Opens Thursday: Winter Work by Anice Hoachlander at ArtHub609

Rhythm, light, and shadow: These are the three main motifs featured in fine art photographer Anice Hoachlander’s work. Hoachlander centers a wide variety of natural life and human creation in her art—from the geometry of modern architecture to the way Spanish Moss dances in the warm breeze of the Carolinas. Hoachlander has an eye for the naturally occurring patterns in both organic life and inorganic matter. The mystery beneath the surface of Mother Nature’s beauty allures and enamors Hoachlander, who takes inspiration from the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the natural world around her. For more than 30 years, her work as an architectural photographer in the D.C. area has focused on “macro capture and structural abstraction … in design concepts of the natural and built environment.” Passion drives her work, and it is evident in her art. With Winter Work, a new exhibit at ArtHub609, we get a chance to tee the world through Hoachlander’s eyes. The exhibition opens with an artist talk, light fare, and cocktails. For those looking for incentive to buy, 5 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Washington Architectural Foundation. Winter Work opening night starts at 6 p.m. on Oct. 10 at ArtHub609, 609 H St. NE. arthub609.com. Free. —Meg Richards

Friday Through Sunday: Atlanta Fine Print Art Fair

The Atlanta Fine Print Art Fair, whose second annual event amassed major attention and success this past August, is coming to D.C. The first U.S. print fair to showcase exclusively Black artists, the event pays homage to industry masters—legends in their own rights—while also giving a platform of exposure to new artists. Hosted by Black Art In America and taking place at Eaton Hotel, the three-day event is being put on in collaboration with the 2024 March on Washington Film Festival, which kicked off last Sunday and runs through Sunday. The first stop on the fair’s national tour will feature works by D.C.-area artists such as Percy Martin, Lou Stovall, Ed McCluney, James L. Wells, Sam Gilliam, and David Driskell. Additionally, contemporary print artists newer to the scene, including Jamaal Barber, Traci Mims, and Steve Prince, will be featured. While the prints vary greatly in style, emotion, and inspiration, many pieces carry similar themes, such as cultural commentaries on the African American experience, celebrating community, and most importantly, telling stories. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with artists directly through a scheduled art talk on Saturday at 2 p.m. The D.C. Edition of the Atlanta Fine Print Art Fair runs Oct. 11 through 13 at the Eaton Hotel, 1201 K St. NW. blackartinamerica.com. Free. —Meg Richards

Saturday: DCPL Chess Tournament at MLK Library

The first documented chess tournament was held in London in 1851, but the game’s history stretches back centuries prior. Most historians agree that an early version was developed in India, around the fifth or sixth century. After being filtered through the vibrant cultures of the Medieval Islamic world and Renaissance Europe, the game arrived at the London tournament in a form that would be familiar to Garry Kasparov or the AlphaZero AI. Washington, D.C., has its own thriving chess scene, and last summer, D.C. Public Library associate Dubian Ade decided to bring that scene together for a friendly competition at MLK branch. “I learned that there were chess clubs at the other branch libraries,” Ade tells City Paper. “They were all kind of doing their own thing. And my idea was, why don’t we all come together?” In 2023, 57 competitors took part in the tournament, resulting in big wins for representatives of the Cleveland Park Library, the Benning Road Library, and especially for the Parklands-Turner Library in Congress Heights. This year’s tournament, which is being held at MLK Library on National Chess Day, will feature divisions for beginner, intermediate, and advanced players. Winners from each division will be honored as D.C. Public Library Chess Champions! There will also be tables manned by different chess organizations from throughout the community so attendees and competitors can find all the info they need to get involved in the local chess scene. Whether you’re an eager-eyed beginner or a salty ronin looking to humble last year’s champs, this is your chance to get involved with a community of gamer strategists who uphold a centuries-spanning tradition. The DCPL Chess Tournament starts at 1 p.m. on Oct. 12 at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW. dclibrary.libnet.info. Free. —Will Lennon

