Roll up, roll up! Submit your entries for the sixth annual DCist Exposed Photography Show! more ›

We've heard people say that the quickest way for authorities around the country to legitimize the Occupy Wall Street-related protest is to evict them from their tent camps. But the Smithsonian looking to curate a collection of signs and other artifacts from the protest probably comes in a close second, doesn't it? more ›

The art buzz this weekend is the opening of the (e)merge art fair, but there are plenty of other options to keep you busy. more ›

The Phillips Collection opens two abstraction exhibits, Irvine Contemporary prepares to pack up and move, and much more in this week's Arts Agenda. more ›

Several of the area's museums ring in the month of April with exhibits highlighting the color green, the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and naval aviation. more ›

>> Get your appetites ready for the Food for Tomorrow Symposium at the National Museum of American History. The Symposium weekend features a preview of the upcoming documentary Truck Farm!, academic discussions on the future of food, a food truck muster and a tasting of wines from innovative East Coast vineyards. November 5-6. The full list of events and times can be found here. more ›

>> During her service as ambassador to the United Nations, and then as secretary of state, Madeleine Albright came to understand how powerful a symbol an item of jewelry could be, and chose pins to reflect her diplomatic mission, reinforce her negotiating position, or express her pride of country and office. At the Smithsonian Castle view a selection of these pins in Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection. Opening June 18. more ›

Spring is coming. It's true. The calendar foretells it. That and the various festivals starting this month. more ›

>> This Saturday, the National Museum of American History celebrates Black History Month with a Family Day Celebration. Activities include book signings, sit-ins, a musical program and a genealogy project. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. more ›

>> It's been over 30 years since Elvis died, yet many still hold a torch for his hunk-a, hunk-a burning love. The National Portrait Gallery celebrates the 75th anniversary of Presley's birth with One Life: Echoes of Elvis. The exhibit showcases a myriad of images of Elvis by artists like Andy Warhol, Ralph Wolfe Cowan and Red Grooms. The King is in the building starting Jan. 8. more ›

>> Directions: John Gerrard opens this Thursday at the Hirshhorn. In this exhibit, see Gerrard's farm-scapes and oil fields that raise questions regarding man's use and abuse of the environment. more ›

Once out of college, most of us find it rare to receive care packages. Remember having your day brightened after treking down to mail services to retrieve a package, tearing it open with anticipation of what might be inside? But gone are the days of mystery boxes packed with love and much needed supplies from mom. more ›

>> Part art exhibit, part scavenger hunt, Flashpoint Gallery opens Andrew Wodzianski: House. On Thursday, see Wodzianski's paintings of imagery from the 1959 horror film House on Haunted Hill and enter a scavenger hunt for a chance to win a painting from the gallery. 6 to 8 p.m. more ›

>> In a celebration of craft and art, the DAR Museum showcases Wedgwood china and ceramics. Over 200 pieces of work from the 250 years of the Wedgwood company are on display in Wedgwood: 250 Years of Innovation and Artistry. Opened October 3. more ›

>> In 2008, for the first time in human history, more people lived in cities than in rural areas. One-third of these urban dwellers—more than one billion people—resided in slums. The National Building Museum opens a multimedia exhibit titled The Places we Live, which documents the homes of 20 different families in four slums around the world. Opening September 15. more ›

>> The Hirshhorn brings us two interesting and sure to be popular events this July. For the beginning of the month, learn what a curator and a critic thought of the Venice Biennale at In Conversation: Kristen Hileman and Blake Gopnik on Art in the Present. July 9, 7 p.m. At the end of the month, Hirshhorn After Hours returns Friday July 24, 8 p.m. with The Nighthawks. Tickets will only be sold in advance, so get yours now. more ›

>> The National Museum of African Art opened Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and its Diasporas on Wednesday. The exhibition explores the visual cultures and histories of Mami Wata, examining the world of water deities and their seductive powers. On view now through July 26, 2009. more ›

This month the area's museums are chock full of celebrations, openings, anniversaries and festivals. Enough to keep your dance card filled and your brain active. more ›

Remember the Unabomber and that itty-bitty shack he holed himself up in? Well, they're in the news again. more ›

Though it’s a slow time for D.C. museums right now, with many exhibits seeing their final days and new ones opening in February, it’s still possible to see some new art, and art that’s here to stay — the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has filled its lower galleries with Currents: Recent Acquisitions, pieces that have been acquired by the museum since 2004. more ›

Every now and then, D.C.’s government inserts itself into the lives of ordinary citizens just out for a little nip with their lunch. more ›

FRIDAY: >> January at 9:30 Club tends to be a no man's land of lots of dark nights with the occassional local line-up thrown in for good measure. So we think it's great that Taint, DC9's weekly queer dance night for electro-indie goodness, and Black Cat's popular Bliss have ganged up to create INFAMY, a late-night dance fiesta featuring DJ Will Eastman and New York's DJ Bill Coleman, with special guest Daisy Spurs. Doors open... more ›

In light of this momentous weekend in movie history, we here at DCist would like to take a brief look back at some of the seminal events in moving pictures. Ever since the dawn of the 20th century, the transmission of images on celluloid has captivated people around the world. Silent films, such as Georges Melies' Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon), Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin and Charlie Chaplin's varied oeuvre pioneered many of the elements that are integral to today's big budget extravaganzas -- special effects, tracking shots, jump cuts, and more. With the advent of talking films, both directors and politicians began to see films' value as a tool of propaganda. As World War II dawned, Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will portrayed Adolf Hitler and the German troops in a positive light, while across the ocean, American filmmakers struck back with their own allegory of the struggle between good and evil, the 1942 classic film, Star Wars. more ›

Friday >>Summer Fridays are meant for free beer, long strolls and casual socializing. Which is exactly why they started the Bethesda Art Walk. We recommend catching the opening reception of the Fraser Gallery's Summer Group Exhibit. Six artists have displayed their new work in photography and painting. The oil on metal paintings by Michael Fitts look like a rougher versions of light, breezy subjects, while Lee Goodwin's gelatin silver prints of black and white landscapes... more ›

FRIDAY: >> Mike Doughty's band, which we assume will in fact include Mike Doughty, are taking the 9:30 Club stage tonight for a show that as of this writing is still not sold out. If you people need a reason to go above and beyond his music, allow us to present into evidence Exhibit A and Exhibit B. Oh, and Exhibit C: DCist's awesome interview with him back in September. With Kevin Devine, 8 p.m.,... more ›