(Monica Ramos / for The Washington Post)
Fall Museums Guide 2014
From new exhibitions and museum news to guides on how to look at art, here’s a break down of what’s happening this fall.
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Is that paint on the gallery rug? New show marks major shift at the Sackler.
Artist Darren Waterston, inspired by Whistler’s Peacock Room, creates a dark twist at Smithsonian.
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How are these things not like the others?
Four exhibitions at the AU Museum all involve line, but each has its own distinct style.
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At the Met, the artistic riches of India’s Deccan Plateau
Complex games are played in art that shows the material remnants of trade, dynastic intrigue, war and religion.
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A sneak peek at the newest Smithsonian offering
A sample of planned exhibitions for the National Museum of African American History and Culture opens Friday.
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The best time to visit a museum in May? After hours.
Mix culture, drinks and socializing and you’ve got the formula for a busy month of after-dark museum events.
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In the galleries: Inspired by their homelands and beyond
Work by three South American-bred artists are on display at Georgetown’s All We Art.
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Street Smart: What to do in Leesburg
Leesburg, the seat of Loudoun County embraces change but also carries on with traditions.
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How the Civil War shaped our city
An exhibit in Anacostia illustrates the legacy of freedmen’s settlements with a trove of letters, maps and photos.
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Going Out Guide, April 30-May 6, 2015
What’s happening in Prince George’s County and Southern Maryland
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At museums, selfie sticks poke holes in the idea of anything goes
More than any physical damage, photo-taking devices drain art of life by enabling visitors to be narcissistic.
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In the galleries: Taking flight
Drones, rockets and more in “Blast Off! Dreams of Men in Flight” at Cross MacKenzie Gallery.
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Board extends historic status to most of Corcoran’s interior
The Historic Preservation Review Board approved the designation despite the opposition of the building’s owner. George Washington University representatives wanted to limit the spaces covered by the designation.
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At the Whitney, a new structure forges a different relationship with the city
The move south to the reinvented riverfront district was about more than just square footage and amenities.
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Wandering from the straight path of clarity, it’s still full of powerful art
An exhibit invoking Dante’s “Divine Comedy” at the African Art Museum lacks clarity, but it’s a worthy ride.
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Tribute to a long-gone mural and a father who helped create it
Artist’s son recalls the story behind Chicago’s Wall of Respect, being commemorated there this weekend.
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In the galleries: Moving toward the transcendental
Loriann Signori’s landscapes at Gallery B give off an otherworldly glow.
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Going Out Guide, April 16-22, 2015
Theater, sports, arts and more in Prince George’s County and Southern Maryland.
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Documentation and renovation, as seen from a scaffold
Colin Winterbottom photographs restorations at such icons asthe Capitol and the National Cathedral.
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Tennessee Williams: Writer. Poet. Painter?
A new exhibition in New Orleans reveals another creative side to the great 20th-century playwright.
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In the galleries: Line and function intersect
Three levels of minimalism in show at Carroll Square Gallery.
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Masterworks hidden in plain sight
19 works from the turn of the last century will be quietly folded into the American Art Museum collection.
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Eddie Murphy to receive Kennedy Center’s 2015 Mark Twain Prize
The “Saturday Night Live” comic and movie star will be honored Oct. 18 at the 18th annual celebration.
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Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts has new director
Matthew Teitelbaum to succeed Malcolm Rogers.
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Kuniyoshi remained true to America despite his shameful treatment
A new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum does justice to the Japanese-born painter’s legacy.
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In the galleries: simplicity, spontaneity and the beauty of imperfection
Stephen Addiss’s art reflects traditional Chinese and Japanese ideals.
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Lawmakers want Library of Congress reforms but not librarian’s resignation
Officials respond to GAO report that faulted the institution’s IT operations and budget accountability.
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America’s ‘national library’ is lacking in leadership, yet another report finds
The Government Accountability Office says the Library of Congress lacks the leadership to remedy its problems.
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A vexing delay on the Corcoran’s historical designation
The postponement on whether to extend landmark status to the interior could let outside influences creep in.
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Panel delays decision on Corcoran Gallery’s historic designation
The board will vote next month on the iconic Beaux Arts building that was first designated as historic in 1964.
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A backstage glimpse into the theater world
‘Grand Illusion: The Art of Theatrical Design’ at the Library of Congress features fully realized works of art.
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Going Out Guide, March 26-April 1, 2015
What’s happening in Prince George’s County and Southern Maryland
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We are what we wear
A new exhibit at the Textile Museum examines the common thread between clothes and identity.
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‘Hide & Seek’ reveals the beauty in details
Collaborators Susan Eder and Craig Dennis photograph commonplace things through a macro lens.
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Forget retirement. Wayne Brown returns to Detroit to run an opera.
Wayne Brown, the only African American president of a major opera company, makes changes in Detroit.
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Paintings reunited at National Gallery of Art for first time since 1881
The portraits of the three wise men were completed around 1618 by Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.
