Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide to fun and interesting ways to enjoy art in person or virtually.

This weekend: Makers Mile in Old Town; Iké Udé’s visions of Nollywood at the National Museum of African Art; new insights on Picasso’s Blue Period at The Phillips; Resilience and Uncertainty at CAH; and Pantone Black at 11:Eleven Gallery.

Makers Mile in Old Town Alexandria

Come out to Old Town Alexandria this weekend and get creative at Makers Mile! Learn a new skill, or enjoy those you know, by participating in a bevy of craft activities taking place at shops and businesses throughout Old Town. Experience everything from paper and paint to fabric, yarn and more. Tickets are $30 and are good for the entire weekend. Register here and pick up your tote bag (which serves as your ticket at participating vendors), map, and schedule at The Lorien Hotel & Spa on February 26 or 27 between 10:00am & 4:00pm. All activities and crafts will be available from 11am – 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, February 26 and 27, unless otherwise indicated in the schedule.  We encourage you set appointments or sign up for session slots in advance at businesses where applicable.

Iké Udé: Nollywood Portraits

In Nollywood Portraits, multimedia artist Iké Udé celebrates the luminescent beauty and mystique of Nigerian visionaries by turning his lens on the talented people who drive Nollywood, Nigeria’s $3 billion film industry. Known for his performative and iconoclastic style and vibrant sense of composition, Udé’s photographs use color, attire and other markers to make elegant yet unexpected portraits. His photographs make a bold statement about the power of African identities, despite centuries of attempted erasure by Eurocentric art history and notions of beauty. It is on view at the African Art Museum, 950 Independence Avenue, SW, through Sunday, February 17. You may also view Nollywood Portraits here, and see Udé and some of the Nollywood A-listers  who are his subjects in a conversation about art, cinema, and the power of beauty here.

Picasso: Painting the Blue Period

Picasso: Painting the Blue Period, at The Phillips Collection, is a groundbreaking exhibition that provides new insight into the creative process of Pablo Picasso at the outset of his career. It is the first exhibition in Washington, DC, in 25 years to focus on the early works of this 20th century icon, just as he was beginning to define himself on the international stage. The exhibition features works from 30 international collections, including more than 70 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by Picasso along with works by French and Spanish artists that he studied before and during the Blue Period. It opens Saturday, February 26 and is on view through June 12; 1600 21st Street, NW.

Resilience and Uncertainty 

Resilience and Uncertainty brings together the work of six contemporary artists from Washington, DC and New York City—Felix Angel, Dominie Nash, Eric Finzi, Patricia Encarnacion, Mildor Chevalier, and Ezequiel Taveras—whose works express how essential art can be in overcoming adversity and difficult times. Working in printmaking, textiles, photography, ceramic installation and painting, their work addresses notions of resilience and uncertainty, both in the Caribbean and the United States. Resilience and Uncertainty is presented by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and is on view through April 14 at the 200 I Street Galleries, and virtually here. You may also view the catalogue here.

Pantone Black

11:Eleven gallery in partnership with Artfinder presents Pantone Black, a group show that highlights and celebrates the diversity of Black culture in history and fine art. The exhibition features works by  Charles Jean-Pierre, Marly McFly, Mark Clark, Mekia Machine, Qrcky, and xplorefreedom, and is on view through March 20; 10 Florida Avenue, NW.

Enjoy the weekend!