Diplomatic Resolutions: A January Jumpstart to International Events

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT 🎉 

We have a special announcement for all of our beloved readers! After much work, we have completed a guide to the cultural centers in the DC area. This handy-dandy resource will tell you where they are, their hours of operation, their cultural mission, and what services they offer. Best of all: it’s FREE! Be sure to check it out through this link. It will also be added to our linktree for a quick reference in future weeks to come.

Looking Ahead!

1. SIS Book Launch: Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action (Wednesday January 17^th, 6PM - 7:30PM) (FREE!)

   • Book Description: Fossil fuel interests maintain a stranglehold on political and economic power. Even though we have seen growing concern from everyday people, civil society has succeeded only in pressuring decision makers to adopt watered-down policies. All the while, the climate crisis worsens. Is there any hope of achieving the systemic change we need?

   • Host Organization: School of International Service (SIS)

2. Third Thursday Event (Thursday, January 18^th, 5PM - 8PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Explore the galleries after-hours and for free with spotlight talks from Phillips Educators.

   • Host Organization: The Phillips Collection

3. In the Heat of the Night Film Screening (Thursday, January 18^th, 7PM - 9PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Sidney Poitier in one of his most iconic roles as a Black police detective from Philadelphia who reluctantly becomes involved in a murder investigation in a small town in Mississippi. Selected for the National Film Registry in 2002. Seating is on a first-come first-serve basis.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

   • Host Organization: Library of Congress (LOC)

4. Apollo 13 (1995) Film Screening (Friday, January 19^th, 7:30PM - 10PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: The extreme challenges involved in space travel present compelling cinema storylines, and one cannot imagine a more harrowing scenario than the near tragic Apollo 13 space mission. Screenings are free and open to the public. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Seating at the screenings is on a first-come, first-served basis unless otherwise noted. 

   • Host Organization: Library of Congress (LOC)

5. Music and Satire: From the Writings of Rabelais Performance (Friday, January 19^th - Sunday, January 21^st, multiple times) ($20 - $45)

   • Description: No subject is off-limits in the exuberant satire of Renaissance writer, François Rabelais (1494-1553). Joined onstage by television and radio host, Robert Aubry Davis, Folger Consort performs the brilliantly layered music of the composers Rabelais mentions in his writings – such as Josquin des Pres, Loyset Compère, and Pierre Sandrin – along with the irresistibly tuneful French dance music of the times.

   • Host Organization: Folger Shakespeare Library

6. Africa Descent & Diaspora Networking Connection (Saturday, January 20^th, 5PM - 8PM) ($0 - $28.52)

   • Description: Join us for another exciting event that celebrates the rich heritage of Africa and its diaspora! The Africa Descent & Diaspora Networking Connection is a one-of-a-kind gathering where you can connect with like-minded individuals, share experiences, and build valuable relationships.

   • Host Organization: LoomFit

7. Global Sounds on the Hill Performance (Sunday, January 21^st, 4:30PM - 6PM) ($20+)

   • Description: Boston-based fiddle player and songwriter Maura Shawn Scanlin is gaining notoriety among the Celtic and Acoustic music scenes across the country. Her playing, hailed for its inventiveness, fluidity, and tone, brings together influences from Ireland, Scotland, and the American South, where she grew up.

   • Host Organization: Hill Center DC

International Events List (January 8^th - January 14^th )

Check out the following international embassy and cultural events happening from Monday, January 8^th - Sunday, January 14^th .

Monday, January 8^th , 2024

1. We Must Not Think of Ourselves Book Talk (7PM - 8PM) (FREE!)

   • Book Description: On a November day in 1940, Adam Paskow becomes a prisoner in the Warsaw Ghetto, where the Jews of the city are cut off from their former lives and held captive by Nazi guards, and await an uncertain fate.

   • Host Organization: Politics and Prose Bookstore

2.  Historically Speaking: King: A Life Book Talk (7PM - 8PM) (FREE!)

   • Book Description: Join us for a discussion of Jonathan Eig’s newest book, King: A Life, the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.

   • Host Organization: African American History and Culture Museum

Tuesday, January 9^th , 2024

1. Pongal-O-Pongal: Harvest Celebrations with Kolams (5PM - 6PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Kolams, a traditional floor art practiced in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, are a major part of Pongal, a harvest festival celebrating the sun, the cattle and the farmers.

   • Host Organization: Kennedy Center for Performing Arts

2. Outtakes: Stumbling Around the World for NPR Book Talk (7PM - 8PM) (FREE!)

   • Book Description: In 1982, an aspiring journalist knocked on the door of a fledgling news organization named National Public Radio looking for a job. NPR decided to take a chance on Peter Breslow and for the next four decades they grew up together. In Outtakes, Breslow offers an unvarnished, often hilarious, look behind the scenes of one of the world’s preeminent journalistic institutions.

   • Host Organization: Politics and Prose Bookstore

3. Back-2-Basics Bachata Class by NOELIA (9PM - 10PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Get ready to spice up your night with our Back-2-Basics Bachata Class, taught by the talented NOELIA.