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Cocktails, disco and the Bill of Rights: National Archives to hold its first after-hours party
The museum hosts a night of drinks, music and a “National Treasure“-inspired scavenger hunt.
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In the galleries: Few hard edges in sight
Spillage is artist Maggie Michael’s specialty in show at G Fine Art.
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Unraveling a knotty problem
Folger exhibition recalls the history of the quest for an instrument to determine longitude at sea.
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Elaine De Kooning, often eclipsed by her famous husband, gets her due
The National Portrait Gallery shows how Elaine De Kooning struggled to to reconcile representation and art.
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Detroit museum roars back with powerful exhibit on Kahlo, Rivera
The pencil sketches, murals and other works delved into vulnerabilities harbored by the artistic power couple.
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Finish line in sight, African American museum still seeks money and objects
With its opening pushed back, the 19th Smithsonian museum continues to raise funds and awareness.
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17 arts leaders ask D.C. mayor to meet with organizers of canceled project
Last month, Bowser scuttled plans for a project to turn a historic downtown building into a cultural center.
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In the galleries: Rooted in nature but not always natural
Art in ‘Natural Allusions’ at Addison/Ripley functions more as abstract forms.
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Time brings more treasures to the Holocaust Museum
As survivors and their family members age, they seek a safe place for their wartime artifacts.
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Folksy pictures smile at a simpler time
A National Museum of Women in the Arts show focuses on Depression-era painter Doris Emrick Lee.
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Street Smart: What to do in Middleburg
With more than a hundred equestrian events within a 50-mile radius, Middleburg, Va., has been the nation’s horse and hunt capital for more than a century.
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What’s the most shocking thing on view at the Bjork exhibition? Music.
At the new Bjork exhibition, it’s the humble printed musical note that surprises.
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What’s the most shocking thing on view at the Bjork exhibition? Music.
At the new Bjork exhibition, it’s the humble printed musical note that surprises.
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Will the show go on or will Thursday’s snow cancel programs — again! — in the city?
The latest snow storm has forced many museums to close. Some theater events have been rescheduled, but others are going on despite the weather
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2015 Armory Show fair puts focus on Middle Eastern artists
The New York event represents artists from the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean.
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In the galleries: A painter’s progress revealed
“Stained Paintings, 1964-1970,” at Hemphill Fine Arts, shows how Willem de Looper came into his own.
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Street Smart: Tavern tradition in Old Town Alexandria
Alexandria maintains a sense of community through it’s old-style tavern traditions.
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What’s in a wall text? At galleries, it may be masking an artist’s heritage.
Truncated names may obscure the Jewishness that shaped the work of artists from Pissarro to Rothko.
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In the galleries: Manipulating nature at McLean Project for the Arts
Three local artists featured in ‘Manifesting Phenomena: Drop, Hover, See-Through, Lean.’
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Street Smart: what to do in Upper Marlboro
You’ll find a mix of familiar faces, atypical enterprises and tranquil settings.
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Two artists but one theme: War
Phyllis Plattner’s and Silvia Levenson’s work at the AU Museum ponders historical violence.
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A setback for D.C. arts and culture, years in the making
The creative community’s desire to see Franklin School become a venue encounters another roadblock.
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Smithsonian Campaign is one big goal, made up of several smaller ones
The institute unifies the fundraising goals of its wide-ranging pieces
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Smithsonian’s new fundraising strategy: collect collectively
The institution’s various units band together in an attention-getting campaign with a $1.5 billion goal
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In the galleries: Art that’s coolly conceived, rigorously made
The four artists featured in Korean Cultural Center’s “Multi-lane H.O.V.” share precision of craft and vision.
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Newspaper exhibition follows the day of Lincoln’s death, edition by edition
It’s the first time all seven editions of the New York Herald of April 15, 1865, have been shown together.
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Despite campaign promises to support arts, mayor kills D.C. culture project
CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK | Muriel E. Bowser quickly demonstrates devotion to commercial developers.
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Selfie sticks are the latest objects deemed safety hazards by museums
Like tripods and other equipment, the tools that help visitors take self portraits are not allowed in the galleries.
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In the galleries: Images of history, in black and white
Barbara Klemm’s photos in “Light and Dark: Photographs From Germany” span decades.
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American History Museum gives voice to inventor Bell
‘Hear My Voice’ includes recordings, equipment, documents and lab notes from the inventor’s Volta lab in D.C.
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Man Ray inserts the human factor into the equation
Phillips Collection exhibition of his mathematical-model studies revels in the variables.
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The National Gallery’s great feast: What was gobbled from the Corcoran
A great place has been lost and a great institution strengthened, but harder choices still have to be made.
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‘American Masterworks from the Corcoran, 1815-1940’
Thirty-one of the works from the Corcoran Gallery of Art that will be on display at the National Gallery of Art.
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‘Focus on the Corcoran: Works on Paper, 1860-1990’
Twenty-two works from the Corcoran Gallery of Art that will be on display at the National Gallery of Art
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National Gallery aims to integrate Corcoran works, keep its legacy alive
Seven months in the making, the undertaking is unprecedented for an American museum.
