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A Washington DC Citywide Celebration of Iconic Artist Alma W. Thomas

August 16, 2021
Banner for Alma Thomas Everything Is Beautiful Citywide Celebration

Over a dozen local cultural and educational partners present programs, events, and major exhibition this fall

WHAT
Alma W. Thomas | Everything Is Beautiful: A Washington, DC, Citywide Celebration

Beginning fall 2021, cultural and educational institutions across Washington, DC, join together to celebrate the life of pioneering artist and educator Alma Thomas (1891–1978) with a variety of exciting programs and events, alongside the retrospective exhibition Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful at The Phillips Collection, October 30, 2021, to January 23, 2022. Beyond her artwork, Alma Thomas’s accomplishments and contributions to our cultural heritage were vast and varied—she was the first graduate of Howard University’s Department of Art, the first African American woman to have a work of art acquired by the White House Collection, a founding member and vice president of one of the first Black-owned private galleries in the nation, and a teacher for 35 years who taught us the importance of seeking beauty in the everyday.  

The celebration begins in September to coincide with the anniversary of Thomas’s birthday on September 22, with ongoing events that will take place into 2022. Public programming includes a major symposium, workshops, exhibitions, and events, including an appearance by Former First Lady Michelle Obama and other notable speakers.

The schedule of highlight programming and events is listed below.


PARTNERS

Logos for partners of Alma Thomas Citywide Celebration
DC Public Schools      Destination DC        Dumbarton Oaks            Howard University

Jon Gann (producer of the short documentary Everything Is Beautiful)    Office of the Mayor

 

EVENTS
Visit www.AlmaThomasDC.org for more information and details on all events.

September

IN-PERSON: Display of Four Major Acrylic Paintings by Alma Thomas
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | September 3, 2021–August 21, 2022

VIRTUAL: Teacher Workshop Alma Thomas: Teacher, Artist, Trailblazer, Inspiration
Smithsonian American Art Museum | September 17

VIRTUAL: John Wilmerding Symposium on American Art: Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful 
   *Including an Evening Celebration of Alma Thomas with Former First Lady Michelle Obama
National Gallery of Art | September 22–23, 2021

IN-PERSON: Wilmerding Community Celebration
National Gallery of Art | September 24–26

VIRTUAL: NMWA xChange: Alma Woodsey Thomas and the Little Paris Group
National Museum of Women in the Arts | September 14

VIRTUAL: Feminist Art History Conference, held in collaboration with NGA Wilmerding events
American University | September 24–26

October

IN-PERSON: Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful
The Phillips Collection| October 30, 2021–January 23, 2022

VIRTUAL: Happy Hour: Alma Woodsey Thomas and Her Circles  
National Museum of Women in the Arts | Wednesday, October 13

VIRTUAL: Alma Woodsey Thomas: Beneath the Surface  
National Museum of Women in the Arts | Wednesday, December 8

November

VIRTUAL: Alma W. Thomas and David Driskell: Journeys in Art
The Phillips Collection and Howard University | November 13

December

VIRTUAL: Alma Woodsey Thomas: Beneath the Surface
National Museum of Women in the Arts | December 8

January and beyond

IN-PERSON: Alma Thomas Staged Reading of One-Act Play by Local Playwright Caleen Jennings
The Phillips Collection | January 20

IN-PERSON: Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas
Smithsonian American Art Museum | October 6, 2023–April 21, 2024

Ongoing

VIRTUAL + IN-PERSON: SAAM Collection of Thomas
Smithsonian American Art Museum

VIRTUAL: Drawn to Art: Ten Tales of Inspiring Women Artists
Smithsonian American Art Museum

VIRTUAL + IN-PERSON: Alma Thomas DC Heritage Tour
DC Public Library


ABOUT ALMA WOODSEY THOMAS (1891-1978)
In 1907, Thomas and her family migrated from Columbus, Georgia, to DC, and by 1924, she became the first art department graduate at Howard University. She studied the latest developments in art, visiting museums in New York, Europe, and DC, including The Phillips Collection. For 35 years and in a segregated city, she empowered art students at Shaw Junior High School to see beauty in the everyday and brought exhibition opportunities and cultural enrichment to Black youth. Thomas’s home at 1530 15th Street, NW, was her artistic epicenter. There, she created small watercolors, aerial landscapes, and brightly patterned large-scale abstractions that reflect her local surroundings and her fascination with space and the environment. She also pursued her interests in performance, puppetry, and fashion. A leader within her creative community, Thomas shaped the DC art scene through her association with Howard University, American University, and the Barnett Aden Gallery (one of the first Black-owned private galleries in the nation), which she helped co-found. She made history in 1971 by becoming the first Black woman given a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York at age 81, and again in 2015 by becoming the first Black woman to have a work of art acquired by the White House Collection.


For press images and additional information on each event, please contact:

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