted over, thus communicating absence. Vinet’s work speaks to the idea of presence, with large-scale prints that incorporate street photography with gold leaf techniques and religious references. 7 to 9 p.m.

>> Project 4 celebrates its two-year anniversary with a show of its members' best work. Join them at the reception Saturday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. to see the fantastic clay and porcelain works of Margaret Boozer and Laurel Lukaszewski, the tongue-in-cheek photowork of Beau Chamberlain, paintings of futuristic machinery by Tricia Keightley, and much more.

>> This weekend catch the talented photographic work of two 2007 DCist Exposed winners. Friday see Brett Davis and four other new members of the co-op Foundry Gallery display their work; reception is 6 to 8 p.m. Then on Saturday see the work of Brian Knight (also a 2008 Exposed winner) at a Salon Party and Silent Auction organized by O'Neill Studios to benefit Autism Speaks. Sports memorabilia, local gift certificates, designer consultations and more will be auctioned off between 6:30 p.m. and midnight at Leftbank, 2424 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan.

Art Notes:

• A little environmentalism and a little romance cross for an art show at Loft 11 with names like Kelly Towles and Matt Sesow. Visit the reception for the DC GreenheArt Exhibit this Friday at 7 p.m. and take home some affordable art by local talents.
• Zenith Gallery hosts a reception for Black Matter featuring works by Black Artists of DC, tonight from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Check out Craft & Kisses on Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. at the Josephine Butler Parks Center in Columbia Heights for handmade goods, treats, and V-day "kissing booths."
• G Fine Art will hold a discussion about contemporary portraiture, the subject of their current exhibit on Saturday at 10 a.m.
• H&F Fine Arts has a reception Saturday between 5 and 8 p.m. for two solo shows, that includes a live installation and performance at 7 p.m.

Image courtesy Transformer

Lynne Venart contributed to the agenda.