BUP

SUTRA by Deborah Tomlin
2026-01-29 - 2026-03-23 | The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD, 20815, United States
In 2022, Deborah Tomlin was diagnosed with breast cancer from a routine mammogram. She underwent treatment, which consisted of three different surgeries including a bilateral mastectomy. In SUTRA, Tomlin chooses to paint her scars and unfamiliar body and to examine the healing process through her art. As Audre Lorde expresses, in The Cancer Journals, “Any woman who has had a breast removed because of cancer knows she does not feel the same. But we are allowed no psychic time or space to examine what our true feelings are, to make them our own. With quick cosmetic reassurance, we are told that our feelings are not important, our appearance is all, the sum total of self.”
The title SUTRA in sanskrit means to stitch, to mend, to bring together, to heal. This body of work drew Tomlin to a more abstract approach to painting and drawing including the layering of collage materials and stitching directly on the canvas. Text based on comments by doctors and friends during her treatment is also significant to this work. Painting on top of overflowing and overlapping text expresses Tomlin’s grief and anger. Stitching directly on the canvas with yarn and thread reframes her sutures and scars through the lens of darning and mending, traditionally women’s work, transforming an object ripped and torn into a material stronger and more beautiful by the act of repair.
Visit The Writer’s Center for open hours.

Textiles That Talk: Tales of Rugged & Refined Beauty
2026-02-05 - 2026-04-05 | Amy Kaslow Gallery, 7920 Norfolk Avenue, Bethesda, MD, 20814, United States
Years of searching for striking fabrics, fibers and stories culminate in our latest Folk Art is Fine Art installation, a sensuous journey around the globe with stops in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Laos, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, South Africa, Madagascar, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Kurdistan and Afghanistan. We chronicle the how and why that is so distinctive to each artist, spotlighting their creative springboards built from generations of artistry and practice. Common to all: turning out high design with medium derived directly from Mother Nature.
Find colorful Mayan iconography, woven and wrapping carved wooden stools; striking Kurdish saddlebags of hand-spun camel hair and wool; Escher-like Indonesian silks. See how daily needs meet art in the form of fish nets, floor coverings, amulets and space definers. All exquisite museum-quality, they are sourced from the earth and long held tradition. Their stories are even more striking.

Nothing Up My Sleeve
2026-02-11 - 2026-03-15 | Round House Theatre
Master illusionist Dendy and acclaimed playwright/director Aaron Posner reunite after their smash-hit collaboration on The Tempest for a spellbinding new one-man show. Part dazzling magic act, part deeply personal journey, Nothing Up My Sleeve pulls back the curtain on the history of magic while exploring Dendy’s own path to becoming a magician. Prepare to be amazed, inspired, and transported into a world where the impossible becomes reality. Featuring captivating storytelling, jaw-dropping tricks, and mind-bending surprises, this exhilarating experience will leave audiences believing in magic again.

Bonnie Hammerschlag National Capital New Play Festival
2026-02-11 - 2026-03-15 | Round House Theatre
Round House Theatre is proud to present the fifth Bonnie Hammerschlag National Capital New Play Festival, an annual event celebrating new work by some of the country’s leading playwrights and newer voices. In addition to a fully staged world premiere (part of Round House’s main stage season), audiences are invited to readings of plays in development, where they can sit alongside dramaturgs, directors, and other theatre professionals for an inside look into a play’s journey to the stage.

Havana Hop
2026-02-14 - 2026-03-07 | Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Avenue, Bethesda, MD, 20814, United States
A charming, dynamic tale of culture and originality, created by award-winning DC and IStage artist Paige Hernandez, using her childhood as inspiration. What if you were invited to dance for President Obama? You’d want it to be the best dance ever! Meet young Yelia who visits her grandmother in Cuba to add a salsa flavor to her own hip-hop style! Journey with Yelia as she discovers the fun of her multi-cultural heritage.
