The Phillips Collection Announces 2025–26 Exhibitions and Programming
WASHINGTON, DC—The Phillips Collection announces its upcoming exhibition schedule and programming highlights through fall 2026, featuring a vibrant mix of historical and contemporary art by both emerging artists and established figures. The exhibitions and programs align with a reinvigorated mission to bolster The Phillips Collection’s connection to its legacy of championing the voice, spirit, and vision of singular artistic talents through dynamic exhibitions that resonate with today’s world. The season highlights artists who have had an enduring impact on contemporary art, performance, politics, activism, and society, and explores generational influence, challenges to artistic dogma, reevaluations of identity, and more. The upcoming exhibitions also strengthen the museum’s connections to its local arts community, including artists who have been central to DC’s cultural fabric.
“We are thrilled to present a season of exhibitions that demonstrates how art enables us to think and, as Duncan Phillips said, see differently,” says Vradenburg Director & CEO Jonathan P. Binstock. “From the radical activism of Essex Hemphill and Vivian Browne to the reexamination of American art in Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection, and the exploration of Joan Miró’s profound influence on U.S. modernism in Miró and the United States: Exchanges, we are showcasing works that deepen our understanding of art, identity, and history in new and important ways.”
The lineup includes an exhibition that charts the interdisciplinary relationship between DC-based poet, writer, and activist Essex Hemphill and contemporary visual art, featuring leading contemporary voices including Sir Isaac Julien, Lyle Ashton Harris, Diedrick Brackens, Tiona Nekkia McClodden, and more (May 17–August 31, 2025), and the first museum survey dedicated to artist and activist Vivian Browne’s pioneering career in Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest (June 28–September 28, 2025).
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, The Phillips Collection will present Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection (November 8, 2025–February 15, 2026), which highlights how American artists from the early 20th century to today have represented the diverse peoples, cultures, landscapes, and histories that shape the United States. Additionally, a Juried Invitational (August 1–September 20, 2026) will showcase recent works by Washington, DC-based artists, emphasizing the capital’s vibrant and thriving artistic community.
The museum will also continue its tradition of championing iconic figures of modernism with Miró and the United States: Exchanges (March 21–July 5, 2026), exploring the transatlantic exchange between Joan Miró and American artists, and Avery, Gottlieb, Rothko: A Close-Knit Trio (October 24, 2026–January 24, 2027), which delves into the artistic connections between Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko, focusing on the inspiration they derived from shared summers on Cape Ann in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
“This diverse group of exhibitions not only offers new scholarship on iconic artists but also brings forward lesser-known figures whose work continues to inspire and resonate,” says Chief Curator Elsa Smithgall. “We look forward to welcoming guests to experience these thought-provoking exhibitions, which showcase the power of art to connect across generations and inspire bold experimentation.”
EXHIBITIONS (SPRING 2025–FALL 2026)
Exhibition dates and titles are subject to change. Additional exhibitions and special programs to be announced.
Essex Hemphill: Take care of your blessings
May 17–August 31, 2025
This exhibition charts the intertextual relationship between the writings of the poet and activist Essex Hemphill (1957–1995) and contemporary visual art. Raised in Washington, DC, Hemphill emerged as a luminary in the DC arts scene in the 1980s and ‘90s. Essex Hemphill: Take care of your blessings explores the work of visual artists who knew or collaborated with Hemphill during his lifetime or created work decades later that speak to his writings, resulting in an intergenerational dialogue that spans time, media, and place.
This exhibition is organized by The Phillips Collection.
Essex Hemphill: Take care of your blessings is made possible by Teiger Foundation.
Presented with the essential support of the Carolyn Alper Fund for Contemporary Art and The Marion F. Goldin Charitable Fund.
Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest
June 28–September 28, 2025
Drawing upon previously unknown works and archival findings, this exhibition recovers the depth and variety of the more than three-decade career of Vivian Browne (1929–1993). The exhibition features paintings, prints, and works on paper across seven bodies of work, as well as ephemera that highlight Browne’s pioneering activism and influential teaching career. Browne was a founder of the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition, an organization that fought for Black representation in New York museums; a founder of SoHo20, one of the first women’s art cooperatives in Manhattan; and a professor at Rutgers University (1971–92). Browne’s signature approach to color and form challenged the neatly defined categories of abstraction and figuration, and art and politics, revealing a more nuanced approach to art-making that is part of Browne’s unique contribution to 20th-century art of the US.
