Results tagged “americanhistory”

>> Art Whino, the new 22,000 square foot exhibition and studio space at 717 N. Asaph St. in Old Town Alexandria, holds its grand opening tonight. The gallery's debut event will be soundtracked by DJ Stylo, and marks the start of two new exhibits: a solo show by artist Derrick Wolbaum and a group show of Pop-Surrealism work in the Permanent Gallery. The opening reception is tonight from 6 to 11 p.m, admission is free....

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Indie: Lake of Fire Michael Moore may have grabbed all the press where high profile documentaries are concerned, but it's Tony Kaye's Lake of Fire that is being quietly talked about as the most powerful documentary of the year. Which is remarkable considering its subject is one of the most talked about and analyzed issues on...

>> There are so many festivals going on this weekend, we don't feel bad mentioning them a few times to make sure you get your butt off the couch to check out as many of them as you can. We'll have more on always anticipated Crafty Bastards later today, which is Sunday in Adams Morgan. The National Book Festival, where this writer is going to nerd it up, is Saturday on the Mall. Practice your...

At Irvine Contemporary is Introductions3, a group exhibition featuring works of thirteen recent MFA grads from art schools across the country. According to Gallery Director Martin Irvine, Introductions3 is the first show of its kind at a commercial gallery, since similar shows stick to regional artists; instead Irvine branched out and reviewed 300 emerging artists nationwide. The selections were narrowed to 60 before a panel of art collectors committed to the final 13 emerging artists,...

The Smithsonian Institution is searching for a public or private partner to redevelop and rent the historic Arts and Industries Building, since, according to the Smithsonian's facilities director, William W. Brubaker, the Institution "does not have funding now or in the foreseeable future to rehabilitate" it. The 126-year-old building, the second-oldest next to the Smithsonian Castle, has been closed for three years "in preparation for renovation" since the roof began collapsing -- but no work...

As we mentioned earlier this week, sometimes we don't envy Washington's urban planners. Their challenges often encompass issues as varied and complicated as economic development, land use planning, sustainability, design and social justice. Add to that the design politics associated with the symbolism invested in the nation's capital, and planning for D.C. becomes a unique urban problem to tackle. Not that it stops us from trying. Yesterday, the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission...

>> Transformer opens a show this weekend showcasing the work of two extremely talented photographers. Lely Constantinople and Antonia Tricarico utilize a slew of cameras as they approach people on the streets, taking portraits and learning the person behind the picture. They look for the commonalities in strangers who may pass each other everyday, never seeing it themselves. Unsurprisingly, these documentary artists each have pieces hanging in the National Museum of American History. Stop by Transformer this Saturday at 7 p.m. for the opening reception.

> > Pour one out for Coach Janky Spanky. Clinton Portis will receive surgeries for his bum shoulder and broken hand, which means he's headed to the IR for the rest of the season. It'll be up to Ladell Betts to carry the rock, though, who knows? Maybe the coaches will remember their costly impulse-buy TJ Duckett, mouldering on the bench. [Washington Post] > > The U.S. House of Representatives is filled stem to stern...

It's no secret — the National Mall, for all its historical significance, isn't exactly the prettiest place in the world. Broken water fountains, patchy grass, ugly security fences and totally nasty restrooms are amongst some of the many problems with what should really be a gorgeous space. The National Park Service is here to change that, and they're going all Web 2.0 on our asses through an online campaign asking the public their opinions on...

Intoxication was the theme, and our host was appropriately buzzed for the event, or so she told us. The tables were packed early for the season's opening night of Speakeasy at HR-57, a monthly event featuring storytellers of all talent levels, from captivating veterans to nervous amatuers.

In light of this momentous weekend in movie history, we here at DCist would like to take a brief look back at some of the seminal events in moving pictures. Ever since the dawn of the 20th century, the transmission of images on celluloid has captivated people around the world. Silent films, such as Georges Melies' Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon), Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin and Charlie Chaplin's varied oeuvre pioneered many of the elements that are integral to today's big budget extravaganzas -- special effects, tracking shots, jump cuts, and more. With the advent of talking films, both directors and politicians began to see films' value as a tool of propaganda. As World War II dawned, Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will portrayed Adolf Hitler and the German troops in a positive light, while across the ocean, American filmmakers struck back with their own allegory of the struggle between good and evil, the 1942 classic film, Star Wars.

