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Special Tours
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Friday, May 16
12:30 PM
Special Tour Lecture Molly Donovan on Black Box: Kimsooja
Friday Gallery Talk
Artist and curatorial research associate Ryan Hill organized the weekly gallery talks and introduces each program. In today's talk, Molly Donovan (National Gallery assistant curator of modern and contemporary art) discusses Black Box: Kimsooja.
Free
Continues most Fridays
Related Exhibition: Black Box: Kimsooja
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Location: Meet at information desk
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Saturday, May 17
9 AM-3:30 PM
Special Tour Family Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
Open House
Come learn about your environment from Smithsonian scientists and educators who work at this unique outdoor laboratory on the Chesapeake Bay. Take guided boat and canoe trips, walk on nature trails, climb a weather-monitoring station, tour laboratories and field research sites, see birds of prey, and enjoy live music. Other family programs include nature crafts, a scavenger hunt, face painting, and an art show. Don't miss the annual Wade-In, where a staff member tests the clarity of the water by wading in wearing white shoes until the shoes are no longer visible.
Note: There will not be on-site parking. Free parking will be available only at Central Middle School, 221 Central Avenue East in Edgewater (intersection of Mayo Road, 1.2 miles east of Maryland Route 2) and, beginning at 9 AM, buses will shuttle visitors to and from SERC.
Free
Special Smithsonian Sponsored
Location: Edgewater, MD; for directions, call 301-238-2737; see Note
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1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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6-9:30 PM
Family Lecture Special Tour Night at the Museum -- A Behind-the-Scenes Experience
After-Hours Family Program
Spend an evening with curators, archivists, educators, restoration staff, and other experts who research, preserve, and restore the museum's amazing aviation and space exploration artifacts. Take a tour to learn how the museum operates and hear stories about the artifacts. Don't forget your camera so you can take a special tour with photographer Dane Penland, who advises on the finer points of capturing the perfect picture of your favorite artifact.
Note: For tickets, visit the Web at www.nasm.si.edu/events/lectures/ticketsform.cfm or call 202-633-2398.
Free, but tickets required; see Note
National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Location: Throughout the museum
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Tour, 6:15 PM; Concert, 7 PM: (enter Independence Ave.)
Special Tour Performance Birth of a nASIAN
Performance with preconcert tour
Note: This program is intended for mature audiences.
Trip hop spoken word duo Kate Rigg and Lyris Hung of Slanty Eyed Mama return to the Freer with their electrifying music and politicomic monologues that explore questions of race, culture, identity, and the contemporary Asian American urban landscape. The play Birth of a nASIAN, written by Kate Rigg and Leah Ryan, features edgy, surreal characters, such as a World Trade Center street hawker, a "China Latina" who can't seem to tick the right box at the unemployment office, and a 32-year-old cheerleader who finally has enough confidence to go to cheerleading camp.
Free, but tickets (2 per person) distributed 1 hour before
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art
Location: Freer, Meyer Auditorium
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Sunday, May 18
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Wednesday, May 21
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Self-Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Take a self-guided tour of the works in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Wednesdays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Thursday, May 22
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: American Craft & Folk Art
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Hear about some of the artwork housed in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art and learn about American art and culture from professors and graduate students from the Masters in the History of Decorative Arts (HDA) program, which is offered by the Smithsonian Associates in partnership with Corcoran College of Art Design. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Thursdays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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6-6:30 PM
Special Tour Lecture Portrait of Admiral William Frederick "Bull" Halsey
"Face to Face" Portrait Talk
The weekly portrait talk highlights a portrait selected by a National Portrait Gallery staff member or guest speaker.
Robert Cressman (Navy Historical Center) talks about the portrait of Admiral William Frederick "Bull" Halsey, a U.S. Naval officer and commander of the United States Third Fleet in the Pacific during World War II, by an unidentified artist in the related exhibition.
Free
Continues most Thursday evenings
Related Exhibition: Ballyhoo! Posters as Portraiture
National Portrait Gallery
Location: Meet at F Street Lobby
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Friday, May 23
12:30 PM
Special Tour Lecture Milena Kalinovska on Tim Rollins + K.O.S.
Friday Gallery Talk
Artist and curatorial research associate Ryan Hill organized the weekly gallery talks and introduces each program. In today's talk, Milena Kalinovska (director of programs) discusses Tim Rollins + K.O.S. portfolio Creation.
