Welcome to Artful Weekend, our new weekly listing of area art happenings! Check it out every Friday for fun and interesting exhibits and events occurring throughout the DMV. Share your experience at these and other weekend art destinations by tagging us (@theartleague) and including the hashtag #artfulweekend on social media.

This weekend:  Our really big show, a closer look at African American art, linocut prints from a master, and more!

The Art League 52nd Patrons’ Show

Art for our 52nd Patrons’ Show Fundraiser is now on view! What is this fundraiser? Well, imagine an enormous art exhibit, mega fundraiser, and huge block party all rolled into one. That’s the vibe at our Patrons’ Show Fundraiser, Sunday, February 16, from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. This much-anticipated annual event features over 600 original works, valued at $225 and up, that are donated by Art League and Torpedo Factory artists. Ticket purchasers get to select a fine work of original art for a bargain price. Upwards of 800 people from around the DMV and beyond buy tickets and attend, with hopes of scoring their favorite art piece when their name is called in a continuous drawing that doesn’t stop until the last piece is claimed. Whether you are a seasoned collector or an art newbie, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to acquire art while supporting a great non-profit organization and a community of artists. Tickets are going fast! Click here to get yours; exhibit on view through February 16 in the Art League Gallery at Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 North Union Street, Old Town Alexandria, VA.

A Closer Look at African American Artists Panel Discussion in SAAM’s Collection

Did you know that the Smithsonian American Art Museum has the largest collections of work made by African American artists in the world? Join artist and scholar Allan deSouza, art adviser Schwanda Rountree, scholar Melanee Harvey, and DC-based art collectors Mel and Juanita Hardy on Sunday, February 8, 6-9 p.m., for a panel discussion highlighting important works from this collection; at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery, 800 G Street, NW.

Food for Thought and Paper Complex

As an artist, Akemi Maegawa investigates and questions the meaning of human life—often with deeply-engaged irony. Her solo show, Food for Thought, features small- and large-scale food-related sculptures as familiar subjects encountered in everyday life. Beyond it’s utilitarian role, paper has cross-cultural differences and meanings. In Paper Complex, artists Jessica Beels, Ellen Kennedy, and Saaraliisa Ylitalo display the myriad ways in which paper can be manipulated, transformed, and reimagined; both on view through February 16 at the Stone Tower and Popcorn Galleries (respectively) at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD.

Music in Print: Linocuts by Lila Asher

Since her early days as an artist, D.C.-based Lila Asher made pictures of musicians. This exhibition presents her music themed linocuts where movement, color, Asher’s characteristic touches of humor, and her deep respect for her subjects is evident; on view through February 22 at the Washington Printmakers Gallery, 1641 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Chronicles of the African American Journey Through Fiber Arts and Bygones

Montpelier Arts Center has two shows in celebration of Black History Month: Chronicles of the African American Journey Through Fiber Arts pays homage to life stories and experiences through quilts, beading, felt and sewing. Bygones, freestanding and wall-hanging sculptures by artist Andrew Flanders, investigates the materiality of wood in a series of objects, assemblages, furniture, and vessels. There is a reception for both Saturday, February 8 from 3-5 p.m.; on view at through March 1 at Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd., Laurel, MD.

dancing in the dark

Artist Kelsey Arrington’s collection of photographic art invites spectators to investigate the concept of expression as it relates to identity and performance. Meet the artist at the exhibit reception Friday, February 7 from 6-8 p.m.; on view through February 28 at ArtReach GW, THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE.

Spatial Rapport

Artists Matthew McLaughlin and Brett Fergusen Schieszer explore space, place, and scale in this exhibit that is comprised of their own mixed media work well as a series of collaborative pieces. Schieszer’s abstract work offers balance to McLaughlin’s more austere lines and forms. Together, they aim to create a larger dialogue about space and daily environments; on view through February 23 at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, 4318 Gallatin Street, Hyattsville, MD.