ART EXHIBITIONS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. this fall
October 6, 2025
The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art
October 18 – March 1, 2026 at the National Gallery of Art
The dazzling visual art of Indigenous Australia in this exhibit, representing more than 250 distinct nations, features over 200 works by more than 130 artists, including trailblazing pieces from Emily Kam Kngwarray, Gulumbu Yunupiŋu (known as "Star Lady”), Brook Andrew, Destiny Deacon and Betty Muffler.
Basquiat X Banksy
Through October 26 at the Hirshhorn Gallery
Placed in dialogue, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump (1982) and Banksy’s response, Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search (2018), reveal throughlines among street
art, contemporary art, and the popular imagination.
OrnaBen-Ami: Displacement and memory
Through December 5 at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
Orna Ben-Ami’s artwork sheds light on the suffering of the displaced. Through iron welded sculptures, she expresses the longing for home and for people who have passed.
Unbound: Narrative Art of the Plains
Through January 2027 at The National Museum of the American Indian
Celebrating the full expression of narrative art among Native nations of the Great Plains, including historical hides, muslins, and ledger books with more than 50 diverse, contemporary works commissioned by the museum.
Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe
Through January 2027 at The National Museum of the American Indian
This first major retrospective of the acclaimed Hoocąk (Ho-Chunk) artist features Truman Lowe’s elegant, minimalist sculptures made of willow branches, feathers and other organic materials representing rivers, streams and waterfalls, as well as his sensitively rendered pastel and charcoal drawings reflecting cultural traditions, memory, and human relationships to place.
Corazón y vida: Lowrider Culture
Through October 2, 2026 at the National Museum of American History
Rooted in Mexican-American and Chicano culture, lowriders are customized cars that sit low to the ground and feature elaborate paint jobs with hydraulics for bouncing. The exhibition will immerse visitors in the rich 80-year history of lowriding and community building through photographs, posters, a pinstripe tool kit, car club clothing, trophies and more.
Rik Freeman: Wade in the Waters
Through February 19, 2026 at Phillips @ THE ARC, an extension of The Phillips
Collection offering arts and wellness programs to the Southeast D.C. community. Pioneering DC artist Rik Freeman has been creating paintings and murals that focus on the African diaspora for over three decades. This exhibit explores waterways – from the beaches of Bahia to the Anacostia River – and how they connect to the African diaspora
over generations.
Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond
Through November 30 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Installed in a gallery overlooking G Street, NW in D.C.’s historic Chinatown neighborhood, this exhibition provides glimpses into the complexity and depth of Asian American connections to the city. The featured stories highlight examples of cultural production that interpret elements of Chinese, Korean, and Javanese heritage or express coalitional Asian American and BIPOC identities.
Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985
Through January 4, 2026 at the National Gallery of Art
A monumental tribute to the work of Black artists from around the world spanning four decades and featuring 150 pieces by more than 100 artists, including Gordon Parks, Carrie Mae Weems, Frank Stewart, Billy Abernathy, David C. Driskell, Lorna Simpson and more.
Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600-1750
Through January 11, 2026 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Paintings, lace, prints, paper cuttings, embroidery and sculpture by Dutch and Flemish women artists deepen understanding of the period Dutch and Flemish visual culture.
Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection
Through February 15, 2026 at The Phillips Collection
Presenting well-known and understudied artists, this exhibit examines the complexity of American art as the country turns 250 years old. Visitors can experience how artists have depicted landscapes, cultures, stories and people from the early 20th century to the present.
Tawny Chatmon: Sanctuaries of Truth, Dissolution of Lies
Through March 8, 2026 at The National Museum of Women and the Arts
The photography-based work of Tawny Chatmon receives a glorious tribute in this exhibition will which debuts pieces from Chatmon’s latest series incorporating audio narrative, embroidery, film and assemblage.
John Akomfrah: Five Murmurations
Ongoing at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
A visual essay of our time, this film explores London-based, Ghanaian-born artist John Akomfrah’s response to the global pandemic, murder of George Floyd, and worldwide protests in support of Black Lives Matter. The film is accompanied by a soundscape integrating haunting music with the calls of protestors, police recordings, and the final words of George Floyd.
The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today
Through August 30, 2026 at the National Portrait Gallery
This juried selection of 35 portraits draws from more than 3,300 entries, and includes artist contributions from 14 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Isaac Julien: Lessons of the Hour – Frederick Douglass
Through December 6, 2026 at the National Portrait Gallery
Sir Isaac Julien’s moving image installation blends period reenactments across five screens that reflect the life, accomplishments, activism and brilliance of Frederick Douglass (1818-1895).
Forces for Change: Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women’s Activism
Ongoing at the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Exploring the powerful societal impact of local hero, educator and reformer Mary McLeod Bethune, this exhibit focuses on Bethune’s impactful work with the National Council of Negro Women as well as the contributions of other women who have fought for social change.
Ruffled Feathers: Creating Whistler’s Peacock Room
Through January 2027 at the National Museum of Asian Art
Created by artist James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) for the London home of British businessman Frederick Leyland, the room has a dramatic and complex origin story that works in the Freer Gallery of Art collection help reveal. Situated next to the Peacock Room, Ruffled Feathers offers visitors a chance to explore this room’s tangled history and the personal and global forces that shaped it through paintings, works on paper, and decorative art.
Glen Kaino: Bridge
Ongoing at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
This jaw-dropping aerial sculpture is comprised of 200 golden arms hanging from the ceiling of the Smithsonian’s Luce Foundation Center. Each piece is a casting of the outstretched right arm of Tommie Smith, the American winner of the men’s 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. During the medal ceremony, Smith bowed his head and raised his Black-gloved fist in an act of protest. Decades later, Glen Kaino collaborated with Smith on this grand installation of a statement.
State Fairs: Growing American Craft
Through September 7, 2026 at the Renwick Gallery
This is the first exhibition to survey American state fairs’ unconventional crafts from the 19th century to the present. Personal stories and regional traditions are reflected in more than 240 artworks.