   • Host Organization: Private organizer

Wednesday, January 10^th , 2024

1. The Spizzwinks Performance (6PM - 7PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: The Spizzwinks of Yale University are the world’s oldest underclassmen a cappella group. Since 1914, the Spizzwinks have been sharing their tight harmonies and signature tongue-in-cheek humor with audiences from the Great Wall of China to the waterfalls of Iceland, to Carnegie Hall and beyond.

   • Host Organization: Kennedy Center for Performing Arts

2. Movie Screening: "Calling Hedy Lamarr" (7PM - 10PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Who was she really? Viennese girl. Hollywood goddess. Inventor. A success story. A failure. Rich. Poor. Forgotten. Rediscovered. The studio wanted her to be beautiful and nothing else. Her son wanted a loving mother. Her six husbands, a wife. And herself? A film that examines the traces left behind by the most beautiful inventor in the world, told as a mixture of modern myths, fabricated legends, and true stories.

   • Host Organization: Embassy of Austria

3. Tango and Champagne Soiree: Argentine Tango Lessons and Dance Soiree (7PM - 9:30PM) ($32.78)

   • Description: Join us on your own or with friends to enjoy an evening of champagne and Argentine Tango dancing with lessons at the Gallery at the Ven at Embassy Row, in the heart of DuPont Circle.

   • Host Organization: International Club of DC

Thursday, January 11^th , 2024

1. Live! at the Library (5PM - 8PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: The Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building is open for extended hours every Thursday evening from 5pm - 8pm.

   • Host Organization: Library of Congress (LOC)

2. Prison Reimagined: Presidential Portrait Project (6PM - 8PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Created by artists living within the US carceral system and curated by the Committee of Incarcerated Artists and Writers, the exhibit showcases the art and writing of incarcerated people from around the world.

   • Host Organization: Justice Arts Coalition

3. Performed Places with Mariam Ghani and Erin Ellen Kelly (6PM - 7PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Join artists Mariam Ghani and Erin Ellen Kelly as they trace a choreographic journey with local performers throughout SAAM’s National Historic Landmark building.

   • Host Organization: Smithsonian American Art Museum

4. Stella Cole Performance (6PM - 7PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Stella Katherine Cole is a multifaceted performer based in New York City. You might know her from social media, where she has amassed well over half a million followers and nearly 6 million likes from posting singing videos that are beloved by a worldwide audience of all ages.

   • Host Organization: Kennedy Center for Performing Arts

5. The Money Kings Book Talk (7PM - 8PM) (FREE!)

   • Book Description: Joseph Seligman arrived in the United States in 1837, with the equivalent of $100 sewn into the lining of his pants. Then came the Lehman brothers, who would open a general store in Montgomery, Alabama. Not far behind were Solomon Loeb and Marcus Goldman, among the "Forty-Eighters" fleeing a Germany that had relegated Jews to an underclass.

   • Host Organization: Politics and Prose

6. Performed Places with Mariam Ghani and Erin Ellen Kelly (7PM - 8PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Join artists Mariam Ghani and Erin Ellen Kelly as they trace a choreographic journey with local performers throughout SAAM’s National Historic Landmark building.

   • Host Organization: Smithsonian American Art Museum

7. FORMIDABLE ! AZNAVOUR (7:30PM - 10:30PM) ($69.20)

   • Description: The show takes us back to the streets of Paris in the era of ‘Bohemia’ to give us an insight into the incredible career of Charles Aznavour through his greatest songs which are known throughout the world and form an integral part of the world’s musical heritage.

   • Host Organization: Embassy of France/Directo Productions

8. Dinner at Eight (1933) Film Screening (7:30PM - 10PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Director George Cukor has many works on the National Film Registry and the racy, pre-Code comedy/drama “Dinner at Eight” illustrates why.

   • Host Organization: Library of Congress (LOC)

Friday, January 12^th , 2024

1. Louis Eilshemius Talk (12PM - 1PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: The Library of Congress, The Phillips Collection, and the Embassy of Switzerland collaborate for a conversation and display on American artist Louis Eilshemius and how his work inspired Swiss-born artist Ugo Rondinone.

   • Host Organization: Library of Congress (LOC)

2. Recognition of IIT Alumni in Promoting Collaboration Between US and India (3PM - 5PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: PanIIT USA cordially invites you to attend a reception at US Capitol on Friday January 12, 2024, to recognize the role of IITs, IIT Alumni, and Indian Americans on Research, Education, Science and Technology collaboration between the US and India.

   • Host Organization: Capital IIT

3. Figure Opening Reception (5PM - 8PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Join us to celebrate the opening of the juried exhibition “figure”. Be among the first to see the artwork, mix and mingle with the artists, plus hear words from the jurors.

   • Host Organization: Touchstone Gallery

4. Bachata Musicality Workshop (6PM - 7:30PM) ($34.98 - $69.82)

   • Description: This 90-minute workshop dives into the heart of Bachata with the incredible Eric! Dancers of all levels are invited! In this workshop , students will be able to identify a specific section of a selected bachata song and be able to perform steps that match the musicality of the song.

