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: A Leap Day opening, photography from a master, geo-political street art, and more!

The Art League Student/Faculty Show

The Art League Student/Faculty Show is a celebration of the amazing work created by the students and faculty of our school. This year’s show is a fantastic representation of our various courses and workshops including painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, and fiber work. Come for the closing reception Sunday, March 1, 2:00–4:00 p.m., at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 North Union Street, Alexandria, VA.

Riffs and Relations: African American Artists and the European Modernist Tradition

Riffs and Relations: African American Artists and the European Modernist Tradition is a pioneering exhibition expanding the narrative of modern art in America by exploring the rich and complex history of 20th– and 21st–century African American artists and their responses to European modernism. The contributions of 54 artists will be on view including Romare Bearden, Robert Colescott, Renee Cox, Leonardo Drew, Hank Willis Thomas, Wangechi Mutu, and more, shown alongside pieces by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and other European modernists. The 72 works include paintings, photographs, prints, mixed media, and sculpture drawn from private and public collections in the US and Europe; on view February 29 through May 24 at the Phillips Collection, at 1600 21st Street NW.

Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico

As one of the most influential contemporary photographers of Latin America, Graciela Iturbide transforms ordinary observation into personal and lyrical art. Her signature black-and-white gelatin silver prints present nuanced insights into the communities she photographs, revealing her own journey to understand her homeland and the world. This exhibit is her most extensive in the U.S. exhibition in more than two decades; on view through May 25 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, NW.

Reflections on Climate Change – E Street Artists

This exhibition is a collection of artwork by the E Street Artists inspired by our planet’s climate and the effects of our collective human impact on the earth. The artists express their fears and hopes for the future with works that highlight our planet’s unique beauty. Meet the artists at an opening reception Saturday, February 29 at 7:30 p.m.; on view through April 11 at Watergate Gallery, 2552 Virginia Avenue, NW.

14th to Lost Origins: The Street Art of Charif Mamadou & Gus

Gus and Cherif are the definition of street artists. Perhaps you’ve seen them selling their art in front of Target on 14th Street in North West Washington D.C. Now, in their first gallery showing, they are presenting their brand of “independent public art” that reflects geo-political, cultural, and abstract subjects; on view Saturday and Sunday, 12-5pm (all other times by appointment) at Lost Origins Gallery, 3110 Mount Pleasant Street, NW.