The Arts Council of the National United Methodist Church Presents
Pigments of the Imagination Paintings by Maria-Victoria Checa
Exhibition Opening and Reception Sunday, May 19, 2024
12:30 pm - 2:30 pm In the Great Hall Metropolitan Memorial Campus
3401 Nebraska Ave NW Washington, DC 20016
Free Admission
Exhibition dates: May 19 - June 26, 2024
Gallery visits arranged by appointment | 202 - 363 - 4900
The Arts Council of NUMC
and North Bethesda Camera Club
Present
An Exhibition of Photography
Friendship: The Ties That Bind
Exhibition dates: May 7 - July 15, 2023
Exhibition hours: Monday-Friday
Please call 202-363-4900 for entry during the week.
NUMC ARTS COUNCIL PRESENTS
THE COLOR OF LI GHT: WATERCOLORS BY
SUSAN O'NEILL
OPENING AND RECEPTION
SUNDAY, MARCH 26 AT 3 PM
METROPOLITAN MEMORIAL GREAT HALL
Sunday, Feb. 5th NUMC Arts Council Presents:
Piano Recital in Memory of Carol Griffith
FEATURING Carlos César Rodríguez, Pianist
3 to 4:30 pm in the Metropolitan Memorial Sanctuary
“Breadless Circus”, by artist Nami Oshiro
4:30 to 5:30 pm in the Great Hall at Metropolitan Memorial
Life Pieces to Masterpieces
Exhibit Opening
Sunday, June 12
from 3:00pm - 5:30pm
“My Brother’s Journey” is the artistic result involving boys from the city’s most marginalized communities channeling life experiences through painted canvas sewn into collages.
In partnership with the DC-based arts organization LIFE PIECES TO MASTERPIECES, the Arts Council of the National United Methodist Church announces its first in-person exhibit since January 2020. “My Brother’s Journey” spotlights the work of young boys and older youth serving as their mentors. All work together to paint, cut, and sew canvas, while writing an accompanying story or poem. Each artwork serves as a metaphor for sewing their "life pieces" into "masterpieces." The group’s work has been shown previously at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the DC Mayor’s office, and at the Kennedy Center.
The exhibit will remain available until July 18. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9-5, and Sunday 9 to 12:30. Call 202.363.4900 for entry to the Great Hall of the church during the week, except for July 4. Masking is optional. Free admission and plentiful parking at National United Methodist Church, 3401 Nebraska Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016
The Arts Council presents the Borisevich Duo, featuring pianist Margarita Loukachkina and violinist Nikita Borisevich, an internationally acclaimed violin and piano duet, at the Metropolitan Memorial Campus of the National United Methodist Church, at 3 pm on May 22nd, 2022.
Mr. Borisevich and Ms. Loukachkina are winners of numerous international music competitions and have collectively performed on world-renown stages such as The Kennedy Center (Washington, DC), Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory (Moscow, Russia), Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Maryland), and Manuel de Falla Auditorium (Granada, Spain), among others.
The Borisevich Duo was a recipient of the inaugural Young Artist Development Series Award at The El Paso Pro Musica Festival in collaboration with Peabody Conservatory and has since then been invited to do a residency at El Paso Pro Musica Festival and Sitka Summer Music Festival by Grammy-Award-winning cellist, Zuill Bailey. In the 2018-2019 concert season Nikita and Margarita made a debut at the Venetian Arts Society in Florida, and the Chamber Music Society of Maryland, and gave performances in Metz, France, and Luxembourg.
Last season the Borisevich Duo has made a debut at the Alden Theatre in McLean (VA), the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (NY), the Gualala Chamber Music Society in Gualala (CA), the Tuesday Concert Series in Washington, DC and the Evensong Concert Series in Silver Spring (MD). In 2020 The Borisevich Duo was named a winner of the Beverly Hills National Auditions and will perform a series of concerts in Southern California in the 2022 concert season.
Also this season the duo will be releasing their debut CD, which will feature a piece by award-winning American composer, Zach Gulaboff-Davis which the duo premiered last season among other works.
Missed the Arts Council Concert? Watch the complete livestream here:
Arts Council
Supporting art in service of the sacred for the National UMC community
Draw the Circle Wide: A National UMC Community Art Show
A virtual celebration of the creative spirit, Draw the Circle Wide: A National UMC Community Art Show, goes live on Jan. 30 at 3 p.m., at nationalchurch.org/arts. Showcasing the artistic talents of National United Methodist Church members, friends and family, the online exhibition features art in a variety of forms, including watercolor and acrylic painting, photography, needlepoint, knitting and kiln-formed glass work. The exhibition, which will be available online for six weeks, is sponsored by the Arts Council of National United Methodist Church
Close to Home: The National UMC Biennial Creche Exhibit
Join us for a beloved Christmas tradition at National United Methodist church as we present our biennial creche exhibit, this year as a virtual exhibit. Opening on 3pm Sunday, November 28th, the exhibit will remain open for all to enjoy through the end of the Christmas season. Nationalchurch.org/art and on our facebook page.
Art Exhibit: Opens October 17th at 3pm
The Creative Process: Catherine Kapikian and The Last Supper
Back in 2017, local installation artist Catherine Kapikian had some ideas about how to improve an unsightly 42-foot soffit in the refectory at Wesley Theological Seminary on Massachusetts Ave. in northwest D.C. Kapikian, who is responsible for the beautiful reredos in the sanctuary of National United Methodist Church, 3401 Nebraska Ave, NW, spent the next four years thinking about, designing and overseeing the creation and installation of a joyous and light-filled reimagination of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” in that space.
On Sunday Oct. 17 at 3 p.m., Metropolitan’s Arts Council will debut an online presentation about this unique art installation, including a video interview with Kapikian and photographs that map the creative process from sketches to completion.
ARTIST BIO
Catherine Kapikian has created permanent works and temporary installations in churches, military chapels, ecumenical hospital spaces and synagogues as well as sacred spaces in secular contexts for five decades. She is founder and director emerita of the ground-breaking Henry Luce Center for the Arts and Religion at Wesley Theological Seminary. Among other honors, Kapikian was the first non-Australian artist invited by the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACC&C) to create a work for its 2017 Stations of the Cross exhibition examining life, faith and meaning in today's world. Examples of Kapikian's work can be seen on her website: catherinekapikian.com.
Craig Gildner Trio
LIVE ON THE PATIO, JULY 25TH
Art Exhibit
Meditation in Glass: A Virtual Exhibit
Experience the art of glass – virtually
See an online exhibit of artwork by three local glass artists. Margaret Halpin, Merrilee Harrigan, and Katherine Siena display a variety of kiln-formed glass work. Garden stakes, framed work, sculptural forms and more. Site goes live Sunday, July 18 at 3 p.m. Presented by the Arts Council of National United Methodist Church, 3401 Nebraska Ave, N.W., D.C., at nationalchurch.org/art.
Opens virtually on July 18th, 3pm.
To view the exhibit, click on the image. If you don’t see the exhibit, please try refreshing the page.
Art Exhibit
Travel in the Time of COVID-19: ‘Round the World with Alec Chester
Alec Chester, Artist
Opens virtually on May 16th at 3:00pm
To view the exhibit, click on the image to the right or below the artist statement on mobile. If you don’t see the exhibit, please try refreshing the page.
CURATORS STATEMENT
“COLOR” is the word by which Alec Chester characterizes the virtual exhibit of his photographs, opening May 16. And color is one of the major characteristics that I remember from his show over a year ago. Alec did let on that the photographs “are from all over and most you have never seen before.” Even though these images will probably not be in the exhibit, it is hard to forget the vivid orange of the umbrellas and the electric blue of the sea from his “portrait” of a beach in Cinque Terra, Italy, If that is a preview of the whole show then we are in for a visual treat, Alec’s interest in photography started in a serious way about ten years ago. The complex blend of the scientific—f stops, exposure speeds, ISO ratings, etc.—and the artistic possibilities intrigued him. Reworking photographs using computer programs is a hobby of his and an art in itself. Previously Alec thought that his photographs might have conveyed the basic facts but not the emotions of the scene or the personality of the person photographed. By using various programs he attempts to recapture the intensity and immediacy of the moment when he shot the original photo. Alec enjoys taking photos wherever he visits: Italy, Spain, Germany, and Bozeman, Montana, where his daughter and her family live. His photos have been on display at Kristina’s Café and at the Kenwood Art Show.
- Marilu Wood,
Art Exhibition Committee Co-Curators
Artist Bio and Pricing Information
Art Exhibit
Rhythmic Expressions: Travel Paintings
Susan O’Neill, Artist
Opens virtually on March 21st at 3:00pm
To view the exhibit, click on the image to the right or below the artist statement on mobile. If you don’t see the exhibit, please try refreshing the page.
Curators Statement
It is spring! Along with the daffodils that are flowering already, you can be sure that the Arts Council has a wonderful watercolor show for you. Susan O’Neill has produced a lovely selection of works that say “Spring” as certainly as those yellow blossoms in our yards. They may seem to be dashed off in a second but are the result of careful study and planning on Susan’s part. Look carefully and enjoy!
- Carol Schleicher and Marilu Wood,
Art Exhibition Committee Co-Curators
Artist Statement
The dance of light and complexity of rhythms within a landscape or the human figure have always been the spark that inspires my artwork. These inspirations are sometimes seen only in a flash, and then the nature of these impressions translates to paint on paper. Preferring to work from life, I explore the harmony that is present between the subject and the space it occupies to create the illusion of movement, form, and dynamic composition as a whole. I am captivated by the subtle relationships between the rhythm of line, the dance of color, and the fleeting path of light, striving to combine a balance between the uniqueness of my subject and my inspiration. The result is an interpretation that is somewhere between realism and abstraction, a selection of the significant and suppression of the non-essentials in the scene. I find tremendous inspiration from how these elements intertwine and influence one’s perception of art. I intently observe my subject, staying true to the inherent rhythms and structure, but allow spontaneity in my process, celebrating the unexpected delights that occur between the interplay of the watercolor medium and the finish of the paper. The white of the paper is an element of the process that I highly value. The remaining whites of the paper become elements of the scene, not merely leftover shapes, but a positive force, implying the multiplicity of the composition. The white of the paper reinforces the inherent rhythms and atmosphere of the scene. It gives breath and life to the artwork.
Ultimately, through the magic of watercolor and my interpretation of the scene, I hope to convey the passion and excitement experienced in the timeless- ness of nature’s rhythms and magnificence. My goal is to capture a fleeting moment and inspiration in time and how it exists within the essence of the scene. I endeavor to inspire the viewer to experience these moments and inspirations of life, to interpret the artwork on many levels, and to evoke an aesthetic awareness in every subject.
Art Exhibit:
Virtual Travel in the Time of COVID-19
Michael C. Mitchell, Artist
Opens virtually on January 24th at 3:00pm
Artist Statement
In 2014, I began a four-year photography project to capture the beauty of the C&O Canal National Historical Park in all four seasons. In September 2020 to augment the images from this project, I hiked the length of the C&O Canal towpath from Georgetown in the District to Cumberland, MD taking photographs as I walked the towpath. With its 184.5-miles of natural beauty stretching from Georgetown through the series of canal towns to Cumberland, the park offers a wide variety of photography subjects. The historic structures of the Great Falls Tavern, lockhouses and canal locks; wildlife; the Great Falls of the Potomac; and the simple beauty of the canal and towpath provide rich opportunities for photography throughout the year. The constantly changing weather and lighting conditions in the park bring new opportunities to see the elegance of the park on a daily basis. For those of us fortunate to have this historically exquisite park – the 12th most visited park in the national park system – virtually in our backyards, the C&O represents a haven and a sanctuary for photographers and non-photographers alike. I hope that you enjoy the images displayed in this virtual exhibit as much as I enjoyed capturing them. - Michael C. Mitchell
Past Concerts: December 21st, 2020 Arts Council presents the Metropolitan Ringers Christmas Concert