What's On December—In Conversation with Maya Lin, Art Pop, Kinship highlights and more!

 

In Conversation with Maya Lin

Thursday, Dec. 8
5:00–6:00 p.m.
McEvoy Auditorium

Join us for a conversation about artist, architect, and environmentalist Maya Lin with National Portrait Gallery Curator Dorothy Moss. On the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lin will reflect on her life and ongoing work and how her early experiences as a child growing up in rural Ohio shaped her relationship with and commitment to the natural world. Free—Sold out.

 

Join Us in the Galleries!

Writing Workshop Inspired by "I Dream a World"  
Friday, Dec. 9
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.   
G Street Lobby

Imagine if you could speak with Maya Angelou or Septima Poinsette Clark—what would you ask these extraordinary women? In this poetry writing workshop, we will celebrate and honor the lives and work of the African American women featured in “I Dream a World: Selections from Brian Lanker’s Portraits of Remarkable Black Women.” Using guided poetry writing exercises, we will explore, discover, and pay tribute while imagining a new world together. Open to writers of all levels, ages 18+.
Free—Sold out. 

 

Drawing with the Portrait Gallery
Thursday, Dec. 15
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.   
G Street Lobby

In this series of drawing workshops, artist Jill Galloway leads participants through the techniques and challenges of figure drawing. Each session highlights portraits from a Portrait Gallery exhibition and includes instruction, a guided drawing session, and all supplies. Open to artists of all levels, ages 18 +. Space is limited.
Free—Sold out..

 

In Focus: Kinship over the Centuries 
Thursday, Dec. 15
12:30–1:00 p.m.   
G Street Lobby

Join Portrait Gallery Editor Sarah McGavran to explore how kinship has changed—and stayed the same—over the centuries. We will look closely at a historical photograph from “Powerful Partnerships: Civil War-Era Couples” and a contemporary portrait of an artist's spouse from “Kinship.”

 

Curator Tour of "Block by Block: Naming Washington"
Sunday, Dec. 18
3:00–4:00 p.m.   
Second Floor Rotunda,
Outside of Riley Gallery

Take a tour of the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition “Block by Block: Naming Washington" with Leslie Ureña, curator of photographs. Learn how buildings, streets, and parks have been named throughout the history of our nation's capital.

 

Art Pop: Self-Journeying through Portraiture 
Tuesday, Dec. 20
5:00–7:00 p.m.  
Kogod Courtyard

oin the Portrait Gallery for a sip-and-craft pop-up in the museum’s courtyard. Facilitated by artist Khánh H. Lê, this program will encourage both non-artists and creatives alike to find sources of inspiration in art and crafting. Learn about Lê’s portrait of his grandmother in “The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today,” and reflect on your own self-journey by creating a piece that combines images from family albums, magazines, and digital photographs with plastic jewels.* Payment for the program includes two drink tickets for wine, beer and/or a craft drink from the museum’s café. All materials and supplies are included.
Fee: $20—Registration required.

 

Online Program

"Perspectives: The Atlantic’s Writers at the National Portrait Gallery" Teacher Workshop 
Tuesday, Dec. 6
5:00–6:00 p.m.   
Online via Zoom

As educators, how can we encourage our students to connect the past to the present? In this workshop, we’ll consider this question through the lens of past and current writers from The Atlantic. Through portraiture, biography, and interpretation, “Perspectives: The Atlantic’s Writers at the National Portrait Gallery” highlights individuals who have helped shape the nation's trajectory by fighting for abolition, civil rights, and social justice. We’ll examine how contemporary Atlantic writers reflect on the lives and legacies of historical influencers as well as more recent figures.
Free––Registration required.

 

In Dialogue: Smithsonian Objects and Social Justice
Thursday, Dec. 8
5:00–6:00 p.m.   
Online via Zoom

How do ongoing environmental efforts inspire us to engage and act in our communities and beyond? Together with our co-hosts from the National Postal Museum, we will explore this key question in relation to a 1934 stamp from the Federal Duck Stamp Program and a 2019 portrait of marine biologist Julie Packard by artist Hope Gangloff.
Free––Registration required.

 

On View

Walk-in Highlights Tour of the National Portrait Gallery 
Select days
12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.  
F Street Lobby

Walk-In Tours have resumed at the National Portrait Gallery! Join our friendly National Portrait Gallery docents for a Highlights Tour of the museum's permanent collection. Tours will last 60 to 90 minutes, depending on visitor interest.
NOTE: Tours may be canceled at any time without prior notice.
Please check the Portrait Gallery's online calendar for specific days and times.

 

On View

 

Engage with Us Online

"Perspectives: The Atlantic’s Writers at the National Portrait Gallery" is now on view. As part of the reinstallation of the Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection galleries "Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900" and The Atlantic’s 165th anniversary year, the two institutions have come together to highlight a selection of the country’s founding voices in literature, politics, philosophy, and culture with wall texts written by The Atlantic’s writers and editors.
Explore more than a dozen portraits on view at the museum with a self-guided audio tour accessible through each artwork’s QR code or delve further into the project’s full suite of 23 portraits online at npg.si.edu. 

 

What can you do to make a difference?
Our Struggle for Justice, a digital collaboration between the National Portrait Gallery and Capital One, explores activism and social justice through biography. Through Our Struggle for Justice, meet individuals, past and present, from the museum’s collection whose thoughts and actions have made our nation better. Each post features thought-provoking questions to reframe the way we view activism and the causes closest to us. 
Join us on Instagram and Twitter, follow #OurStruggleForJustice for the latest updates, and look out for new posts each Tuesday. Missed a post? Review past posts and engage with educational activities and lesson plans that highlight the campaign's featured sitters in the Our Struggle for Justice Learning Lab. 

 

Not ready to come back quite yet? Enjoy several online adaptations of National Portrait Gallery exhibitions and collection highlights, including "What Does it Mean to be American?" and ""Picturing John Glenn: A Life Dedicated to Science and Service"" through our collaboration with Google Arts & Culture.