Is the heat sapping all your energy? As if the Fringe Festival wasn't enough to get you going (have you bought your tickets yet?), this week we found some events to get you geared up, bustin' a move, and exercising those important wrist muscles flipping open your pocketbook.

Back in April we noted that the National Museum of American History will be closing at the end of the summer for a two-year renovation project. Today we're hearing a little more about what the museum plans to feature — aside from the Star-Spangled Banner Project — when it opens back up in 2008. Evacuation signs, lace valances stained at the high-water mark, and personal rosaries are among the artifacts that curators and historians...

Arguments over where to put new monuments on the National Mall have grown increasingly frequent and divisive as the front lawn has filled up. In 2003, Congress banned new construction on the Mall's cross-axis, beyond what had already been approved. In 2004, the National Museum of the American Indian and the World War II Memorial opened, and recently, a trapezoidal spot just northeast of the Washington Monument was chosen as the location for the National...

An abstract flag, made of lightweight, reflective polycarbonate and approximately 40 feet long and up to 19 feet high will soar above the entrance to the new Star-Spangled Banner gallery and will become the new central focal point of the second floor where more than two-thirds of the museum’s visitors enter. Visitors to the flag gallery will experience the 30 by-34 foot wool and cotton Star-Spangled Banner in a new setting with floor-to-ceiling glass windows designed to evoke the “dawn’s early light” in which Francis Scott Key saw the flag, still flying above Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor in 1814.

Though at times locally maligned for its police-confounding off-shoots, hip-hop's historical recognition is long overdue at an institution whose mission is the chronicling of American people and American culture. So we were pleased to see Boing Boing relay the news that the National Museum of American History will establish an exhibit of hip-hop artifacts entitled "Hip-Hop Won't Stop: The Beat, the Rhymes, the Life" including "photographs, posters, handwritten lyrics, clothing and costumes, videos and interviews and business and personal letters from hip-hop's early artists," much of which they are hoping will be acquired from the artists themselves, ranging from Afrika Bambaataa to Russell Simmons.

Mayor Returns Smoking Ban Unsigned: An unsigned-by-Mayor-Williams smoking ban now heads to the U.S. Congress, which has 30 days to review the legislation. Read: he didn't veto it, but he's allowing it to be enacted sans his signature. Williams stated in a Post article that he fears the ban would go "too far in restricting the freedom for individuals to dine and work where they please." Actually, we think it's smoking that does that, not...

When we tried to learn more about the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture, we couldn't find much information about it. Sure, there's plenty of media and other mentions on the web and a bare-bones website, but the Smithsonian isn't sure quite where it will go, let alone precisely what exhibits will be on display.

Dude, Where's My Car? While car theft isn't a laughing matter, we chuckled for a very brief moment when we heard that Police Chief Charles Ramsey's car was stolen over the weekend. The AP, via WTOP, reports that the chief's 1999 Ford Crown Victoria was stolen after being parked near his house by a police officer when Ramsey was out of town. On Ramsey's way to church Sunday morning, the car was nowhere to be...

Today will be mostly cloudy with highs in the 50s. The blogger meetup is tonight. This photo by Matt Billings is of the U.S. Capitol.

FRIDAY: >> It's what all the cool kids are doing: Liberation Dance Party goes on tonight at DC9. If you're going to the Dogs Die in Hot Cars (pictured at right) show at the 9:30 Club, make sure to hit DC9 afterwards, because they'll be doing a spot of post-show spinning. SATURDAY: >> Get crafty: The Washington Craft Show takes place all weekend long, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Washington Convention Center....

- With the Election Day a week away and fears of voting machines failing, channel your “Pre-Election Anxiety Disorder” by visiting some election-inspired exhibits at the National Museum of American History. "Vote! The Machinery of Democracy" examines the evolution of voting techniques and includes the ill-fated butterfly ballot from the 2000 Florida presidential election. Stop by their permanent exhibit "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden" to pay homage to our fearless leaders of the executive...

With the election less than 50 days away and campaigns and groups alike working frantically to win every possible vote, the accuracy (or lack thereof) of the 2004 election will certainly be in the news.

The National Mall is officially crowded. Now that the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian is set to open next week, all the usable space intended to be used for museums, monuments and other important national sites have been taken. The Post explores the politics of the National Mall in this morning's edition. Everybody wants a piece of it, but there's no room to spare.