Few movements have defined a region’s identity as clearly as California Modernism. From the 1920s through the 1960s, noted contemporary architects, designers, and developers transformed Los Angeles into a showcase of modern living. Using glass, steel, and concrete, they created homes that embodied clarity, openness, and light. Art historian Jennie Hirsh explores the generation of architectural visionaries who reshaped the modern landscape of design across California and beyond. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a wide range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice.
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
Whether you know how to knit a scarf but not much more, used to knit but now feel rusty, or are confident in your beginning knitting skills but want to make sure you're ready for an intermediate class or project, this workshop is for you.
Tap into the power of uplifting language as you transform meaningful words—quotes, poems, lyrics, mantras, or personal affirmations—into expressive works of art.
By understanding how plants work, you can be more successful at caring for them, since knowledge of basic plant biology can be a valuable tool for indoor gardeners fascinated by plants and their unique characteristics. Virginia Velez Thaxton, a horticulturist with the Interiors Section of Smithsonian Gardens, explores the essential factors plants need from their environment and offers an overview of the physiological processes at play.
Work on your own quilt project(s) in a focused way over 4 weeks with expert guidance. Topics include material selection, design, work planning, construction techniques, and finishing advice.
The Vikings have fascinated people for centuries, but new discoveries have transformed the view of their world. Archaeology and modern scientific techniques have revealed that Vikings were as good at trading as they were at raiding. In a daylong seminar, historian Jennifer Paxton traces how Vikings pioneered in creating an economic empire that reached from the far western Atlantic Ocean to the markets of Constantinople and Baghdad.