Monday: Larry Wilmore at the Birchmere

Next to hosting the Oscars, headlining the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is the most thankless job a stand-up comedian could take on. Larry Wilmore, who headlined the WHCD in 2016 during Barack Obama’s last year as president, forged head on during his 22 minute-long set taking out various news outlets including CNN (“I haven’t watched CNN in a long time. I used to watch it when it was a news network”), MSNBC (“Now stands for Missing a Significant Number of Black Correspondents”) and reporters (“Alleged journalist Don Lemon everybody!” In response, Lemon promptly flipped Wilmore the bird.) “You can’t really please anybody,” Wilmore tells City Paper of the WHCD gig. “If you please the people in the room, you’re probably not going to please the people at home. I did the opposite. I kind of pleased the people at home, but I did not please the people in the room.” But the Correspondents’ dinner is a mere blip in Wilmore’s career. His mile-long IMDB page is a staggering list of writing, acting, and producing credits along with a who’s who of collaborations including co-creating The PJs with Eddie Murphy, Insecure with Issa Rae, and Grown-ish with Kenya Barris. When Quinta Brunson, who appeared on Wilmore’s The Nightly Show, which ran on Comedy Central from 2015-16, won the 2022 Emmy for Best Writing for a Comedy Series for Abbott Elementary, she gave Wilmore a shout out for “teaching me to write television as well as he did.” “It was so emotional,” admits Wilmore, as he mimes someone cartoon crying. “You don’t expect something like that to be emotional.” Now, Wilmore is returning to his stand-up roots, launching his An Evening with Larry Wilmore: Comedy, Magic and ‘Merica tour, which stops at the Birchmere on Oct. 14. But don’t expect any takedowns at this show. “It’s more of a fun magic show with some commentary in it,” says Wilmore, whose magic isn’t the illusion based pull a rabbit out of a hat kind, but more “mind twisting type of stuff.” “I was into magic when I was a kid,” says Wilmore. “So even when I write jokes, I’ve always written them where the punchline is almost like a magic trick—something you didn’t see coming that is like a surprise, but it makes sense too.” An Evening with Larry Wilmore: Comedy, Magic and ‘Merica starts at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 at The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. birchmere.com. $35. —Christina Smart

And a few reminders from our Fall Arts Guide:

Tuesday: We the People of the United States … Establish Justice at Folger

The opening reading of Folger’s O.B. Hardison Poetry Series with Claudia Rankine and  Muse Found in a Colonized Body author Yesenia Montill. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 15 at Folger Library, 201 E Capitol St. SE.

Tuesday: Larry June’s Howard Homecoming Concert at the Howard

Bay Area wordsmith Larry June brings his unrivaled energy and positive attitude to Howard University’s Homecoming festivities. The show starts at 8 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Howard, 620 T St. NW.

Wednesday: NMWA NIGHTS at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

There’s nothing more thrilling to me than an after-hours museum event—they indulge the childhood fantasies  developed from reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, while also serving a speakeasy-esque element of drinking somewhere you’re normally not supposed to. Nobody does this better than NMWA Nights. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. at NMWA, 1250 New York Ave. NW.

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Saturday: Rebellion and Aesthetic Expressions With Phuc Tran and Elizabeth Ai at MLK Library

On Oct. 5, two authors from different corners of the literary world, Phuc Tran, author of Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In, and Elizabeth Ai, author of New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora, sit down with moderator Thuy Dinh to discuss their shared experiences. The core theme of their work is self-preservation as they both navigate what it means to be Asian American in today’s world. Both of their books interrogate the cycle of intergenerational trauma and cultural displacement—while celebrating the Asian American diaspora and experience. But the pair are more than just writers: Ai is a prolific director and producer of several documentaries and films and Tran is a practicing tattoo artist and Latin teacher. Dinh is a critic, author, and editor-at-large for the Vietnamese Diaspora at the Asymptote Journal. A book signing will follow the talk. Rebellion and Aesthetic Expressions book talk starts at noon on Oct. 5 at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW. dclibrary.libnet.info. Free, but registration is suggested. —Meg Richards

Saturday: Meshell Ndegeocello Honors James Baldwin at the Strathmore

 The late novelist, playwright, and essayist James Baldwin was born 100 years ago and died in 1987. This astute observer on race relations, queer issues, and humanity once noted in his writing that his thoughts were exemplified in part by the Black spiritual lyric: “God gave Noah the Rainbow sign/ No more water, the fire next time!” When Baldwin wrote that in 1963, he was spelling out the destructive post-flood fate the United States would face if Americans don’t learn from the country’s past and condemn bigotry and racial segregation. On No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, singer and multi-instrumentalist Meshell Ndegeocello, with the help of her guitarist and co-producer Chris Bruce and a handful of other musicians she often works with, gives us a race and gender history lesson and guidance on love and hate via music and spoken word. (The project also features poet Staceyann Chin and author Hilton Als.) The music is penned by Ndegeocello and her bandmates and half of the compositions feature sung or recited verses that include quoted excerpts from Baldwin. Based in New York for years, Ndegeocello grew up in the D.C. area, briefly playing bass for Rare Essence and others before moving on to her solo career that brought her some ’90s hits and much critical acclaim. This latest album has its roots in a 2016 theatrical effort she created and presented in Harlem called Can I Get a Witness? The Gospel of James Baldwin, which was based on his writings collected in his book The Fire Next Time. While the lyrical messages about the unending inhumane treatment of Black people—from enslavement through to the murder of Tamir Rice—are appalling and painful, Ndegeocello and her vocalists are steadfast in their desire as Chin chants assertively to “Find courage to speak for them.” The clever musical composing uses acoustic and digital instrumentation influenced by multiple eras of Black music to create ethereal jazzy funk. The track “On the Mountain” vocally goes from Als’ spoken word over squawking jazz horns to operatic soul via singer Justin Hicks, while the “The Price of the Ticket” is a ballad with acoustic guitar playing rooted in early 1960s Odetta-style folk with Ndegeocello plaintively asking a cop to put down his gun that is aimed at her. Other songs use Baptist church organ and gorgeous vocal harmonies to convey riveting emotions and to present Baldwin’s personal and timeless themes. Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water / The Gospel of James Baldwin starts at 8 p.m. on Oct. 5 at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Ln., North Bethesda. strathmore.org. $28–$74. —Steve Kiviat   