This exhibition is co-organized by The Phillips Collection and the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati.
Major support for the exhibition tour and associated programs has been provided by the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Terra Foundation for American Art, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
The presentation of Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest at The Phillips Collection is made possible, in part, by the Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan Exhibition Fund.
With the generous support of Anne and Gus Edwards and of Reid Walker.
Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection
November 8, 2025–February 15, 2026
Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the United States, Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection is a celebration and examination of the beauty and complexity of this nation’s history. Presenting artists well-known and understudied from the permanent collection, Out of Many builds a dynamic story about how, from the early 20th century to the present, various artists have imagined and depicted the people, cultures, landscapes, and histories of the United States. To tell a more diverse constellation of stories, the exhibition includes artworks from the historic collections of African American art at Howard University Gallery of Art and The David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland.
This exhibition is organized by The Phillips Collection.
Research for this project was made possible by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Lead support for this exhibition is provided by The Phillips Collection’s Exhibitions Endowment Fund.
This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan Exhibition Fund.
Presented with the essential support of Altria Group and Lugano.
peter campus: there somewhere
January 17–May 3, 2026
peter campus (b. 1937, New York, New York) is a seminal figure in the history of new media and video art, often mentioned as a key creative force in elevating video to a contemporary art form. This exhibition highlights one of campus’s iconic early videos from the late 1970s, alongside his latest breakthrough landscape video works, including blessingway and no direction known, which will be shown for the first time. These later pieces, inspired by the serene coastline near the artist’s home in Long Island, are marked by a sense of tranquility and introspection, evoking a feeling of being “there somewhere.”
This exhibition is organized by The Phillips Collection.
Presented with the generous support of the Carolyn Alper Fund for Contemporary Art.
Miró and the United States: Exchanges
March 21–July 5, 2026
Miró and the United States: Exchanges explores the fertile artistic conversation between Spanish artist Joan Miró (1893–1983) and American artists during the period of the artist’s greatest transatlantic contacts from the 1940s to the 1960s. This exhibition will trace Miró’s relationships with American artists, collectors, and institutions, illustrating the ways this exchange spurred new inspiration and experimentation on both sides of the Atlantic. Featuring works by Miró juxtaposed with those by Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Adolph Gottlieb, Lee Krasner, Norman Lewis, and Jackson Pollock, among others, this exhibition will enrich our understanding of the development of post-war art.
This exhibition is organized for The Phillips Collection by Elsa Smithgall, in collaboration with Marko Daniel, with the support of Dolors Rodriguez Roig, at the Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona.
The Phillips Collection gratefully acknowledges Northern Trust as the Presenting Sponsor of Miró and the United States: Exchanges in Washington, DC.
Presented with the essential support of The Marion F. Goldin Charitable Fund.
Juried Invitational
August 1–September 20, 2026
Honoring its long-standing dedication to exhibiting, acquiring, and supporting the work of living artists in the Washington, DC, area, The Phillips Collection is proud to present a juried invitational exhibition highlighting the work of artists living and working in the region. The exhibition invites submissions of recent works across all visual arts media, including drawing, printmaking, painting, mixed media, photography, sculpture, and video.
This exhibition is organized by The Phillips Collection.
Made possible, in part, by the Frauke de Looper Trust.
Avery, Gottlieb, Rothko: A Close-Knot Trio
October 24, 2026–January 24, 2027
This exhibition will tell the story of the friendship between three towering figures in American art: Milton Avery (1885–1965), Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974), and Mark Rothko (1903–1970), and highlight the inspiration they derived from summers in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on Cape Ann. Through approximately 75 paintings, drawings, prints, and watercolors from the 1920s to the 1960s, this exhibition will reflect for the first time the lifelong artistic exchange between these three artists, the experiences they shared, and the support that they provided to each other. Many of the works in this exhibition have never been on public view.
This exhibition is organized by the Cape Ann Museum, Glouchester, Massachusetts, in partnership with The Phillips Collection.
