Though the pandemic is not over, the D.C. region is in a notably different place than it was in spring 2020 — or even spring of last year. As most local Smithsonian and private museums closed and reopened with modified schedules at various points, many wondered: “Will D.C. museums ever be the same?” To answer that question, museums have reinstated pre-pandemic hours and created a new sense of what “normal” means. Most have implemented safety measures like touchless technology and timed tickets to control visitor numbers.

So, here we are in 2023 with a number of new directors at some of D.C.’s most prominent cultural institutions: Jonathan Binstock at the Phillips Collection; Anne Helmreich at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art; and Christopher Browne who now heads the recently reopened National Air and Space Museum. Plus, D.C. is seeing some exciting museum-related developments, including a brand new contemporary art museum in Southwest and the long-awaited reopening of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Here are some of the exhibits, museums, and — dare I say “immersive” — experiences we’re keeping an eye on this year.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts’ reopening

It seems like it’s been ages since the National Museum of Women in the Arts closed for a $67.5 million renovation project. In reality, the 42-year-old museum temporarily shut its doors in August 2021 and proceeded to offer months of virtual and offsite programming. Still, nothing beats the real, in-person experience of wandering the 84,000-square-foot facility, the self-proclaimed “first museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.” When the NMWA finally reopens this fall, it will do so with 20% more gallery space, a new area for hands-on educational programs, and a refurbished performance hall, among other impressive features.

Details about an inaugural exhibit are forthcoming, but the museum has confirmed it will include large-scale installations, sculptures, and video displays covering historic and contemporary artists.

The Museum of Illusions tripping us out

If your social media profiles have been a bit dry lately, it may be time to visit the recently opened Museum of Illusions at CityCenterDC to take a few photos. This wacky museum concept opened in Croatia in 2015 before expanding globally, and the D.C. iteration promises to expose visitors to the science behind the magic. Oh, and about those photos — at the MOI, you can snap a pic from an “upside-down” Metro car, a vortex tunnel, or while sitting at the clone table. Adult general admission costs around $24 for this museum, which is open daily through March.

A fresh take on Arlington’s only art museum 

A group of contemporary artists founded the Arlington Arts Center nearly 50 years ago as a nonprofit organization to help launch careers of up-and-coming artists from across the region. In October, the building — once the Clarendon Elementary School and listed on the National Register of Historic Places — rebranded as the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington. The museum’s board of directors said they made the move to “reflect its position as a premiere hub for contemporary art and artists and as the only art museum in Arlington County.”

But the museum has undergone more than a name change in recent years. In 2021, the center brought in a new director from the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Catherine Anchin, and will begin presenting more artists from near and far. Its first national, biennial exhibit, “Assembly” includes work from 12 artists across nine states. “Let Them Be Kids,” a solo show about Black childhood from painter Lex Marie, runs through Jan. 22. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m. or by appointment, with free admission.

Glenstone’s deliberate use of space

Glenstone, the private contemporary art museum in Potomac, Maryland, always incorporates nature, architecture, and visual art in innovative ways. The most recent example: Artist Richard Serra collaborated with Thomas Phifer to create a 4,000-square-foot building along a woodland trail that winds through the expansive campus. The new concrete structure houses Serra’s sculpture, “Four Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure,” featuring four 82-ton steel cylinders that make the viewer ponder their own relative size and physicality, per Bethesda Magazine. (Phifer also designed Glenstone’s 2018 expansion, “Pavilions.”) It’s just one of many ways the museum plans to inspire visitors in 2023.

Also on the docket this year: a massive three-panel painting from British painter Cecily Brown, one of her largest works to date; and a selection of works from mixed media artist Kara Walker, whose cut-paper silhouettes, paintings, and sculptures — including a fully functioning steam-powered calliope that plays Black protest music — will appear in the Pavilions and outdoors at Glenstone this spring. Free, timed passes are required to visit.

A new arts wing at the American History Museum

Who says the old can’t be made new? The nearly 60-year-old Smithsonian National Museum of American History is bouncing back from a few years of pandemic sluggishness with a newly opened culture wing on the third floor, part of which is a permanent exhibit dedicated to pop culture (the other section houses a rotating exhibit, currently showcasing Richard Avedon’s photographs from 1946-1965). The bilingual “Entertainment Nation/Nación del espectáculo” features artifacts belonging to American theater, television, film, sports, and music icons from the museum’s collection of 1.8 million objects, many of which are on view for the first time. A fan of Michael Jordan? You’ll find his jersey on display next to Rocky Balboa’s boxing robe. A Prince enthusiast? His yellow “cloud” guitar is presented next to a replica you can hold. There’s also plenty of social commentary on some of the more painful facets of the American entertainment industry, such as the effects of racist stereotypes on modern comedy. Tickets are not required, and admission is always free.

The Phillips Collection under a new director — one with a deep appreciation for D.C. artists

Jonathan Binstock joined The Phillips Collection in November as its new director and CEO — the seventh director in the museum’s history and only the fourth director who isn’t a member of the Phillips family. (His predecessor, Dorothy Kosinski, stepped down in November after 15 years at the helm.) Binstock has a history of researching and promoting D.C.-based fine artists — and he’s the foremost scholar on Sam Gilliam, the late Black painter associated with the Washington Color School, an abstractionist artistic movement started in D.C. in the 1950s. One has to imagine Binstock’s time as a curator at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in the early 2000s will also contribute to his leadership and focus on local artists.

In the immediate future, visitors have one more month to see The Phillips Collection’s special exhibit, “An Italian Impressionist In Paris,” the first exhibit in the U.S. specifically focused on the work of 19th-century painter Giuseppe De Nittis.

More than half a dozen new exhibits at the National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art has seven new exhibitions coming this year. Through June 11, the NGA will present photographs of Britain from the 1970s and 80s in “This is Britain.” The museum also has forthcoming exhibits about the evolution of ceiling decoration, an exhibit of 40 clay figures from famous Italian sculptor Antonio Canova, and more than 150 works from the half-century-long career of prolific American painter Phillip Guston. It’s also worth visiting the NGA’s reopened East Building, where the museum is showing works created by a group of long-overlooked Black artists from the Deep South, including intricate quilts made from used clothes and leftover cuts of fabric. Admission is free, and tickets are not required.

More to see this year:

Eight new or refurbished galleries on flight and space (National Air and Space Museum); The Office Experience (through Jan. 16, 1020 G Street NW); “Intangible Forms” (Jan. 14-March 5, Artechouse); National Women’s History Museum’s first full exhibit (March, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library); “The Cycle of Nature and Time” by Iranian mixed-media artist Saya Behnam (through Feb. 12, Torpedo Factory Arts Center); Ruri Yi, solo exhibit (Jan.14-Feb.25, Hemphill Artworks); Eric Hagan, solo exhibit opening reception (Feb. 1, Homme Gallery, 52 O St. NW location); “Pastports,” Works by Rosa Leff (through Jan. 29, Pyramid Atlantic); “Stevens Jay Carter: Modern Master” (Jan. 14-Feb. 18, Honfleur Gallery); “Between a rock and a soft place” (through Feb. 26, Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art); “Anne Lindberg: what color is divine light?” (Feb. 4-July 1, GWU Museum)

This story has been updated with the correct label for the photo of the National Gallery of Art. We also corrected the description of an exhibit at the NGA to show that the artists are from multiples states across the South, not just Alabama.