GW Today’s Fall 2019 Guide to the Arts
The George Washington University will play host this fall to artists, musicians, authors and cultural figures, including Michelle Wolf and Michael Che, José Andrés, Greta Thunberg, Rick Riordan, a multitude of true crime gurus and more.
Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. Michelle Wolf and Michael Che
Charles E. Smith Center
600 22nd St., NW
$8 to $13
The GW Program Board’s second annual Fall Comedy Show features two of standup’s hottest: Late Night with Seth Meyers alumna Michelle Wolf, whose blistering gig at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in 2018 went viral, and Michael Che, co-anchor of Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update and one of the show’s head writers.
Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. Artist Talk: Getting Real in the Cauldron of Creativity
Flagg Building, Hammer Auditorium
500 17th St., NW
Free
Molly Jane Udaya Sturges is a composer and artistic director who works with individuals and communities around the globe to bring about healing and social transformation. In her first artist talk as the William Wilson Corcoran Visiting Professor of Arts and Community Engagement at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, she will reflect on 25 years of working at the radiant and messy crossroads of creativity, spirituality and social healing.
Sept. 10 at 4:30 p.m. Immigration and the Undocumented Food System: An Evening With Dolores Huerta and Chef José Andrés
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
Free
Labor organizer Dolores Huerta will take the stage with chef and activist José Andrés to discuss the complex and contentious issues surrounding immigration and food in the United States. This public lecture is part of Mr. Andrés’ “World on a Plate” course at GW.
Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. It’s Been a Minute Live with Sam Sanders and Malcolm Gladwell
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
$40; Students can register for a free ticket while supplies last
Each week, Sam Sanders engages with journalists, actors, musicians, thought leaders and listeners to gain the kind of understanding about news and popular culture that can only be reached through conversation. On this live episode, Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of “The Tipping Point” and “Blink,” will discuss his new book, “Talking to Strangers.”
Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. Samantha Power: The Education of an Idealist
Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre
800 21st St., NW
$10 to $40
Pulitzer Prize winner Samantha Power is a human rights advocate whom Barack Obama called one of America’s “foremost thinkers on foreign policy.” Her memoir traces her journey from immigrant to war correspondent to presidential cabinet official—all in response to the urgent question “What can one person do?”
Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. Celebration of Textiles: Comfort at Home
The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum
701 21st St., NW
Free
The museum’s 40th annual community festival, held in conjunction with its fall exhibition “Woven Interiors: Furnishing Early Medieval Egypt,” takes a closer look at carpets, curtains, cushions, and other textiles for the home. Watch local artists weave, spin and embroider, enjoy music and dance performances and more at this family-friendly celebration.
Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. Amnesty International Honors Climate Activist Greta Thunberg
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
Free with GW ID; must be claimed in person at Lisner Box Office.
Greta Thunberg is just 16, but her fierce advocacy in the fight against climate change has made her Amnesty International’s 2019 Ambassador of Conscience. Fresh off her transatlantic sail to raise awareness, Ms. Thunberg will take the stage to share her message at this award ceremony.
Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. Politics and Prose & GW Present: Josh Campbell and James Comey
Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre
800 21st St., NW
$15 to $45
Former FBI special agent Josh Campbell and former FBI Director James Comey will discuss Mr. Campbell’s new book, “Hurricane Crossfire: Donald Trump’s War on the FBI.”
Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Politics and Prose and GW present Rick Riordan
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
$27 to $34
A bestselling author of more than 20 novels for young readers, including the blockbuster Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan visits Lisner to discuss his latest, “The Tyrant’s Tomb.”
Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. Politics and Prose and GW present Patti Smith
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
$15 to $40
Musician, writer and poet Patti Smith is a National Book Award winner for her first memoir, “Just Kids,” and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In her latest book, “Year of the Monkey,” she reflects on a nomadic year in which she reckoned with loss, aging and a dramatic shift in America’s political landscape.
Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. Workshop: Motifs, Migrations and Misappropriations
The George Washington Museum & The Textile Museum
701 21st St., NW
Free, registration required
Frau Fiber is an international artist and activist who worked in garment and knitting factories in East Germany until the fall of the Berlin Wall. During her artistic career she has created “soft guerilla actions” aimed at making apparel production transparent. At this workshop, she will explore the cultural appropriation of motifs by migrants fleeing violence in their home countries by teaching attendees to knock off a Syrian tunic using t-shirts.
Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m. “Spectacular Holes in Clouds, Spotted:” Visiting Artist and Scholars Committee Lecture by Lisa Blas
Smith Hall, Room 114
801 22nd St., NW
Free
Working in painting, photography and installation, Lisa Blas creates constellations that speak to recurrent environmental catastrophe and civil unrest. In this lecture, she will discuss her art and the changes in her work trajectory after 9/11.
Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. “I Am Tango” by Tango Lovers
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
$35 to $95
Performed by an ensemble of 24 international performers and musicians, “I Am Tango” traces the artistic evolution of Argentina’s distinctive dance through history.
Oct. 6 at 3 p.m. Mapplethorpe Panel Discussion
Corcoran School of the Arts and Design
Flagg Building, Hammer Auditorium
500 17th St., NW
Free
On June 13, 1989, the Corcoran Gallery of Art bowed to political pressure and canceled an upcoming retrospective, “Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment,” just weeks before it was scheduled to open—a decision that rocked the art world and would have long-term fallout for the gallery. “6.13.89: The Canceling of the Mapplethorpe Exhibition” contains correspondence, notes, official records and ephemera around the retrospective and its closing. Before “6.13.89” closes Oct. 6, this panel will explore arts and censorship and reflect on the effects “The Perfect Moment” had on the museum community and federal funding of the arts.
Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. Exhibition Design Fall 2019 Lecture
Flagg Building, Hammer Auditorium
500 17th St., NW
Free
Art exhibition has a longstanding relationship with domestic space: In a well-curated apartment gallery, for instance, viewers discern between art and everyday objects based on the conditions in which they are displayed. This relationship commingles the informal with the formal, the personal with the public and the intimate with the spectacular. Ivi Diamontopoulou and Jaffer Kolb of design practice New Affiliates will discuss how they navigate this intersection of art and domesticity in their own work.
Oct. 17, 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. Stop/Kiss
Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre
800 21st St., NW
$10 to $20
In New York’s West Village in 1998, two women form a rapid, unexpected bond—but when their first kiss is met with a violent attack, they and those around them are united in ways they could never imagine and can never undo.
Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. Corcoran Costume Ball
Flagg Building Atrium
500 17th St., NW
Free
Current students, faculty and alumni of the Corcoran and GW are invited to fall’s most glamorous masquerade, featuring a DJ, live musical performances, theatrical intervention, readings and a dessert bar. Dress may be Halloween gory or Old Hollywood elegant, but admission is by costume only.
Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 3 at 3 p.m. Waking the Oracle: A Project of Firerock
Location TBA
A “family-friendly immersive ecological/social justice/mystical rave-ish event incorporating music, digital design, costumes, storytelling and dance, founded on sonic soils incorporating composed music (recorded and live), field biology recordings, spoken word, story and poetry,” this event will be the central creative piece of William Wilson Corcoran Visiting Professor Molly Sturges’ class this semester.
Nov. 8 to 10 Death Becomes Us: A True Crime Festival
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
Prices vary
Crime buffs are in luck: Brightest Young Things’ true crime festival is back for a second year, featuring screenings, meetups, live podcast recordings and appearances by—among others—Amanda Knox and the stars of Buzzfeed Unsolved.
Opening Nov. 14 Inter | Sectionality: Diaspora Art from the Creole City
Corcoran School of the Arts and Design
Flagg Building
500 17th St. NW
Free
This bold, multidisciplinary exhibition features artists from the Caribbean diaspora in Miami, with creations ranging from traditional photography and sculpture to glow-in-the-dark sand and giant balloons.
Nov. 14 to 16 Fall Dance Concert
Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre
800 21st St., NW
$10 to $20
Student choreographers from the Program of Theatre and Dance join visiting professional artists onstage in this kinetic annual favorite.
Closing Dec. 15 Fast Fashion/Slow Art
Corcoran School of the Arts and Design
Flagg Building
500 17th St., NW
Free
What makes fast, cheap fashion so appealing? And what are its hidden costs? “Fast Fashion/Slow Art” is an exhibition of film and video art by contemporary artists scrutinizing the global garment industry, from its effect on textile workers to the toll it takes on the environment.
Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. GW Bands: New Beginnings
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
$10 to $20
This end-of-semester concert will be the debut of GW’s new band director, Michael Schmitz, and will include traditional wind band music, contemporary works, transcriptions of pieces originally written for other ensembles and blues-inspired works.
Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. GW Orchestra and University Singers Fall Concert
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
$10 to $20
Join the GW Orchestra and the GW University Singers for a joint concert with classical and contemporary repertoire.