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In the galleries: Birthday gifts that aren’t always happy
Every year since 2011, art professor Naoko Wowsugi has asked her students to give her an experience.
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Piero di Cosimo at the National Gallery of Art
It is the first major retrospective devoted to a painter who was among the most renowned in Florence.
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Spring Preview: Visual arts
It took 500 years, but Renaissance master Piero di Cosimo is finally getting a retrospective.
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Architecture evolves into product of its environment
An exhibit at the National Building Museum offers a glimpse into the ideology behind building design.
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Smithsonian aims for first international exhibition space
The institution is working on a deal to operate 40,000 square feet in a London cultural complex.
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Einstein and Gandhi: men of similar soles
D.C. statues to the two men share similar footwear: more of a surprise on one than the other
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Celebrating 50 years of floating in space
Air and Space Museum exhibition includes spacesuits, moondust-darkened boots and other artifacts.
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The art of the city
“Architectural Image” at the National Building Museum shows a metropolis filled with excitement and danger.
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‘Resolutions 2015’ at Civilian Arts Project
Group photo exhibition takes many twists and turns.
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Hirshhorn encourages docents’ return with new program
The museum had shifted to an internship model that required volunteers to work 15 hours.
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8 things to do in the D.C. area on the weekend of Jan. 23-25
The Washington Auto Show rolls into town and Meat Week begins.
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In the galleries: Gentle touch in service of a forceful vision
Patricia Williams’s watercolors at Touchstone Gallery freezes instants amid unceasing change.
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The expert behind the John le Carre of Art Conservation
David Bull, legendary art conservator, also is consulting with a bestselling mystery author.
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Escape the cold at Dominican art exhibition
The pleasing warmth of these works comes from their exuberant gestures, luxuriant detail and bold colors.
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‘200 Years of African American Art’ engages on many levels
New Philadelphia exhibition gives visitors a rich if synoptic history of trends in American art.
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Secrecy breeds anxiety over future of Corcoran Gallery art
The National Gallery of Art is saying very little about what its plans are for the 17,000-piece collection.
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In the galleries: Using heat to create several kinds of art
Peter Kephart begins by roasting moistened cotton-rag paper over hot embers, and sometimes stops there.
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Much to learn from Harvard’s melding of art museums
The university’s gets “teaching museum” right with its integration of three institutions into one building.
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In the galleries: Nature scenes with religious allusions
Doors like altar pieces are centerpiece of “Seven Angels Arrive to Witness the Fall of the Last Leaf.”
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A strong year for Iranian film
Highlights include Shahram Mokri’s ‘Fish & Cat’ and Mohammad Rasoulof’s ‘Manuscripts Don’t Burn.’
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The ‘quiet surfer dude’ who rebuilt Harvard Art Museums
Tom Lentz, who is in charge of the institution, did what five previous directors could not.
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‘Zen, Tea and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan’ at the Freer
Exhibition examines Chinese influences on Japanese art.
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In the galleries: No straight lines
In “LineWorks: Drawing Redefined” at Greater Reston Arts Center, lines bend, overlap and curve in midair.
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Smithsonian’s federal appropriation is increased
Funds will be raised $14.5 million to $819.5 million this fiscal year under spending bill passed by Congress.
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In the galleries: A delight in colors in Aaron show
Two D.C. office buildings are playing host to exhibitions that can be seen once a week through December.
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Celebrating, and mourning, feathered creatures
In ‘The Singing and the Silence’ exhibition, the made objects are secondary to the soaring thing itself.
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Arlington poised to close arts center in Rosslyn after years of losses
Shutting down the Artisphere venue would save $2.5 million a year, according to the county manager.
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Freer, Sackler galleries go global with digitized collections
The Smithsonian’s museums for Asian art will share their archives by tapping the power of the Internet.
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A painter steps back to look at the big picture
Artist Steven Cushner has moved into a downtown storefront to work on his largest painting yet.
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In the galleries: Taking a second, and third, look
In ‘Double Back: Photographic Reflexivity’ at University of Maryland, there is no one correct vantage point.
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Today's top events
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Hiroshi Sugimoto: Conceptual Forms and Mathematical ModelsCLOSES SUNDAY Washington, DC
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DREAMWORLDS: work by Amy LinOPENS 05/8 Washington, DC
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Mathew Brady's Photographs of Union GeneralsCLOSES 05/8 Washington, DC -
Flemish Expressionism: A Modernist VisionCLOSES 05/15 Washington, DC
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Alchemical Vessels 2015CLOSES 05/22 Washington, DC
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Mr. Lincoln's Washington: A Civil War PortfolioCLOSES 05/25 Washington, DC -
MOLLY SPRINGFIELD: The Marginalia ArchiveCLOSES 05/30 Washington, DC
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Ellyn WeissCLOSES 05/31 Laurel, MD
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Style in Chinese Landscape Painting: The Yuan LegacyCLOSES 05/31 Washington, DC
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Perspectives: Chiharu ShiotaCLOSES 06/7 Washington, DC
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