National Building Museum Highlights D.C. Culture in 5th Annual Film Festival

Micha Green WI Managing Editor

Gentrification, redlining, housing, fashion, architecture, sustainability, and art— and where these topics intersect— will be some of the many themes explored at the fifth annual Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF). Kicking off Thursday, Jan. 26 with an open bar and film screening and wrapping up Sunday, Jan. 29 with a GoGo brunch and pop-up art exhibit, the ADFF features four days packed with activities that allow guests to examine how design influences culture from the arts, to economics, to social justice issues. And with the event held in the nation’s capital, many of the features will be unapologetically D.C.-centric.

“First and foremost, D.C. is our own home and it’s important for us to tell the story of our community. And, more broadly, our mission is really telling the stories of the places that we live, play and work- our built environment,” said Jacquelyn Sawyer, vice president of Education and Engagement at the National Building Museum. “The way that people understand the built environment is through their local experience. So we want to tell local stories that have those national throughlines.”

Sawyer noted that while the museum gets visitors from around the nation and world yearlong, uplifting local artists remains a top priority— allowing for people to connect D.C. stories to their own communities.

“That’s what we’re hoping for, for this one festival,” Sawyer explained.

During the Thursday night kickoff, which boasts an open bar and hors d'oeuvres, will be a showing of “Alice Street,” a documentary about a mural that brought together artists, leaders and two neighborhoods, emphasizing the power of public art. After the film screening is a Q&A featuring director Spencer Wilkinson and community organizer Laila Sandra Huen.

Happy Hours will begin the fun