There’s never a shortage of visual art and museum experiences to enjoy in the D.C. region, but 2023 was especially jam-packed with cultural offerings and exciting updates.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts opened after a much-anticipated renovation, and the Phillips Collection shook things up with a reinstallation of their popular Rothko Room. Several big names landed here, including Kara Walker at the Maria & Alberto de la Cruz Gallery, Mark Rothko and Dorothea Lange at the National Gallery of Art, and of course, Yayoi Kusama’s “One With Eternity” exhibit at the Hirshhorn stayed booked with timed reservations until it closed in July.

Big shake ups happened at local galleries and other institutions. Torpedo Factory eyed a new management model, Union Station unveiled new works by local artist Tim Doud as part of the Art at Amtrak program, and Art All Night had one of its biggest years yet. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in a city that has an embarrassment of riches in the arts.

This coming year, the steady hum of visual art happenings will continue — here are some of the most exciting exhibits and events to look forward to in 2024.

The National Air and Space Museum continues its ongoing renovation

Since 2018, the National Air and Space Museum has been undergoing a massive renovation and reimagining, which will include restoring every single object in the collection, establishing a new learning center, and several new or reconfigured exhibits. In October, the building’s west wing reopened with eight new exhibits and dozens of new objects. Selections from the popular “Milestones of Flight” gallery have been slowly taken off view for conservation over the last few months. John Glenn’s Friendship 7 space capsule, the Spirit of St. Louis, and SpaceShipOne are among the items that will again be on view with the reopening of “Milestones of Flight” this year.

Glenstone hints at forthcoming installations

Glenstone continues to add to their sizable collection and commission new site-specific works at their idyllic Potomac campus. In November, they opened “Iconoclasts,” a long term rearrangement of 50 artists from their collection, with a newly acquired work from mystic artist Hilma af Klint, whose paintings have found newfound appreciation and popularity in recent years. The museum has teased forthcoming outdoor works from Alex Da Corte and Simone Leigh, as well as a permanent outdoor project by Arthur Jafa. Leigh is fresh off of representing the U.S. at the Venice Biennale and in the midst of a touring exhibit currently on view at the Hirshhorn, and Jafa made waves with a video and sculptural installation at Glenstone in 2021. Details are scarce for now, but the inclusion of these big names alone is enough to drum up excitement.

The American University Museum looks at local history

Two of the American University Museum’s spring exhibits focus on D.C. artists who’ve been somewhat overlooked. Colin “Topper” Carew was a filmmaker and architect who opened the New Thing Art and Architecture Center in Adams Morgan with the initial goal of supporting Black architects. The center was open from 1966 to 1972 and eventually expanded its offerings to include free youth art classes, concerts, and workshops, with well known musicians like Stevie Wonder and The Soul Searchers passing through. “New Perspective on the New Thing” will feature documentary photography of the New Thing community, some of which has never been displayed before.

Bryan Kavanagh was a prolific painter and printmaker who lived for many years in D.C. and worked at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Despite being active in the local art scene and exhibiting often during his lifetime, he hasn’t been widely recognized for his contributions. Hopefully that will change with “The Very Idea!,” a show which will highlight his works from the 1980s and ‘90s, with a specific focus on how he fit into the conceptual art movements of those eras.

Friends Artspace showcases ceramics

Friends Artspace is a pint-sized gallery that packs a big punch, located in curator Margaret Bakke’s Arlington garage. Friends Artspace has had some of the area’s most eclectic and interesting gallery shows in the few years it’s been open, showcasing everything from furniture to wearable sculptures to ceremonial vessels. Two of their upcoming shows put a spotlight on ceramics artists. Running from Feb.10-Mar. 23, Flowers that Open at Night by the fittingly-named artist Joanna Bloom features botanically inspired clay works. From Apr. 27-Jun. 8, whimsical chimeric ceramic sculptures by Bia Furtado will be on display.

