What's On June—The Outwin 2022, Maren Hassinger Performance, and More! | National Portrait Gallery
"Birthright" by Maren Hassinger
Saturday, June 25, 2:00 p.m.
Great Hall
Postponed since summer 2020, the much-awaited performance piece “Birthright” by New York City-based artist Maren Hassinger will debut at the National Portrait Gallery this summer. A commission of the museum’s IDENTIFY series, “Birthright” (2022) explores the complexity of individual family histories through collective ritual in a live performance based on the artist’s 2005 video work of the same name. At the event, Hassinger will screen her 12-minute video, which documents the artist meeting her uncle for the first time and learning about the paternal branch of her family tree. Hassinger will then invite audience members to share family stories and twist newspaper, a meditative ritual she performs throughout the video.
Free—Registration required
Spotlight Exhibition: The Outwin 2022
The National Portrait Gallery’s triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition celebrates excellence in the art of portraiture. Every three years, artists living and working in the United States are invited by the museum to submit one of their recent portraits to a panel of experts. The selected artworks reflect the compelling and diverse approaches contemporary artists are using to tell the American story through portraiture.
Join Us in the Galleries!
In Celebration of Pride:
A Conversation with
Riva Lehrer and Achy Obejas
Friday, June 17
6:30–8:00 p.m.
McEvoy Auditorium
Join us for a dialogue between artist and educator Riva Lehrer and the subject of her piece in “The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today," Cuban American writer Achy Obejas. Moderated by Taína Caragol, curator of painting, sculpture & Latinx art and history at the National Portrait Gallery, this event will explore themes related to queer identity and disability. Additional topics include Lehrer’s method for creating Obejas's portrait and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Free—Registration required.
Drawn to Figures
Thursday, June 30
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
G Street Lobby
In this drawing workshop, artist Jill Galloway will lead participants through the techniques and challenges of figure drawing while highlighting select portraits from “The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today.” This workshop will include instruction, a guided drawing session, and all supplies. Open to artists of all levels, ages 18 and up. Space is limited.
Fee: $12—Registration required.
Virtual Program
In Dialogue: Smithsonian Objects and Social Justice
Thursday, June 9
5:00 p.m.
Online via Zoom
How have activist groups throughout time used design as a tool for building health equity? Together with our co-hosts from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, we will explore this key question in relationship to ACT UP's George Bush, AIDS Crisisposter and designs from Cooper Hewitt's exhibition Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemicshttps://www.cooperhewitt.org/channel/design-and-healing/?mc_cid=5dcf1c82.... Click or tap if you trust this link.">.
This conversation is a part of a series during which educators from the National Portrait Gallery partner with colleagues from across the Smithsonian to discuss how historical objects from their respective collections speak to today’s social justice issues.
Free—Registration required.
On View
Visit Us at Home
Let's meet up remotely! Join the National Portrait Gallery for a variety of digital offerings, ranging from artist-led drawing workshops and writing workshops to docent-led group tours for adults. All tours and workshops require registration. Reservations for docent-led group tours must be made three weeks in advance of the desired tour date. To receive a tour request form, e-mail NPGAdultTours@si.edu or click here.
Not ready to come back quite yet? Enjoy several online adaptations of National Portrait Gallery exhibitions and collection highlights, including "Russell Means: A Complex Portrait" and "Witness to History: The Old Patent Office Building,"through our collaboration with Google Arts & Culture.
“Birthright” (still, detail) by Maren Hassinger, 2005. Courtesy of Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC. © 2005 Maren Hassinger. Elizah Leonard (detail) by Tom Jones, 2019. Collection of IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM. Museum purchase, 2020. © Tom Jones. Risk Picture: Achy Obejas (detail)by Riva Lehrer, 2020. Lent by the artist and Zolla Lieberman Gallery. Drawn to Figures (detail) by Tony Powell, 2019. © Tony Powell. George Bush "AIDS Crisis" by Gang, published by ACT UP, c.1990–91. Malcolm X (detail) by an unidentified photographer, 1967. Louis Armstrong (detail) by Philippe Halsman, 1966 (printed 1998). Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Gift of Betsy Karel). © Philippe Halsman Archive. Farewell (detail) by George Tames, 1974. Gift of Frances O. Tames. © George Tames/The New York Times/Redux. Anthony Cuts under the Williamsburg Bridge, Morning (detail) by Alison Elizabeth Taylor, 2020. Collection of the artist, © Alison Elizabeth Taylor. Docent Tours at the National Portrait Gallery (detail) by an unidentified photographer. Russell Means (detail)byBob Coronato, 2012. © 2009 Bob Coronato.
All images belong to the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, unless otherwise noted.
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