Culture Vulture

A compilation of interesting—and, most important, free—lectures, cultural events, and more throughout the week.

By: Matt Carr

Monday, April 13
Susan Jane Gilman, the bestselling author of Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress, brings her latest memoir, Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, to Politics and Prose at 7. In 1986, inspired by a place mat at the International House of Pancakes, Gilman and a friend embarked on a trip around the globe starting in the People’s Republic of China, which the author says had been open to travelers for “roughly 10 minutes.”

Tuesday, April 14
Washington Wizards guard Deshawn Stevenson will be at ESPN Zone at noon for a Q&A. Stop by for an autograph and photo with Stevenson before the Wizards’ season comes to an end on Wednesday.

Wednesday, April 15
In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, the National Portrait Gallery screens Paris Blues, with Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier, at 7 in the McEvoy Auditorium. The 1961 film, which features an Oscar-nominated score by Duke Ellington, tells the story of two American jazz musicians who live and play in Paris to escape racism.

Thursday, April 16
Doojin Hwang of Doojin Hwang Architects in Seoul discusses his cutting-edge Korean architecture at 7:30 in the Freer Gallery’s Meyer Auditorium. Hwang’s designs are renowned for linking hanok, or traditional Korean housing, with Western and contemporary styles.

Friday, April 17
The Brentano Quartet and pianist Peter Serkin perform the Washington premiere of Wuorinen’s New Piano Quintet at the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium. The concert, which starts at 8, also features music by Beethoven, Haydn, and Schoenberg.

Saturday, April 18
The National Gallery of Art screens A Mixed Bag, an assortment of classic avant-garde films, at 3:30 in its East Building Auditorium. A Mixed Mag includes Straight and Narrow (Beverly and Tony Conrad, 1970), which features sound by John Cale of Velvet Underground fame; The Dream Merchant (Lawrence Jordan, 1965); Notes on the Circus (Jonas Mekas, 1966); Film Number 11: Mirror Animations (Harry Smith, c. 1957); Nine Variations on a Dance Theme (Hilary Harris, 1966); T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G (Paul Sharits, 1968); and Fuses (Carolee Schneemann, 1965–67).

Sunday, April 19
As part of the Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, Georgian pianist Tamara Sanikidze and American soprano Emily Albrink will perform music by Grieg, Poulenc, Berg, and Rachmaninoff at 3 in the American Art Museum’s McEvoy Auditorium.

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