First Friday Dupont: Art Walk

The Church of Scientology, National Affairs Office is hosting a special exhibition for Black History Month by the Youth for Human Rights DC Chapter and Art Impact International. The show features seven artists with a variety of styles who will be at the exhibition in person to discuss their art. Bill Jones served in the Air Force as a Visual Artist in the roles of Graphic Designer, Medical Illustrator, and Graphics Instructor, blending creativity with technical precision. Carolyn Goodridge, an encaustic artist whose work has been collected by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, shares an ancient artform with soulful and cosmological wax works painted on greenhouse-grade glass. Sahr Songu Mbriwa is an internationally acclaimed Sierra Leone artist brings hyper-realistic oil paintings featured on CNN. Whitley brings surrealist paintings based on her dreams, visions and imagination – a chronicle of her life’s journey. And Prelli Williams is a prominent multidisciplinary visual artist, arts educator, and community advocate.  The National Affairs Office is located at 1701 20^th Street, NW.

The Embassy of Portugal is opening, “Unknown Unknowns” by Inês Tique, who will be present at her show. Unknown Unknowns reflects on a constant subject in our lives. It’s a voyage into our nature of explorers and fearless humans. Accessing places and establishing relations that we don’t even know we don’t know. Bringing our senses and instincts alive. Polarity and gravity, movement and rhythm, union and balance, chaos and order, transcendence and infinite. Tique created a new environment where everything comes together.  The Embassy of Portugal’s art gallery is located at 2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW.

IA&A at Hillyer presents three new solo exhibitions. Hillyer’s featured artists are Jude Griebel, “Revenants,” Teddy Osei, “Duality,” and Paula Mans, “Cotton Flower.” Hillyer is free to the public with a suggested donation of $10. Located at 9 Hillyer Court, NW (behind The Phillips Collection), it is Dupont Circle’s largest art gallery. To learn more, visit www.athillyer.org.

Join us at the Korean Cultural Center for a special “Work in Progress” by Julia Chon as she transforms the center’s backyard with a vibrant mural celebrating Korean culture, identity, and the Lunar New Year! Spot the scene as Chon transforms the garden back to life with rich natural elements inspired by the bamboo garden, traditional Korean games, and a strong sense of community, creating an engaging and festive visual experience.  Plus, don’t miss the final month of “Us Within the World: TalkTalk,” an exhibition showcasing outstanding media entries from the annual global contest. To learn more, visit www.washingtondc.korean-culture.org/ko.The Korean Cultural Center is located at 2370 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

The MEI Art Gallery presents “Maximal Miniatures,” which showcases 13 leading contemporary Iranian artists who draw from the classical genre of Persian miniature painting to create new interpretations of this rich visual tradition in color, scale, and form. Curated by Donna Honarpisheh, associate curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, the exhibition references Persian history, poetry, and stories from the “Book of Kings” (Shahnameh) to explore questions of identity, gender, diaspora, and the mythologies that form past and present lives. The MEI Art Gallery is located at 1763 N Street, NW.

Join us at the Museum of the Palestinian People for “Art as Resistance: Testimonies of Sumud”(Steadfastness), an evocative exhibition featuring the powerful linocut works of Mohammad Sabaaneh. This collection includes pieces from his 2017 series “White and Black,” along with new works created in response to the ongoing crisis in occupied Palestine. Sabaaneh’s art doesn’t just depict daily life – it is a testament to the resilience and humanity of the Palestinian people in the face of adversity. His vivid imagery challenges the world to confront the realities of injustice while highlighting the indomitable spirit of those who resist.

Through sumud – the concept of steadfastness – Sabaaneh’s work embodies the Palestinian struggle for justice, dignity, and freedom. This exhibition invites you to witness art that resists, endures, and amplifies voices of hope amidst overwhelming challenges. The Museum of the Palestinian People is located at 1900 18th Street, NW.

Q Street Fine Art will be open First Friday February 7 and welcomes visitors from 6:00 until 8:00 to visit and enjoy fine art. This time, Q Street Fine Art will feature new works by Rafael Gallardo. Q Street Fine Art is located at 1 Saint Matthew’s Court, behind Saint Matthew’s cathedral.

Studio Gallery presents the surreal world of Wayne Paige in his solo exhibition, “Wild,” which is inspired by Animal Kingdom, a pet store a short walk from where he lived as a child in the Logan Square section of Chicago. In the Lower Gallery, Studio Gallery will be showing “Reclamation,” a group show curated by Helen Frederick. This exhibition delves into the intersection of protest, personal transformation, and the profound need to reclaim spaces of failure as places of security, healing, and empowerment. It is a collective reimagining of how safety and identity are not stagnant, but continuously negotiated, resisted, and reclaimed in the face of external forces. Studio Gallery is located at 2108 R Street NW.

The Ven at Embassy Row art gallery will be open a new show, “Dialogues of the Diaspora.”  The show is the work of women representing eight countries around the world.  These multi-racial, multi-ethnic women speak across generations, ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s.  Dialogues of the Diaspora takes place during Black History Month and Women’s History Month, offering a perspective into the experiences of the artists through their paintbrushes and canvases. The Ven art gallery is located down the staircase just past the front desk. The Ven at Embassy Row is located at 2015 Massachusetts Ave NW.

The Washington Center of ADA Art Gallery, an extension of ADA University’s Art Program, welcomes its Winter 2025 exhibition, “Meditations” by Steven Kleinrock. “Meditations” delves into the memory and poetry of place through abstract color field paintings and printmaking. Inspired by plein air observation, the work uses landscapes to explore color, light, and texture. Beeswax enhances the tactile experience, while processes like collage and traditional printmaking invite spontaneity and layered expression, capturing the essence of natural spaces like the Shenandoah Mountains and the American Southwest. You can find the Washington Center of the ADA Art Gallery at 1627 21st Street, NW on Gallery Row.

Join the Washington Studio School’s gallery for their upcoming opening of “Hawaiian Landscapes,” an exhibition showcasing the work of Hawaii-based photographer Vincent Bercasio. Through his evocative photographs and haunting compositions, Bercasio explores themes of alienation from both community and the Āina (land) caused by rapid urbanization, while also expressing a profound desire to reconnect and rebuild these bonds. Washington Studio School is located at 2129 S Street, NW.

The Women’s National Democratic Club Arts and Museum Affairs Committee is delighted to present “After the Garden Is Gone,” an exhibition of Jack Rasmussen’s exquisite collages of birds and fish. These intricate and painstakingly designed works of art are visually appealing while bringing home our collective destruction of these and other beautiful animals.  Rasmussen writes that he uses “scientific illustration and science classroom posters, taking them apart and remaking them in ways that better correspond to what I understand is happening to the world.” A cash bar will be available. The Woman’s National Democratic Club is located at 1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW.