The Spring Edition of National Gallery Nights is nearly upon us with three unique events planned by the National Gallery of Art (NGA) to give Washingtonians a unique opportunity to mingle and appreciate art, music, pop-up talks, and so much more! National Gallery Nights are incredibly popular and usually come twice per year, once during the spring season and another during the fall season, each time offering a handful of specialty events being held in The East Building of the NGA to provide a unique and memorable experience to Washingtonians, promoting culture, open-mindedness, and appreciation of the arts.
What are National Gallery Nights?
National Gallery Nights is an after-hour program hosted at the NGA that provides an opportunity for Washingtonians to connect and learn to appreciate the arts and cultures being displayed at the National Gallery of Art that they may not take the time to acknowledge otherwise. The events are often once a month during the spring season and again during the fall, so typically there are three National Gallery Nights in each of the two seasons. Each month there is a National Gallery Night the theme of the occasion changes, it may reflect the season, such as cherry blossom season in the spring, or it could relate to a holiday, such as Halloween in the fall, but it could be as simple as what art is exhibit is currently on display; for instance, ‘Color Theory’ this upcoming March is inspired by the NGA’s current Rothko exhibit.
What are the National Gallery Night Events this Spring?
This spring, there are three unique National Gallery Night events:
- Color Theory – Thursday, March 14th, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
- Flowers After Hours – Thursday, April 11th, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
- Art Prom – Thursday, May 9th, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
What is the ‘Color Theory’ event?
The first National Gallery Night of 2024 on Thursday, March 14, is inspired by the incredible colors in the creations of Mark Rothko, an iconic American modern art painter whose artwork is currently on display at the museum. The event will have a series of activities including painting sessions where you can paint your own Rothko-inspired piece, attend a color-themed pop-up talk by Libby Rasmussen (@libbylivingcolorfully), go on a scavenger hunt, and so much more! There is no strict dress code for this event, but the event’s page does encourage you to dress in your favorite colors to reflect that of an iconic Rothko.
What is the ‘Flowers After Hours’ event?
On Thursday, April 11, coinciding with D.C.’s cherry blossom season and the bloom of a majority of the capital’s incredible trees, flowers, and plants around the city, is the second National Gallery Night of the season. This event is all about nature, you’ll be able to create wearable flower art, take images in front of a floral photo wall, and even participate in a blossom-themed scavenger hunt, but that’s not all, there will also be live music and the roof terrace will be open to guests as well!
What is the ‘Art Prom’ event?
Taking place on Thursday, May 9, the third and final National Gallery Night event of the spring season is an ode to the iconic prom, allowing guests to throw on their finest (or funniest) threads for what is meant to be bordering on a satirical version of prom. From DIY prom crown-making activities to live music, and an incredibly classic “prom photo” keepsake to take home after, this may be one of the more creative and fun event themes National Gallery Nights has had in a while!
How to get tickets to National Gallery Night
As a result of the immense demand for tickets to attend each National Gallery Night event, the tickets are distributed via a lottery system which opens the week before the event is scheduled from Monday at 10 am until Thursday at noon. The registration will be open on the specific event page on the National Gallery Nights website.
For this spring’s National Gallery Night events, the registration dates are as follows:
- Color Theory – Registration opens on Monday, March 4th at 10 am and closes on Thursday, March 7th at noon.
- Flowers After Hours – Registration opens on Monday, April 1st at 10 am and closes on Thursday, April 4th at noon.
- Art Prom -Registration opens on Monday, April 29th at 10 am and closes on Thursday, May 2nd at noon.
Following the close of the registration period, those who have been selected from the lottery to move forward with their registration to attend the event will be notified on the Friday the week before the event. If you aren’t selected, fret not, there’s still a chance you could get a ticket; the last additional passes to join the event are available at the East Building entrance on the day of the event starting at 5:30 pm, but be warned it’s first come, first serve, which means show up early or you’ll be likely to miss out.