   • Host Organization: Private organizer

5. Goldmund Quartet Performance (8PM - 10PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Prizewinners in the prestigious Wigmore Hall and Melbourne quartet competitions, Germany’s Goldmund Quartet is praised for its intense musicality and “beautiful sound, elegant and transparent” (Gramophone).

   • Host Organization: Library of Congress (LOC)

6. FORMIDABLE ! AZNAVOUR Performance (7:30PM - 10:30PM) ($69.20)

   • Description: The show takes us back to the streets of Paris in the era of ‘Bohemia’ to give us an insight into the incredible career of Charles Aznavour through his greatest songs which are known throughout the world and form an integral part of the world’s musical heritage.

   • Host Organization: Embassy of France/Directo Productions

7. Monterey Pop (1968) Film Screening (7:30PM - 10PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: This seminal music-festival film captures the culture of the time and performances from iconic musical talent. "Monterey Pop" also established the template for multi-camera documentary productions of this kind, predating "Woodstock.

   • Host Organization: Library of Congress (LOC)

Saturday, January 13^th , 2024

1. Meet Meg Medina: Family Office Hours with the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (10AM - 4:30PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Young readers and families, Meg Medina, 8th National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, invites you to join special one-on-one sessions as part of her Cuéntame! Let’s Talk Books platform.

   • Host Organization: Library of Congress (LOC)

2.  The Phillips Plays with Words and Art (12PM - 3PM) ($20 for non-members, free for members)

   • Description: In partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States of America join us in celebrating the work of contemporary Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone.

   • Host Organization: The Phillips Collection

3. Mermaid of the Blue Sea (1PM - 2:30PM) ($10 for students, $40 for general admission)

   • Description: The Mermaid of the Blue Sea is a theatrical performance based on Hans Christian Anderson's A Little Mermaid. The tale has been adapted for our contemporary audience, featuring Okinawan traditional performing art forms.

   • Host Organization: Ryukyu Art Embassy

4. Mermaid of the Blue Sea (5PM - 6:30PM) ($10 for students, $40 for general admission)

   • Description: The Mermaid of the Blue Sea is a theatrical performance based on Hans Christian Anderson's A Little Mermaid. The tale has been adapted for our contemporary audience, featuring Okinawan traditional performing art forms.

   • Host Organization: Ryukyu Art Embassy

5. The War Begins in Paris Book Talk (5PM - 6PM) (FREE!)

   • Book Description: Paris, 1938. Two women meet: Mielle, a shy pacifist and shunned Mennonite who struggles to fit in with the elite cohort of foreign correspondents stationed around the city; the other, Jane, a brash, legendary American journalist, who is soon to become a fascist propagandist.

   • Host Organization: Politics and Prose

6. Okan Performance (6PM - 7PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: With vocals in Spanish, English, and Spanglish, Okan is led by the Cuban–born violinist and vocalist Elizabeth Rodriguez and percussionist and vocalist Magdelys Savigne, both Grammy® and Latin Grammy® nominees.

   • Host Organization: Kennedy Center for Performing Arts

7. KanKouran West African Dance Company Performance (7PM - 8PM) ($10 - $30)

   • Description: KanKouran's 40th Anniversary performance will be an exciting journey through 40 years of presenting and preserving traditional West African Dance in the U.S. The performance will feature KanKouran's Senior Company dancers and drummers, our Juniors, the Children's company, as well as our community class performers. 

   • Host Organization: Dance Place

8.  Angel of Peace Networking Event (6PM - 10PM) ($17.85)

   • Description: Many people are familiar with our events and our efforts to bring people together to socialize and enjoy the rich tapestry that brings peoples and nations together.

   • Host Organization: The American-Eurasia Center

Sunday, January 14^th , 2024

1. Yoga + Crystal Bowl Sound Bath (9AM - 10AM) ($35.88)

   • Description: Join us for yoga at DC's National Building Museum, featuring an all-level yoga flow led by instructor Beth Wolfe, accompanied by a sound bath led by Mel of Beyond Yoga, a yoga teacher certified in crystal alchemy sound healing.

   • Host Organization: National Building Museum

2. KanKouran West African Dance Company Performance (4PM - 5PM) ($10 - $30)

   • Description: KanKouran's 40th Anniversary performance will be an exciting journey through 40 years of presenting and preserving traditional West African Dance in the U.S. The performance will feature KanKouran's Senior Company dancers and drummers, our Juniors, the Children's company, as well as our community class performers. 

   • Host Organization: Dance Place

3. Music At The Franciscan Monastery (4PM - 5PM) (FREE!)

   • Description: Grace EunHye Oh, an organist at First Presbyterian Church in Annapolis and a faculty member at Chun University, NC, has been teaching and performing internationally. Her musical journey began in South Korea, discovering the enchanting sounds of the organ in her father’s designed Keimyung University Chapel.

   • Host Organization: Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America

Rate Issue No.47!

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