Featured Events in Washington D.C. in February 2026 (August Updated)

See three awe-inspiring sculptures by an American artist who transforms tires to explore environmental concerns. For over four decades, Chakaia Booker has cut, coiled, and contorted tires, sculpting the industrial waste into spectacular abstract forms. Booker uses discarded tires both as a commentary on cultural histories and experiences and as a sustainable practice. Salvaging the tires avoids their disposal into landfills, where they trap and emit methane gas. Her works encourage us to consider the history of the material of tires as well as the effect rubber can have on our future. Three monumental wall relief sculptures—Acid Rain (2001), Echoes in Black (Industrial Cicatrization) (1996), and It’s So Hard to Be Green (2000)—are presented. Each sculpture spans 20 to 21 feet wide and features a mass of curled bands of tire rubber, some interspersed with spiky shards, coiled strips, and loops made from inner tubes. Booker’s six-part photogravure series Foundling Warrior Quest (II 21C) (2010) showcases the artist as a mythical being foraging in a harsh, industrial landscape.

Art history isn’t linear. Artists mix and remix references, finding inspiration across time. When contemporary artist Rozeal. began painting afro.died, T. in 2011 in her studio just outside Washington, DC, she didn’t have Titian’s Venus with a Mirror in mind. Paul Cezanne wasn’t thinking about Titian’s Ranuccio Farnese when he painted Boy in a Red Waistcoat in 19th-century France. Yet these works share striking visual similarities with Titian’s 16th-century paintings. Back and Forth illuminates unexpected connections between these four works and invites us to see them in new ways.

A diverse selection of watercolors dating from 1800 to 1991 will reflect the medium’s journey from practical use to recognized fine art in America. Spanning two centuries and diverse artistic styles, this installation will be organized into four groupings: sights associated with the Washington, DC, area; the rivers, waterfalls, and ocean views of New England; Western views of Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the California coast; and studies of plants and the natural world.

Mark your calendar for this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of modern and contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and design.This eye-opening exhibition introduces North American audiences to the diverse and distinct visual iconographies of Indigenous Australia, which is made up of more than 250 distinct Indigenous nations. Explore this rich and living history of creativity through over 200 works made by more than 130 artists. Drawn exclusively from the collection of Melbourne’sNational Gallery of Victoria ( https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ ),The Stars We Do Not Seeoffers a rare opportunity to experience some of the most significant examples of modern and contemporary Australian Indigenous art. Charting watershed moments in Indigenous art from the late 19th century to the present, this exhibition reveals a rich history of creativity that predates the arrival of the British.See the work of trailblazing painters including Anmatyerr superstar Emily Kam Kngwarray and Senior Yolŋu artist Gulumbu Yunupiŋu (after who the exhibition is titled) along with contemporary innovators Brook Andrew, Destiny Deacon, and Betty Muffler. Witness Australian Indigenous art in all its forms, from ochre bark paintings and experimental weavings to immersive sound and video art and powerful photographs.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of Mary Cassatt’s death in 1926, this installation of some 40 paintings, prints, and drawings will celebrate this renowned American impressionist and her pioneering work.