On November 29, five of the world’s most recognized artists-Cai Guo-Qiang, Jeff Koons, Shahzia Sikander, Kiki Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems-gathered to discuss art and diplomacy. This public event followed an open house with students from The Washington Ballet, The Corcoran ArtReach, the Levine School of Music, and the Washington of artist Nick Cave at […]
In my line of work, we often talk about the art of diplomacy as we try to make people’s lives a little better around the world. But, in fact, art is also a tool of diplomacy. It reaches beyond governments, past the conference rooms and presidential palaces, to help us connect with more people in […]
Art in Embassies Makes a Splash for 50th Anniversary – In his book “The First Resort of Kings,” Richard Arndt, a former cultural attaché with the State Department, stressed the power of art as a diplomatic tool to encourage cultural exchange despite language and other hurdles. “The arts have always had the advantage of transcending […]
They say that art is the great international communicator no matter what language you speak. Art also is a symbol of free expression, and has represented the United States in its embassies and consulates around the world by putting our “best foot forward” in the spirit of creativity and cooperation among nations and showcasing some […]
Arts in Embassies program was great diplomatic tool, former Ambassador Tom Schieffer says – WASHINGTON — When Tom Schieffer was U.S. ambassador in Australia and then Japan, he found that a little-noticed program that placed American art in embassies was one of the best diplomatic investments he made. Fifty years after the Kennedy administration started […]
On November 30th, in honor of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Art in Embassies (AIE) 50th anniversary, the National Portrait Gallery’s courtyard was overflowing with beautiful gowns, dapper men, KanKouran dancers, musicians, artists, politicians, military personnel, philanthropists and very recognizable TV personalities. In addition to marking AIE’s 50th anniversary, the event illustrated the program’s […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton climbed to the top of a 20-foot cube made of 4,000 packs of Post-it notes Friday night to get a better look at the party in the National Portrait Gallery’s courtyard. BusinessWeek Senator Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, and his wife, Abigail, caught up with British Ambassador Peter Westmacott near a […]
The presidential inauguration is still a month away, but D.C.’s liberal establishment got an early start last week, while celebrating the Art in Embassies 50th anniversary. A week of performances and installations—including an exploding pine tree on the National Mall—culminated in a big party in the atrium of the National Portrait Gallery Friday night. No […]
Hundreds of artists, diplomats, and celebrities gathered for this inspiring evening with art installations, music, dance, and mixed-media presentations. Here, Art in Embassies program director Beth Dozoretz flanked by Fox News anchor Bret Baier and his wife Amy. For 50 years, the State Dept’s Office of Art in Embassies has chosen and displayed American Art, […]
Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang doesn’t hate Christmas; he just loves blowing things up. And so it was that at 3 p.m. Friday in Washington, D.C., tourists on the National Mall were exposed to the thunderous spectacle of a Christmas Tree going fire-spitting nuclear. D.C. was a suitable locale for Cai’s “Black Christmas Tree,” given the […]
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presents the State Department Medal of Arts to Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang at a ceremony on Friday in Washington. Cai was among five international and American artists awarded for work that promotes understanding across cultures. The event also marked the 50th anniversary of the department’s Art in Embassies program. […]
Chinese-born artist Cai Guo-Qiang presents one of his remarkable “explosion events,”where a 40-foot pine tree erupts in a shimmer of fireworks as if in a “tree lighting” ceremony, followed by a cascade of black ink-like smoke that mimics traditional Chinese brush drawings. Fifty years after the Kennedy administration started a small-scale effort to place American […]
It’s been a difficult dozen years for Washington socialites, who started planning their comeback last spring, no matter who won the White House: Republican hostesses Ann Nitze and Susan Pillsbury would help Dame Gillian Sackler toss the “The Party of the Year” to celebrate the Sackler Museum’s 25th anniversary. Sackler’s late husband had donated 1,000 […]
Photographer Carrie Mae Weems received a State Department medal from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a luncheon on Friday, November 30, at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Clinton honored Weems and four other artists—Jeff Koons, Cai Guo-Qiang, Shahzia Sikander and Kiki Smith—with the first U.S. Department of State Medals of Arts ever awarded. […]
Washington’s THEARC (Town Hall Education, Arts Recreation Campus) hosted its 7th Annual Community Open House with special guest, renowned visual artist and dancer, Nick Cave, Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 5:30 – 7:30pm. In partnership with Art in Embassies (AIE), U.S. Department of State, celebrating its 50th anniversary, this event featured a special Artist Exchange […]
Sackler Gallery and Arts in Embassies Presented Artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Explosion Event” Nov. 30, 2012 Chinese-born artist Cai Guo-Qiang staged one of his remarkable “explosion events,” a thrilling combination of pyrotechnics, artistry and optical illusion in four dimensions Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. The event was presented by the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Art […]
On November 29, 2012, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Art in Embassies (AIE), U.S. Department of State, joined with the Aspen Institute, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center to present a conversation with the five recipients of the Medal of Arts, awarded by […]
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the Art in Embassies 50th Anniversary Luncheon at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 2012.
In what may be one of the first planned explosions on the National Mall, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang is expected to blow up a 40-foot pine tree this afternoon in honor of the Sackler Gallery’s 25th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the Art in Embassies program. Using 2,000 firework-like explosives, Guo-Qiang will take the […]
For 50 years the U.S. State Department has been deploying visual art as part of the art of diplomacy, via a program called Art in Embassies. On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts to five artists who have shown “an enduring commitment” to the effort: Jeff […]