National Gallery of Art trains its eye on two major art movements

“The Anxious Eye: German Expressionism and Its Legacy” looks at the titular movement and the ways that its influence continues to ripple through contemporary art. German artists working through World War I, rapid industrial changes, and social movements responded to the times with work that pushed back against centuries of buttoned-up art traditions and eschewed realism in favor of works that resonated on an emotional level, experimenting wildly with styles and materials. Pillars of this movement included Käthe Kollwitz, Egon Schiele, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Otto Dix, and they will be shown alongside artists working in the latter half of the century through today, including contemporary artists like Nicole Eisenman. Special music events with compositions from the era of German Expressionism through today will be held.

150 years ago, the Musée d’Orsay opened the first exhibit of Impressionist artists in Paris, including Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissaro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and other artists working at the same time who are lesser known. “Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment” is a touring exhibit that explores the genesis of this monumental art movement that begat modern painting, and the NGA is the only museum in America getting a stop on this tour.

Phillips Collection makes a big impression

When Duncan Phillips first began showing his art collection on the second floor of his family home, he focused on artists who were not especially well known at the time. One of these was Pierre Bonard, a painter who is now regarded for leading the progression from the Impressionist art movement into Modernism. “Bonnard’s Worlds” takes the viewer to landscapes of Paris and the French countryside, and gathers together an array of his better known works from worldwide collections, as well as some lesser known paintings. His use of vivid, not-always-realistic color electrifies what are often quiet, domestic scenes, which still look fresh and invigorating today. From April to July, the Phillips Collection will also unveil two recently restored paintings by the Impressionist master Paul Cezánne that are cornerstones of the museum’s collection.

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art spreads across the region

Tephra ICA in Reston is a non-profit that has promoted contemporary art and conceptual thinking since 1974 and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Richmond-based artist and Corcoran College of Art and Design graduate Kendall Buster has two shows currently on view with Tephra through next year. “SEED” at Tephra’s Reston gallery builds off the artist’s background as a microbiologist, with drawings and sculptures that exist at the intersection of man-made and natural environments. “SOLSTICE” is presented at the Kreeger Museum, and consists of an all white installation of geometric and architectural forms that creates a monumental city on a miniature scale. The 33rd annual Tephra ICA Arts Festival will take over Reston Town Center on May 18 and 19, featuring over 200 fine art and artisan booths, performance art, and special events.

Also happening this year:

D.C.-based artist February James (Winter, Cultural DC Mobile Art Gallery)

Step inside a gigantic camera obscura by Maryland-based artist Jamille Wallick (Feb. 2-Mar. 10, VisArts)

D.C.-based painter MK Bailey (Feb. 3-Mar. 9, Transformer)

French artifacts from “Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Paris” (Feb. 17-Jun. 16, Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens)

Three Black woman artists and friends including D.C.-based Amber Robles-Gordon in “Solace and Sisterhood” (Feb. 22-May 26, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington)

Photographs of Hollywood’s golden age (Mar. 1-Jan. 5 2025, National Portrait Gallery)

A collaborative exhibit with Pyramid Atlantic Art Center and Washington Print Club (Mar. 8-Apr. 28)

“Staging the Supernatural,” with ghost artworks from Japan’s Edo period (Mar. 23-Oct. 6, National Museum of Asian Art)

A rotating installation of totems inside lockers (Spring, Cultural DC Mobile Art Gallery)

D.C.-based artist Julia Chon, who works under the name Kimchi Juice, curated by Latela Curatorial (Spring, The Silva Gallery)

Large scale paintings and sculptures by twin brother street artists who work under the name OSGEMEOS (May 18-Jul. 26, 2025, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden)

“Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay” featuring Diné textiles (Sep. 19, National Museum of the American Indian)

National Museum of Women in the Arts triannual “Women to Watch” exhibition series featuring works made by contemporary artists in the past few years (Apr. 14-Aug. 11)

Collage and textiles by Suchitra Mattai (Sep. 20-Jan. 12, National Museum of Women in the Arts)