The DC Public Library celebrates art and exhibits as a source of learning, discovery, growth, and connection. The Art and Exhibits Program at DC Public Library is a portal to the library’s resources and a laboratory for engagement with Washington, D.C.’s past, present and future. The Art and Exhibits program is guided by the criteria outlined in the Library’s Art and Exhibits Policy, in support of the Library’s goal of making arts and culture inclusive for all residents of the District of Columbia.
Download an excerpt of the Library's Art and Exhibits Plan to learn more about the Library's priorities throughout the system.
Exhibits
Exhibits at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library are key to expanding visitors' knowledge of the District’s rich past and are a portal to engagement in the District’s present and future. Exhibits may also be featured at neighborhood libraries.
Exhibits may be curated by the DC Public Library, co-sponsored by a partner organization, or selected through an open application process. Due to special exhibits planned during 2026, the next open call review will happen Fall 2026 for exhibits scheduled in 2027 and beyond. Please check this website in summer 2026 for updates regarding the open call.
Read on for more information about current, upcoming, and past exhibits.
Current Exhibits
The Wonder of DC Trees
November 14 - December 17, 2025 | Woodridge Library
Art: A View, 30 years of the Lorton Art Program
October 5, 2025 – January 11, 2026
Georgetown Neighborhood Library
Barry Farm: Uplifting a Living History, Ensuring a Just Future
Up From the People
Ongoing
MLK Library, Floor 4
Alma Thomas: Life is Color
Ongoing
MLK Library, Floor 2
Upcoming Exhibits
District Vibes / American Pride: How D.C. Changed American Culture
June 2026
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Past Exhibits
D.I.Y. in the District
October 4– December 7, 2025
MLK Library, Great Hall
Not Without Us: A Celebration of Disabled Joy
September 10—November 30, 2025
MLK Library, Floor 1 (West)
A DC Public Library x Georgetown University’s Disability Cultural Center Collaboration
Peace by Design: Posters, Poems, and the Spirit of the Peace Corps
October 1– November 24, 2025
MLK Library, Floor 5
Ben's Chili Bowl: A D.C. Institution
Fall 2025
MLK Library, Floor 1 (East)
New Perspective on the New Thing
June 2—November 13
Woodridge Neighborhood Library
Wonders of D.C. Trees
April 1 - May 30, 2025 (Expanded exhibit, including panels and artwork)
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
SURVIVA by Cannupa Hanska Luger
July 1—September 7, 2025
MLK Library, Great Hall
Presented in collaboration with For Freedoms
Looking Back—Look Forward: Sources of Artistic Inspiration
June 12—September 1
MLK Library, Floor 1 (West)
Presented in partnership with the Washington Sculptors Group
ARTivism: New Beginnings
March 24—August 22, 2025
MLK Library, Floor 5
Celebrating Pride in D.C.: Photographs by Leigh Mosley and Nancy Shia
May 29—June 26
MLK Library, Great Hall
Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Always to Return
October 18, 2024 – July 6, 2025
MLK Library, Floor 1 (East)
We Are Your Neighbors
May 1—June 30
Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library
An Exhibit by Cleveland & Woodley Park Village
Service is Everywhere in DC
April 1—June 30, 2025:
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Creating Space and Opportunities Portrait Exhibit
August 28, 2024 – April 6, 2025
MLK Library, Floor 4 (East)
Service is Everywhere in DC
January 9—March 2025
Lamond-Riggs Neighborhood Library
Capital Connections
June 26, 2024 - March 7, 2025
MLK Library, Floor 5
The Negro Motorist Green Book
November 2, 2024 - March 2, 2025
MLK Library, Great Hall
We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist D.C.
March 30, 2023-September 29, 2024
MLK Library, Floor 1 (West)
Planning Washington: Capital and Community
June 6 – September 1, 2024
MLK Library, Floor 1 (East)
September 4 - 29, 2024
West End Neighborhood Library
Gratitude Powers DC
May 1–May 30, 2024 | MLK Library, Floor 1 (East)
June 1 – 30 | West End Neighborhood Library
August 1 – 30, 2024 | Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Library
Undesign the Red Line
April 12–July 11, 2024
Cleveland Park Library
DC & Me
April 24-May 30, 2024 | Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library
June 1–August 25, 2024 | Anacostia Neighborhood Library
July 26–September 10, 2024 | Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
In a Moment of Tenderness
April 13 - June 9, 2024
MLK Library, Floor 5
Let This World Be Beautiful: Celebrating the Life and Art of Alma W. Thomas
February 17, —April 14, 2024
MLK Library, Floor 1 (Great Hall)
Literary Arts and Urban Journalism Program
November 1, 2023 – April 2024
MLK Library, Floor 5
Freedom is Not Guaranteed by Xaviera Simmons
Presented as part of Banned Books Week
Through October 2023
MLK Library, 9th and G Corner (Exterior)
Presented as part of Banned Books Week
Alpha Sorority, Inc.®, Xi Omega Chapter: Centennial Exhibit
August 11 - September 16, 2023
MLK Library, Floor 1
Todas Las Manos: Commemorating 50 Years Since the Military Coup in Chile
September 9 - October 22, 2023
MLK Library, Floor 1 (Great Hall, East)
Imagining the future. Leonardo da Vinci - in the mind of an Italian Genius
June 21 - August 20, 2023
MLK Library, The Labs, A Level
Leonardo's Lab
June 21 - September 30, 2023
MLK Library, Floor 2 (Children's Area)
Checkin' Out Mingering Mike: Washington D.C.'s Imaginary Soul Superstar
June 7 - August 28, 2023
MLK Library, Floor 1 (Great Hall, West)
Doo-Wop in D.C.: From the Street Corner to the Stage
June 1 - July 23, 2023
MLK Library, Floor 1 (Great Hall, East)
Pass the Story On: Shakespeare's First Folio at 400
April 1-30, 2023
MLK Library, Floors 4 & 5
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See
Jan. 26 – March 12, 2023
MLK Library, Great Hall
Exhibit Related Events
The Public Arts & Exhibits program hosts a wide variety of events year-round, including exhibit openings, movie screenings, panel conversations, interactive workshops, and so much more. Check the library's calendar to find an upcoming event at a library near you!
Public Art
Public art installations can be found at libraries throughout the system, including permanent works and rotating displays of artwork from District government and private collections.
Download a self-guided tour of works on loan from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank collection at the MLK Library.
