Talk to Me, Baby
Dana Tai Shoon Burgess and Company will be performing on Friday at the American Art Museum. The performance will be followed by a discussion between the dancers and video artist Nam June Paik's nephew. Photo credit: Steve Vaccariello.
There are a number of really interesting lectures this week, including three focused on food (tomatoes, tortillas and even an Indian buffet!), as well as a good variety of visual and performing arts lectures, book talks, and more.
Monday:
>> Tickets still seem to be available for tonight's Corcoran event with Maus creator Art Spiegelman. It costs $25, starts at 7 p.m., and will feature "Spiegelman [taking] his audience on a chronological tour of the evolution of comics, all the while explaining the value of this medium and why it should not be ignored."
>> Also at 7 p.m. tonight is Wildtube - Using Electronic Surveillance to Solve Nature's Mysteries at the National Zoo Conservation and Research Center Auditorium in Front Royal. Smithsonian researcher Roland Kays will share the traditional techniques and new technologies he uses to examine "ecological and evolutionary questions about mammals ... with a focus on carnivores." Free.
Tuesday:
>> If you're like me and you can't wait for the farmers markets to start selling their delectable tomatoes, the S. Dillon Ripley Center has just what you need. At From Garden to Table: Eccentric Tomatoes and Heirloom Seeds at 6:45 p.m., author and heirloom vegetable grower Amy Goldman, along with the WaPo's gardening editor Adrian Higgins, will discuss "the glorious diversity of tomatoes and the growth of the heirloom seed preservation movement." It costs $25, and unfortunately no complimentary tomatoes are promised.
>> The Anacostia Community Museum is hosting an "East of the River Community Forum" at 7 p.m., titled The Role of Religious Institutions in the East of the River Community. A panel of religious community leaders "will discuss the history of their institutions, core concerns, and current issues." Email ACMRSVP [at]si.edu for more info.
>> The K Street Busboys has an author event tonight at 6:30 p.m. with Susan Galleymore and her book Long Time Passing: Mothers Speak About War and Terror.
>> At 7 p.m., Politics and Prose hosts journalist and Come Home, America author William Greider, who claims that America's "preeminent strength is steadily deteriorating, as is its ability to dominate other nations" while at home, "democracy is broken and most Americans seem to know it."
Wednesday:
>> The Shirlington Busboys is starting a new monthly series tonight called G.R.a.S.P., or Green Resources and Sustainable Practices. This week, the group, led by Global Exchange director Shel Mae-Reinwald, will be discussing fair trade.
Thursday:
>> Food-meets-learning option two is today from 12 to 12:30 p.m. at the American History Museum. At Tortillas, Tamales, Lettuce, and Grapes: Mexican Americans’ Role in Food Production, curator Steve Velasquez will discuss how Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals have "helped shape U.S. agriculture and food production for the family, community, and the country." Free.
>> The New America Foundation brings us a panel discussion titled Putting the "Quality" into Quality Pre-K: Lessons from Data-Driven Early Interventions this morning from 9:30 to 11 a.m. The panel features a good cross-section of professionals, including Georgetown's Dr. Craig Ramey, teacher Tara Nixon, principal Wendy Edwards and Mary Anne Lesiak, the Director of the D.C. Partnership for Early Literacy.
>> The Corcoran holds another event tonight at 7 p.m. This one's titled Gilbert Rohde: Innovation for Modern Living, and will feature decorative arts historian Phyllis Ross as she discusses Rohde's work and "positions the designer as a critical connecting force between the early stirrings of American modernism and the distinctively American look of the post-war era." $20.
Friday:
>> The Hirshhorn hosts artist Gary Simmons tonight at 7 p.m. He'll discuss his "erasure" drawings, which uses chalk on panels to mimic the look of a chalkboard. Free.
>> Another interesting option tonight is at 6 p.m. at the American Art Museum's McEvoy Auditorium. At Dancing Through the Asian American Experience, dance artist Dana Tai Soon Burgess and his company will perform Hyphen and Chino Latino. Hyphen incorporates the video work of Nam June Paik, and after the performance, Burgess and his dancers will discuss the work with Nam June Paik's nephew Ken Hakuta.
Saturday:
>> Your third food-meets-lecture option this week is A Bollywood Celebration: Festivals, Rituals, and Food, a Smithsonian event held at Indique Heights in Chevy Chase. It costs $120 for non-members, but comes with a full Indian smorgasboard. Professors Genevieve Carminati and Shweta Sen will discuss "how Bollywood films interpret India's many festivals and rituals, and other special celebrations such as weddings and the foods that are part of these occasions."
>> At 1 p.m. today, Politics and Prose hosts The World Is Fat: The Fads, Trends, Policies, and Products That Are Fattening the Human Race author and nutrition expert Barry Popkin.
>> Today's 2:30 p.m. Inside Media lecture at the Newseum features Jake Tapper from the White House press corps, who will share his experiences covering the Obama administration.
Next Monday:
>> Head to the 14th Street Busboys tonight at 6:30 p.m. for a book talk with Nawar Shora, author of Arab-American Handbook: A Guide to the Arab, Arab-American & Muslim Worlds.