Smithsonian.com

Friday, April 29 Poets & Painters

Celebrate National Poetry Month! Use the paintings at the museum to inspire your poetry. View the paintings and read poetry aloud, followed by a discussion of the artwork. Free. 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. American Art Gallery. Madeline Andre and Arcynta Ali-Childs blogged about poets in the Smithsonian collections.

Andrew Young by Ross R. Rossin, oil on canvas, 2009; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Jack Watson; © Ross R. Rossin

Saturday, April 30 Meet Andrew Young

Civil rights leader Andrew Young will discuss his experience working with Martin Luther King Jr., and his own role in American history. Young will also sign copies of his book Walk in My Shoes: Conversations between a Civil Rights Legend and His Godson on the Journey. Free. 2 PM. National Portrait Gallery. Related exhibition: “The Struggle for Justice” National Portrait Gallery

Sunday, May 1 Restoring the Kabul Museum

Learn about the ongoing restoration of the Kabul Museum, as explored in Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul. This internationally touring exhibition, though currently not on view at a Smithsonian museum in DC, presents more than 200 objects thought to have been destroyed or stolen from the museum before they were recovered in Afghanistan in 2004. Deborah Klimburg-Salter will give her presentation, “Twice Buried, Twice Found: Reinventing the National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul.” Free. 2 PM Freer Gallery of Art