A lot of stuff is about to close down come 2012 — here in DC. There are a few things I’d like to see; one, I’ve already been there and done. Andy Warhol’s Headlines National Gallery of Art – until January 2, 2012 This one’s a maybe. It got a lot of good local press [...]
The Emergence and Legacy of African American Basketball Conference November 12 – 13 FREE and open to the public Presented by: Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, DC Basketball Inc., Howard University Department of Health, Human Performance & Leisure Studies, the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and [...]
Washington, DC this weekend was a city of magical realism. We caught a glimpse of a pink dragon going up 14th Street with a merry band of revelers on board. A gaucho on a horse brought traffic to a crawl on my street. I suppose when the going gets tough, the tough think magically. Every [...]
The Historic Charleston City Market has an interesting story as well as an interesting entrance: the Daughters of the Confederacy Museum. Sweet grass basket makers set up their stands right at the entrance. I asked one of the basket makers about the African American history of the market. Apparently, prior to Emancipation, enslaved Africans sold [...]
The annual Smithsonian Institution Folklife Festival starts this week from June 24 – 28; and from July 1 – 4. The festival takes place on the national mall by the Smithsonian castle and Ripley Center. This year’s featured festival programs include: – Mexico – commemorating Mexico’s Independence Bicentenary (1810-2010) and Revolution Centenary (1910-2010) – Asian [...]
If there’s anyone who personifies the “eclectique citizen,” it’s Ruben Blades. Yesterday, my friend Dawn and I arrived 3 hours before he was to give a public interview covering his life as an artist, citizen, and just plain old human being at the Carmichael Auditorium in the National Museum of American History and Culture. The [...]
This is one year I wish I was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. The city’s already pumped about the Saints being in the Super Bowl. And as UndercoverBlackman told me “The city really needs this.” But I’m working Fat Tuesday on another Mardi Gras celebration at Eatonville Restaurant for Food and Folklore. I asked [...]
Anyone who keeps up with the artifact and art market or have seen at least one “Indiana Jones” movie, is familiar with the underground and sophisticated ring of curatorial thieves waiting for an opportunity (natural or man-made) to pounce on valuable artifacts for very wealthy clients. Oh, let me not forget – to feature on [...]
This is the last week of the Man Ray, African Art and the Modernist Lens exhibit at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. If you know DC, you know it’s tough for a native like me to shell out $12 to see an art exhibit with all the free Smithsonians in town. But even with [...]
Seeing red ribbons? Today’s World AIDS Day. Be a Valentine. Wear red. Be aware. Don’t discriminate. No one is immune. http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/ The President’s Address to the Nation on Afghanistan – Live at 8 PM tonight…and even FOX is carrying it. Busboys and Poets is hosting watch events for President Obama’s speech outlining the war strategy [...]