Free
Continues most Fridays
Related Exhibition: Currents: Recent Acquisitions
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Location: Meet at information desk
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Saturday, May 24
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Sunday, May 25
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Wednesday, May 28
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Self-Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Take a self-guided tour of the works in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Wednesdays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Thursday, May 29
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: American Craft & Folk Art
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Hear about some of the artwork housed in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art and learn about American art and culture from professors and graduate students from the Masters in the History of Decorative Arts (HDA) program, which is offered by the Smithsonian Associates in partnership with Corcoran College of Art Design. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Thursdays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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4 PM
Special Tour Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii
Gallery Talk
Carol Wilson (docent coordinator) discusses the huge video map of the United States by Nam June Paik, the first to use the phrase "electronic superhighway." Paik's installation reminds us that each state has a distinct identity and culture, even in today's information age. Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Free
Last day
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in Lincoln Gallery, 3rd Floor, in front of work
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6-6:30 PM
Special Tour Lecture Portrait of Dorie Miller
"Face to Face" Portrait Talk
The weekly portrait talk highlights a portrait selected by a National Portrait Gallery staff member or guest speaker.
Historican Jim Barber talks about the portrait of Dorie Miller, an African American cook in the U.S. Navy known for his heroism during the Pearl Harbor attack, by David Stone Martin in the related exhibition.
Free
Continues most Thursday evenings
Related Exhibition: Ballyhoo! Posters as Portraiture
National Portrait Gallery
Location: Meet at F Street Lobby
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Friday, May 30
12:30 PM
Special Tour Lecture Al Miner on Dan Graham
Friday Gallery Talk ***New Date (was scheduled for 5/23)***
Artist and curatorial research associate Ryan Hill organized the weekly gallery talks and introduces each program. In today's talk, curatorial assistant Al Miner discusses Dan Graham's Sculpture Garden commission.
Free
Continues most Fridays
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Location: Meet at information desk
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Saturday, May 31
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Sunday, June 1
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Wednesday, June 4
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Self-Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Take a self-guided tour of the works in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Every Wednesday
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Thursday, June 5
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: American Craft & Folk Art
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Hear about some of the artwork housed in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art and learn about American art and culture from professors and graduate students from the Masters in the History of Decorative Arts (HDA) program, which is offered by the Smithsonian Associates in partnership with Corcoran College of Art Design. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats Thursdays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Saturday, June 7
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Sunday, June 8
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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2 PM
Family Performance Special Tour Lecture Extraordinary Tales of China's Yellow Mountain
Tour and Stories
Follow award-winning storyteller Linda Fang through the exhibition Yellow Mountain: China's Ever-Changing Landscape as she introduces paintings and prints of one of China's most beautiful mountains and presents incredible stories of the most breathtaking locations.
Free; first come, first served
Repeats June 29
Related Exhibition: Yellow Mountain: China's Ever-Changing Landscape
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art
Location: Sackler, Sublevel 1
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Tuesday, June 10
12 Noon
Special Tour Lecture Wondrous Wardrobes and Marvelous Margins
Lecture and Tour
Art historian Molly Aitken looks at the range and use of ornament in Mughal album pages on display in the MURAQQA` exhibition. Discover the meanings behind imperial jewelry, textiles, and album border decoration, and learn about the artist's role in the royal workshops.
Free; first come, first served
Related Exhibition: MURAQQA'
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art
Location: Sackler, Sublevel 1
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Wednesday, June 11
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Self-Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Take a self-guided tour of the works in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Every Wednesday
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Thursday, June 12
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: American Craft & Folk Art
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Hear about some of the artwork housed in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art and learn about American art and culture from professors and graduate students from the Masters in the History of Decorative Arts (HDA) program, which is offered by the Smithsonian Associates in partnership with Corcoran College of Art Design. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats Thursdays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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5:30 PM
Special Tour Aaron Douglas
Gallery Talk
Virginia Mecklenburg (senior curator) leads a tour of some of Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas's bold paintings and artfully designed book covers.
Free
Related Exhibition: Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the G St. lobby
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Saturday, June 14
10 AM-3 PM
Workshop Family Special Tour Reach for the Sky: Become a Pilot!
