Beyond the Mall: A Visitor’s Guide to Youth Culture off Festival Grounds
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is set to take over the National Mall during the first week of July, but it won’t be the only imprint of youth culture in Washington, D.C. If you’re coming to town early or need a break from the scene on the Mall, then visit these nearby museums for free-of-cost exhibitions featuring themes of young people’s influence on society, as well as works done by participants of this year’s Festival.
OSGEMEOS: Endless Story
If you’re interested in the Festival’s “Streetwise” programming, which emphasizes the ways in which young people take their creative and personal expression to the public spaces in their communities, then this exhibition at the Hirshhorn may be for you.
OSGEMEOS: Endless Story presents the largest U.S. display of work done by Brazilian twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, known globally as OSGEMEOS. The presentation, with many pieces that have never been shown outside of Brazil, includes “ scores of rarely seen drawings illuminating the growth of OSGEMEOS’s creative practice, from the walls of their childhood home to freeways and building façades to global galleries, alongside documentation of their outdoor graffiti and murals,” according to the museum. Visitors are immersed in works inspired by their mother’s embroidery, American hip-hop, breakdancing and graffiti, as well as a fantasy universe the twins invented as children.
When: Open Monday from noon to 5:30 p.m.,
Tuesday–Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Hirshhorn Museum
Independence Ave. SW and Seventh St. SW,
Washington, D.C. 20560
Delighting Krishna: Paints of the Child-God
Hosted by the National Museum of Asian Art, Delighting Krishna encourages visitors to “imagine a god who appears to you as a mischievous child—you dance together in meadows, play with him, and gift him fruits and flowers.” The exhibition offers an understanding of how the Hindu Pushtimarg community engages with the divine by caring for the child-god Krishna, while receiving joy and insight in return.
When: On view until August 24, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Gallery 24
1050 Independence Ave. SW,
Washington, D.C. 20013
Family Workshop | Draw and Display
Tour the Delighting Krishna: Paints of the Child-like God exhibition and create your own fabric artwork inspired by South Asian pichwai paintings. Then use a variety of craft materials to experiment with different ways to mount and display your art. Designed for families with kids ages six to eleven. Advance registration is recommended.
When: Saturday, July 12, 2025, 1:30–3 p.m. and 3–4:30 p.m.
Where: ImaginAsia Studio, National Museum of Asian Art
1050 Independence Ave. SW,
Washington, D.C. 20013
Greensboro Lunch Counter
In 1960, when racial segregation was still legal in the United States, four Black American college students sat down at a “whites only” counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and were asked to leave. But they remained in their seats, which drew national attention and ignited a youth-led movement advocating against inequality in the South.
See the Woolworth’s lunch counter and stools where the college students sat in protest. The piece is part of a larger exhibition, In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness that spans three floors of the museum.
When: Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave. NW,
Washington, D.C. 20560
Building Trades: Work at D.C. Memorials
In a quick-paced city, slowing down to take a closer look can feel counterintuitive. But it’s worth it. Hone in on hand-carved inscriptions done at a few of D.C.’s most important memorial sites, all crafted by Festival participant, stone carver and letter Nicholas Benson with the Washington National Cathedral Earthquake Restoration Project. See his work at the World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial.
When: Open twenty-four hours every day
Where: National World War II Memorial, 1750 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC 20024
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, 1964 Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC 20004
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, 540 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20202
The Teen Experience by the Museum of Contemporary American Teenagers
MoCAT is celebrating 100 years since the term “teenager” was first recognized in American culture with a series of events, including presentations in this year’s Festival and The Teen Experience exhibition in partnership with American University. The exhibition’s emerging artists uncover an honest glimpse of what the teenage experience is like in 2025 through drawings, paintings, mixed media and large-scale, interactive environments. The installations are all works from students in the Montgomery County Public Schools Visual Art Center.
When: On view until August 10, Wednesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center
4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW,
Washington, D.C. 20016
Gallery Talk – The Teen Experience
Join the curators and artists of MoCAT’s The Teen Experience exhibition as they discuss the project. Register in advance.
When: Friday, June 27, 2 to 3 p.m.
Where: American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center
4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW,
Washington, D.C. 20016
THE INVISIBLE SKATE THEORY
This exhibition spotlights the D.C. area’s growing skate scene, including objects from Imilla Skate, Bolivia’s all-female skate collective which participated in the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Curated by Kat “Gato” Salazar, the 2025 Festival’s skate coordinator, THE INVISIBLE SKATE THEORY draws attention to communities build on the outskirts of cities, which act as the third spaces of creativity that weave the tapestry of today’s skateboarding culture.
When: On view until August 16, Wednesday–Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Mason Exhibitions Arlington
3601 North Fairfax Dr.,
Arlington, VA 22201
Now that you’re excited about the presence of youth culture around D.C., don’t forget to bring that energy to the Festival grounds, which will host a gamut of people and cultures working toward heritage preservation from July 2 to July 7.
Cassie Roshu is a media intern at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and an incoming senior at Syracuse University majoring in photojournalism and international relations.
