Image: American University Museum, Washington, DC
The American University Museum in Washington, DC, will reopen on Saturday, September 5, with an opening reception marking the launch of its Fall 2026 exhibition cycle. The reception is scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. at the museum, at 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, and will introduce four exhibitions spanning contemporary art, Islamic calligraphy, street photography and graphic narratives.
The cycle is led by ‘noon-mool (tears)’, a two-floor exhibition devoted to Korean artist Ahn Chang-Hong. The presentation moves across painting, photography and sculpture, addressing memory, violence, mortality and vulnerability. It culminates in the artist’s ‘Taxidermy’ series, described by the museum as combining beauty with unsettling imagery.
A work identified in the museum announcement is ‘Sorrow 2025 ’10 (detail)’ from 2025, a mixed-media work on photo panel measuring 51.2 by 51.2 inches. The exhibition’s scope and scale will be discussed in a gallery talk on Sunday, September 6, from 2 to 3 p.m. Speakers are listed as BG Muhn, a professor of art at Georgetown University and a curator of the exhibition, and Jack Rasmussen, director of the American University Museum. Ahn Chang-Hong is also scheduled to take part.
The remaining exhibitions extend the fall programme across distinct visual and thematic fields. ‘Beyond Words: The Sacred Art of Ayesha Kamal’ features large-scale contemporary Islamic calligraphy inspired by sacred text and centuries of artistic tradition. The cycle also includes ‘Observer: The Street Photographs of Norman S. Carr’, which will be the subject of a gallery talk on Saturday, October 17, at 2 p.m.; the museum’s announcement identifies this as the corrected date after an earlier postcard listed the wrong one. The fourth exhibition is described as a presentation of playful graphic narratives with a feminist twist, but its title and artist are not specified in the available announcement.
The reception will include remarks at 6:15 p.m. from Linda Aldoory, dean of American University’s College of Arts and Sciences. Visitors will also be able to meet artists and curators while viewing the four new exhibitions. The announcement presents the opening as the museum’s return after a temporary closure, stating that the museum will reopen on September 5.
The exhibition cycle will be accompanied by several programmes in September and October. On September 12, from 7 to 10 p.m., the museum will participate in Art All Night Tenleytown, with extended evening access and a walking tour focused on Ayesha Kamal’s calligraphy exhibition. On September 30, from 7 to 8 p.m., the INTERFERENCE New Music Collective will present ‘Contour and Resonance’, a 45-minute sound event using recursive recording, experimental composition and improvisation to explore the museum’s architecture, framed by Alvin Lucier’s ‘I am Sitting in a Room’.
The Fall 2026 opening reception takes place September 5 from 6 to 9 p.m., followed by Ahn Chang-Hong’s gallery talk on September 6 and the corrected Norman S. Carr talk on October 17.