Ends Soon: Ikxisuluntuk (Swollen Foot), a Live Radio Play at Dandelion Collective DC

Created by Angel Rose Artist Collective, Ikxisuluntuk (Swollen Foot), a bilingual Nawat and English language audio adaptation of Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King, opened last week at Dandelion Collective DC. As someone forced to study Oedipus in high school and college, I found it thrilling to see an adaptation breathe new life into the Greek tragedy. Petrona Xemi Tapepechul, managing director of Angel Rose Artist Collective, has updated Sophocles’ story to focus on Tiutećan, the city of the Gods, as it suffers a terrible (and all too timely) curse: the loss of its ancestral language. A foreigner, Ikxisuluntuk (Swollen Foot), a fluent Nawat speaker, arrives and quickly becomes the King of Tiutećan. A lifelong curse follows Ikxisuluntuk and he’s forced to beg for answers and forgiveness from the city Elders. They send Ikxisuluntuk on a journey of self-discovery, betrayal, and self-doubt. In a press release, Tapepechul says, “Today, there are less than 50 first-language speakers of Nawat alive, making Nawat a critically endangered language as declared by the United Nations.” Tapepechul notes that Oedipus has been translated into dozens of languages, “and now, we have a Nawat-language version … for our communities who are working to revitalize this language for future generations.” The play previously ran this summer at Sitar Arts Center and the Mount Pleasant Library. This time around, this important production is only doing a 12-show run so be sure to catch it before it closes. Ikxisuluntuk (Swollen Foot), the live radio play, runs through Oct. 13 at Dandelion Collective DC, 3417 14th St. NW. angelrosearts.org. $20. —Serena Zets 

Ongoing: Diane Szczepaniak at Gallery Neptune & Brown

Diane Szczepaniak (1956-2019) was a Detroit-born painter who worked as an artist in D.C. since the 1990s. A retrospective of her work at Gallery Neptune & Brown, Meditations on Color and Light, includes a watery landscape limned in creamy oils; a large-scale, Op Art-inspired watercolor featuring cheerily colored, hand-drawn squares that communicate an oddly 3D texture; and patchwork-like assemblages of soft tones. But Szczepaniak’s most impressive works play with subtle gradations of color, created by careful layering of paint. In two works, Szczepaniak lightly spreads white highlights over understated fields of blue, creating unexpectedly radiating patterns. And in nine works that comprise the exhibit’s visual core, she replicates an L-shaped form that suggests the frame of a painting or a window. Within this repeated structure, Szczepaniak pairs tones such as magenta and various shades of blue with a dreamy subtlety that evokes the paintings of Mark Rothko, or, perhaps even more, the out-of-focus photographs of Uta Barth, some of which featured fuzzily portrayed windows into the obscure distance. Meditations on Color and Light runs through Oct. 19 at Gallery Neptune & Brown, 1530 14th St. NW. Wednesdays through Saturdays, noon to 7 p.m. galleryneptunebrown.com. Free. —Louis Jacobson

Ongoing: Power & Light at the National Archives

In 1946, coal occupied a central place in the national consciousness. That year, widespread strikes at coal mines threatened not just an industry but a crucial source of energy for the nation. The Truman Administration negotiated an agreement to end the strikes, which included one provision that’s now the subject of a National Archives exhibition: a 2,000-image survey of the coal-mining industry by Russell Lee (1903-1986), a member of the federal photography corps that documented the Great Depression. The largely forgotten survey, which spanned mines in 13 states, used black-and-white photography to spotlight both the grim working conditions underground and the families’ cramped, newspaper-lined homes, with the goal of publicizing the plight of coal workers. The subjects are notably diverse—many of the people captured on film are Black, some are Asian, and many were brought into the industry in order to keep wages low. The adults project an understandable weariness, but the children remain angelic, even when pushing a baby around in a makeshift stroller made from a discarded box of mine explosives. If images like Lee’s aren’t enough of a gut punch, the exhibit delivers an even bigger one in its final panel: A 1979 follow-up survey found significant material improvements for most mine families, but many who were interviewed voiced frustration that the nation continued to view them as backward and impoverished. Lee’s work from the 1940s “may have inadvertently contributed to this lasting stereotype,” the exhibit acknowledges. Given this, what are we to think about the value of documentary photography? At this point, I have no idea. Power & Light runs through Dec. 7, 2025, at the National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. archivesfoundation.org. Free. —Louis Jacobson

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