>>Does This Mean Spring Will Be Here Soon? Please?: If you find yourself in Virginia instead of Maryland, begin your weekend with an opening reception for Equinox at the Arlington Arts Center. This “juried all media exhibition” will feature twenty-two regional artists who work in, well, all media. The pieces fit into three categories: manipulated materials, abstraction and the figure. Stop by tomorrow between 6 and 9 p.m. for the reception.

>>Sometimes They’re the Same Thing: Saturday is your last chance to see Cara Ober’s exhibit Prayers and Joking at Flashpoint’s art gallery. Arrive at 3 p.m. to hear Ober discuss her tranquil meets silly mixed media works, and you can stick around until 6 p.m. to admire the work and have a few drinks before you hit the cold outside.

>>A Few More Last Chances: Spend your Saturday afternoon taking in a couple of other shows that’ll come down that night: The Photography Group Show and Civilian at G Fine Art, and Etsuko Ichikawa’s amazing glass scorched works, Gary Weidner’s antique-ish collages, and Jemima Burrill’s hilarious videography at Randall Scott Gallery,

>>Free is Good: The Corcoran opens again after some renovations with two new exhibits: Masterpieces of European Art and Olga Hirshhorn Collects: Selections from the Permanent Collection. The best part — you can take advantage of free admission every weekend from February 10 to March 16. Note the gallery will continue to be closed Mondays through Fridays during this time.

>>But Bring a Map: The enormous Katzen Arts Center at American University has a whole slew of exhibits opening between January 30 and February 13. With a little something for everyone, you can check out Robert Brady’s wooden sculptures, Dennis Oppenheim’s strange alternative landscapes, or Madeleine Keesing’s attempts to capture the passage of time in a painting. Stop by at 4 p.m. this Saturday to hear Richard Cleaver give an artist talk about his exhibit Family Fictions.