Family Day and Aviation Display
Outside, check out over 50 visiting vintage aircraft -- from recreational, to military, and to homebuilt -- and talk to pilots to find out what skills you need to fly. Inside, test your piloting skills in flight simulators, meet model airplane experts, hear a variety of guest speakers, and enjoy performances by the U.S. Air Force band Airmen of Note.
Free, but fee for parking
National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Location: Outdoors (rain or shine) and throughout the museum
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1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Sunday, June 15
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Wednesday, June 18
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Self-Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Take a self-guided tour of the works in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Every Wednesday
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Thursday, June 19
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: American Craft & Folk Art
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Hear about some of the artwork housed in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art and learn about American art and culture from professors and graduate students from the Masters in the History of Decorative Arts (HDA) program, which is offered by the Smithsonian Associates in partnership with Corcoran College of Art Design. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats Thursdays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Friday, June 20
8 PM-Midnight (museum is closed 5:30-8 PM)
Special Tour Performance Cusine Hirshhorn After Hours
A Special Evening of Art, Music, and Cocktails
Enjoy the following activities held throughout the museum.
Be among the first to see Part II of the exhibition The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality, and the Moving Image on the opening night of Realisms. The evening includes a special live performance by Maxi Geil and Playcolt, a music project conceived by artist Guy Richards Smit. Composed of art school pals and a revolving cast of friends, the group's music captures and breathes out Smit's modern day vision of the 1980s East Village Art Scene.

Note: Tickets are limited and may be purchased 1 month in advance for $10 or at the door for $12; free to Hirshhorn Annual Circle members. For details on how to purchase advance tickets, visit http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/afterhours/#tickets.
Fee required, free to Annual Circle members; see Note
Related Exhibition: The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality, & the Moving Image

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Location: Throughout the museum
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Saturday, June 21
Performances: 12 Noon & 3 PM; Preconcert Tour, 2 PM
Family Special Tour Performance The Magic Mountain: Taiwanese Puppet Theater
Performance, with preconcert tour
Master Taiwanese puppeteer Liao Wen-ho and his Glove Puppet Theater perform original scenes from the classic Journey to the West, in which a Buddhist monk and his retinue of animal friends cross the mysterious mountains of western China, where they encounter giants, demons, monsters, and a village celebration.
Free; first come, first served
Repeats June 22
See related Imaginasia program at 1 PM today
Related Exhibition: Yellow Mountain: China's Ever-Changing Landscape
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art
Location: Sackler, Sublevel 1
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1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Sunday, June 22
Tour, 1 PM; Performance, 2 PM
Special Tour Performance The Magic Mountain: Taiwanese Puppet Theater
Performance, with preconcert tour
Master Taiwanese puppeteer Liao Wen-ho and his Glove Puppet Theater perform original scenes from the classic Journey to the West, in which a Buddhist monk and his retinue of animal friends cross the mysterious mountains of western China, where they encounter giants, demons, monsters, and a village celebration.
Free; first come, first served
Last program
Related Exhibition: Yellow Mountain: China's Ever-Changing Landscape
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art
Location: Sackler, Sublevel 1
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1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
iCalendar Add to Outlook/iCal Add to Google Calendar
Wednesday, June 25
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Self-Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Take a self-guided tour of the works in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Every Wednesday
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Thursday, June 26
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: American Craft & Folk Art
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Hear about some of the artwork housed in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art and learn about American art and culture from professors and graduate students from the Masters in the History of Decorative Arts (HDA) program, which is offered by the Smithsonian Associates in partnership with Corcoran College of Art Design. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats Thursdays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Saturday, June 28
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
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Sunday, June 29
1:30 PM
Special Tour Art + Coffee: Guided Tour
Luce Foundation Center Activity
Discover the treasures of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art during a guided tour. Afterwards, enjoy a complimentary coffee or tea.
Free
Repeats most Saturdays and Sundays
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Meet in the F Street Lobby
iCalendar Add to Outlook/iCal Add to Google Calendar
2 PM
Family Performance Special Tour Lecture Extraordinary Tales of China's Yellow Mountain
Tour and Stories
Follow award-winning storyteller Linda Fang through the exhibition Yellow Mountain: China's Ever-Changing Landscape as she introduces paintings and prints of one of China's most beautiful mountains and presents incredible stories of the most breathtaking locations.
Free; first come, first served
Last program
Related Exhibition: Yellow Mountain: China's Ever-Changing Landscape