>> The National Gallery opened two new exhibits this past weekend — that makes six new shows in one month! The latest round includes an exhibit of manuscript paintings from the Italian Renaissance period, on loan from the J. Paul Getty Museum in L.A., and a show featuring John James Audubon’s bird-obsessed paintings from his well-known publication, “The Birds of America.” >> Also new on the Mall this week is “Virtue and Entertainment: Chinese Music…

>> Tomorrow the Fraser Gallery in Georgetown closes the exhibit of winners from the 9th Annual Georgetown International Fine Arts Competition – this year selected by Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator of the American University’s Katzen Arts Center’s Galleries. (You can see the list of winners on their Web site.) Then, on Thursday, a new exhibit of work by tape-obsessed Mark Jenkins opens. DCist can’t wait to see the full-sized cast of a 1995…

— The Hirshhorn has kicked off its 30th anniversary with the opening of “Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance 1972–1985,” a major survey of the artist’s work, in which “art becomes the sheer, absurd impulse to impose your presence — which can include a female presence — on the world.” (Read more of Blake Gopnik’s review in the Post. Mendieta’s sculpture of black ritual candles will be lit again this Friday from 12-5 p.m….