Talk of the town

All eyes are on the US capital, but beyond the politics, there’s a bevy of new openings and anniversaries to celebrate

Washington news (not just the White House)

Regardless of your political persuasion,

2021 looks set to be a celebratory year for the Capital Region, with several major institutions marking milestone anniversaries. Chief among these is the Smithsonian Institution, the city’s multi-museum masterpiece, celebrating its 175th anniversary. The world’s largest museum, education and research complex comprises a whopping 19 museums, nine research facilities and the National Zoo. The forefather of this ‘family of museums’, the United States National Museum, now called the Arts and Industries Building, is gearing up for a new era with FUTURES, an exhibit showcasing prototypes, robots, speculative fiction and new worlds.

If that’s not enough erudition, the DC PUBLIC LIBRARY celebrates its 125th birthday with a roster of events focused around the newly renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Meanwhile, the nation’s first museum of modern art, THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION, home to works by such artists as Matisse, O’Keeffe and Rothko, marks its centenary with a year of celebrations. Further south, on the Potomac waterfront, THE KENNEDY CENTER turns 50 this year, commemorating its namesake president with free daily concerts on Millennium Stage, performances by house acts, the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera, and interactive offerings at The Reach, a ‘living theatre’. capitalregionusa.org si.edu dclibrary.org phillipscollection.org kennedy-center.org SARAH BARRELL