The National Gallery of Art’s “Gallery Nights,” which feature live music and themed activities, have proven very popular. Now the museum is rolling out First Saturdays. Think of the new events as similar to Gallery Nights, but during the day and geared to all ages.
The newest monthly event series will be, you guessed it, the first Saturdays of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The events will be free and will not require registration. Each First Saturday will have pop-ups, art stations, and artist talks. The event kicks off March 4 with a day that will highlight the exhibit “Called to Create: Black Artists of the American South.” Visitors will be able to tour the exhibit with National Gallery of Art educators, and, starting at 11, there will be collage stations for visitors to create art inspired by the exhibit. Movies from the New York International Children’s Film Festival will also be shown beginning at 10:30.
The April 1 event will celebrate the cherry blossoms and be an official part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. There will be a flower collage station, a live violin performance from Peter Shepard Skaerved, and experts on hand to help guests create custom cherry blossom prints.
The final First Saturday of spring will be on May 6. The museum will have drawing stations teaching geometry inspired by the building’s architecture, and will show 32 Sounds, a documentary about how sound shapes our perceptions. Documentarian Sam Green will be there to talk about the film.
Keely recently graduated with her master’s in journalism from American University and has reported on local DC, national politics, and business. She has previously written for The Capitol Forum.