Lead support of the Washington, DC, presentation of Avery, Gottlieb, Rothko: A Close-Knit Trio is provided by The Phillips Collection Exhibition’s Endowment Fund.
This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan Exhibition Fund.
PROGRAMMING & INITIATIVES
Phillips Music 2024–25 Season
For more than 80 years, Phillips Music has presented an exceptional roster of performers in the intimate, art-filled setting of the museum’s Music Room. The 85th season of Sunday Concerts will celebrate sound, identity, and artistic legacy through imaginative programming. This season will mark the first curated by Director of Music Jenny Lin, who joined in September 2024. Programs will honor the 250th anniversary of the United States, aligning with Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection, and will explore the diverse cultures, stories, and sonic landscapes that shape America’s musical heritage. Additionally, concerts will celebrate the music and musical circles in Joan Miró’s life, in conjunction with Miró and the United States: Exchanges.
Highlights of the season include an expanded Leading International Composer’s series, with concerts featuring the music of Gabriela Ortiz, Huang Ruo, Paul Wiancko, and Francisco Coll. Phillips Music is excited to welcome performances by artists including the American Brass Quintet, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Miró Quartet, Attacca Quartet, Calder Quartet, Cristina Aguilera Flamenco Trio, Tomeka Reid/Artifacts, Matchstick Percussion, violinist Scott Yoo, cellist Camille Thomas, guitarist Sean Shibe, pianist Robert Levin, Brooklyn Rider, and more. The full 2025–26 Phillips Music season will be announced this summer. Visit phillipscollection.org/music for more information.
Phillips@THEARC
The Phillips Collection’s workshop and gallery at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) in Southeast DC provides a space to view, discuss, make, and exhibit art to encourage community participation and action. In the 2025–26 season, Phillips@THEARC presents The Artist’s Experience: From Brotherman to Batman, which celebrates some of the top Black artists in the comic book industry (on view through July 24, 2025) and a solo exhibition of prominent DC painter and muralist Rik Freeman (September 24, 2025-February 19, 2026).
Phillips after 5
On the first Thursday of every month from 5 to 8:30 pm, enjoy Phillips after 5, a lively mix of art, live music, gallery talks, films, interactive activities, craft cocktails, tastings, and more. Admission: $20. Members are admitted free to Phillips after 5; reservations are encouraged.
Third Thursday and Pay-What-You-Wish
On the third Thursday of each month, The Phillips Collection offers free extended hours from 5–8 pm for guests to explore the galleries and enjoy 15-minute Spotlight Talks from Phillips Educators focused on an artwork within the collection. The museum offers Pay-What-You-Wish admission from 4 pm–close.
IMAGE GALLERY
High-resolution press images are available upon request. Please contact lcantrell@phillipscollection.org
IMAGES: Keith Crown, Midwestern Illinois Land, 1971, Watercolor on paper, 30 x 22 3/4 in., The Phillips Collection, Gift of Ray Kass, 1981; Joan Miró, Chiffres et constellations amoureux d’une femme from the Constellations Series, 1959, 18 3/4 x 15 in., Book with 1 lithograph and 22 reproductions heightened with pochoir, Fundació Joan Miró; Milton Avery, Black Sea, 1959, The Phillips Collection, Acquired 1965; © 2025 Milton Avery Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
ABOUT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
Founded in 1921, The Phillips Collection is a welcoming home for all where the vision and spirit of artists thrive in intimate settings. As the first museum of modern art in the United States, the Phillips houses one of the world’s most celebrated Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and modern art collections, and continues to grow its permanent collection with the work of important living artists. Its distinctive domestically scaled architecture combines three structures built over more than 125 years, among them the former home of the founders, Duncan and Marjorie Phillips. The Phillips’s impact extends nationally and internationally through its diverse, scholarly exhibitions; award-winning education programs for educators, students, and adults; and renowned Phillips Music series. Popular and impactful programs include those focused on art and wellness, its festive monthly Phillips after 5 events, and intimate Living Room talks. Through authentic programs and partnerships at Phillips@THEARC, the museum’s satellite location in Southeast DC, the Phillips extends its reach into Wards 7 and 8 and Prince George’s County, Maryland. The Phillips Collection is a private, non-government museum, supported primarily by donations.