Kick back with some of Hollywood’s lesser known classics
The National Gallery of Art’s film program, “Hollywood’s Poverty Row Preserved by UCLA” continues this weekend. Hollywood’s Poverty Row was a stretch of B-list film studios along Gower Street in Los Angeles that specialized in quickly made scripts and hastily produced films. However, the NGA says, the power of the films shouldn’t be underestimated: Their scrappy nature is a precursor to the indie film movement. On Saturday, the museum will screen two of these movies, False Faces and Damaged Lives. The first is a horror-filled comedy that follows the tale of an immoral plastic surgeon whose new face lifting technique eventually leads to problems. Damaged Lives centers on a young businessman who, after a night of debauchery, discovers he’s developed an STI and must tell his very virtuous fiancee.
The National Gallery of Art, Saturday, False Faces 2 p.m., Damaged Lives 4 p.m.
Trace your own migration patterns at this art exhibit
Natalia Nakazawa chronicles the migration of people throughout the world in her new interactive exhibit Our Stories of Migration. Her project features a world map tapestry constructed with open source digital images mined from online museum collections. Participants can embroider their own historic and future paths on the tapestry, or draw their own maps, which will be added to an animated archive.
Arlington Arts Center, Saturday, 1 p.m. RSVP required
Learn something new about the planet
Now in its 16th year, the D.C. Environmental Film Festival gathers movies about all things green from around the world. There are plenty of chances for free screenings, including Mori, the Artist’s Habitat,from Japan, about a man who takes action when a condominium development threatens his precious garden (Freer Gallery of Art, Sunday, 2 p.m.). You can also catch a preview of the forthcoming Netflix series Our Planet, narrated by David Attenborough, about “the planet’s most precious species and fragile habitats” (Eaton DC, Sat., 3 p.m., reservation required).
Various locations, through March 24, full schedule here
Hear some new talent at Millennium Stage
The Reston Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, one of the nation’s oldest and largest women-led volunteer service organizations, along with the D.C. Chapter of The Society Incorporated, a women-led non profit organization promoting children in the arts, are co-sponsoring their bi-annual “Youth Arts Showcase Explosion Full STEAM Ahead.” Six local students will take Millennium Stage and showcase their talents; all students will receive scholarships to advance their education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.
Kennedy Center, Saturday, 6 p.m.
Take one last look at the people of Birmingham through photos
Dawoud Bey’s The Birmingham Project is on display for its final weekend at the National Gallery of Art. The project serves as a tribute to the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. According to the NGA, “the exhibition focuses on how Bey visualizes the past through the lens of the present, pushing the boundaries of portraiture and engaging ongoing national issues of racism, violence against African Americans, and terrorism in churches.” In these photos, the photographer juxtaposes images representing the victims of the bombing and related violence in Birmingham from during 1963 with ideas representing present day. A short film featuring an interview with Bey will be screened in the project room in the West Building.
National Gallery of Art, Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
