Free Summer Saturdays at the Corcoran Gallery

Free Summer Saturdays

MAY 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

Join the Corcoran on Saturdays this summer for Gallery tours, workshops, demonstrations, and performances! Enjoy our summer exhibitions and programming free of admission Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
Special programs—many of which feature staff, faculty, and students—have been planned to celebrate the Corcoran's collections of historic American and European Paintings, Modern and Contemporary art, Photography and Media Arts, and the contemporary exhibitions Washington Color and Light and Chris Martin: Painting Big.
New activities will be added regularly, so please check back frequently for the most up-to-date calendar of events. Programs are free and no pre-registration is required unless otherwise noted.

Major support for Free Summer Saturdays is provided by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

EVERY SATURDAY

Chalk Drawings; 11a.m.–4p.m.
Highlights from the Corcoran’s collection will be illustrated in chalk on the corner of Seventeenth Street and New York Avenue. Weather permitting.  

Highlights Tours; 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Corcoran Collection and special exhibitions, including Chris Martin: Painting Big and Washington Color and Light

JUNE

Edible Color Wheel
Saturday, June 4, 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Ages 4–12 with adult companion
Use icing to discover how to mix primary colors into secondary colors and create your own edible color wheel.

Sketching in the Atrium
Saturday, June 11, Noon–3 p.m.
All ages
Join us for sketching from a live model. All materials are provided.

Sculpt It!
Saturday, June 18, 10:30 a.m.–Noon
Family Workshop; Pre-registration is required; Ages 5-7 with adult companion
$8 per child, Corcoran Members at the Family level and above; $10 per child, Public. 
What kinds of things can you use to make a sculpture? Check out the variety of materials that artists use to create three-dimensional art - from mirrors, to spices, to bed sheets! In the studio, break away from traditional sculpture and get creative as you use a variety of materials to create your own three-dimensional masterpiece.

Sketching in the Atrium
Saturday, June 25, Noon–3 p.m.
All ages
Join us for sketching from a live model. All materials are provided.

JULY

Sketching in the Atrium
Saturday, July 2, Noon–3 p.m.
All ages
Join us for sketching from a live model. All materials are provided.

Edible Color Wheel
Saturday, July 9, 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Ages 4–12 with adult companion
Use icing to discover how to mix primary colors into secondary colors and create your own edible color wheel.

Take Your Painting on a Walk Day
Saturday, July 9, 1 p.m.–4 p.m.
Community Workshop; Pre-registration is required.
$12 per child, Corcoran Members at the Family level and above; $15 per child, Public
Artist Chris Martin often enlists the participation of friends, neighbors, and the occasional pet chicken to make and display his vibrant works. In public-art homage to his unique style, this class will have the opportunity to create a painting and go on a guided walk around 17th Street and the White House while engaging the public in their work.  Participants will also be invited to take photos of themselves and their paintings around D.C.—or elsewhere—and submit them to the Corcoran website.

Paintings: It’s Personal 
Saturday, July 16, 10:30 a.m.–Noon
Family Workshop; Pre-registration is required, ages 8–12 with adult companion
$8 per child, Corcoran Members at the Family level and above; $10 per child, Public
How personal can a painting get? Explore mixed-media paintings embedded with personal meaning and objects in our special exhibition NOW: Chris Martin. After the tour, create your own painting that incorporates found objects and personal mementos. Please bring one to three personal items such as favorite photos, CDs, or toys, that can be incorporated into a two-dimensional artwork. 

Kid Pan Alley
Saturday, July 16, 2 p.m.
All ages
Corcoran ArtReach students collaborate with Kid Pan Alley in a unique songwriting residency. Kid Pan Alley founder and professional songwriter, Paul Reisler, pairs with ArtReach students ages 8–18 for one week to write, compose, and perform original songs inspired by the Corcoran’s current exhibition Washington Color and Light. The free concert for the community will feature ArtReach students with Paul Reisler performing their color filled songs at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Say It Big!
Saturday, July 23, 1 p.m. –3 p.m.
Ages 12+
The Corcoran’s Atrium is filled with Chris Martin’s “Big Paintings” that evoke a lot of big thoughts. Why not put them down on paper? Join us for a lecture, workshop, and presentation on contemporary poetry with the Corcoran’s Casey Smith, interim chair of arts and humanities, in conjunction with the Latin American Youth Media House’s Howard Soloman.

Sketching in the Atrium
Saturday, July 23, Noon–3 p.m.
All ages
Join us for sketching from a live model. All materials are provided.
Colorful Collages
Saturday, July 30, 10:30a.m.–Noon
All ages 
Participants will work together with community members to reinterpret Alma Thomas’ dazzling paintings and create colorful abstract collages made of tissue paper.
Break It Down Like James Brown
Saturday, July 30, 1 p.m.–3 p.m.
All ages.
Groove to the same soul tunes that served as inspiration for many of Chris Martin’s larger-than-life canvases, and watch the performers pop and twist against the backdrop of three monumental paintings commissioned just for the Corcoran’s summer exhibition Chris Martin: Painting Big.

AUGUST

Edible Color Wheel
Saturday, August 6, 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
First Floor Café, ages 4-12 with adult companion 
Use icing to discover how to mix primary colors into secondary colors and create your own edible color wheel.

Sketching in the Atrium
Saturday, August 6, Noon–3 p.m.
All ages
Join us for sketching from a live model. All materials are provided.

Sketching in the Atrium
Saturday, August 13, Noon–3 p.m.
All ages
Join us for sketching from a live model. All materials are provided.

Photo Safari
Saturday, August 13, 2:30-4:40 p.m.
$15 Members; $20 Public
Pre-Registration Required
Age 15 and above
Join E. David Luria of Washington Photo Safari in our galleries to learn how to successfully photograph art in museums without using a flash or tripod. The program focuses on 18th through 20th century American and European paintings, sculpture, and architecture at the Corcoran. Begin in Reusch Conference Room (RCR) for a quick orientation.

Light, Color, and Paint, Oh My!
Saturday, August 20, 10:30 a.m.–Noon
Family Workshop; Pre-registration is required, ages 5–7 with adult companion
$8 per child, Corcoran Members at the Family level and above; $10 per child, Public.
Journey into a world of fantastic color and luminous light in theWashington Color and Light exhibition. Return to the studio to experiment with the various techniques these artists used, including pouring paint onto canvas and using masking tape to make perfectly straight lines!

Sketching in the Atrium
Saturday, August 27, Noon–3 p.m.
All ages
Join us for sketching from a live model. All materials are provided.

SEPTEMBER

Sketching in the Atrium
Saturday, September 3, Noon–3 p.m.
All ages
Join us for sketching from a live model. All materials are provided.