IA&A at Hillyer

10/20/2026

10/19/2026

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
October 3–November 29, 2026

Katherine Rosing (Painting + Immersive Installations)
Harbingers

Harbingers is an immersive installation of organic, tattered fiber columns pierced by flame, suggesting a ghost forest in the aftermath of wildfire. Dozens of these forms, nearly 10 feet tall, are suspended from the ceiling with paths through the installation inviting viewers to contemplate the impact of extreme weather patterns like drought and the fires that follow, not only on forests, but on human survival. (Visit the website to learn more)
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Diana Mercado (Diana Mercado)
La Casa en la Montaña

IA&A at Hillyer presents La Casa en la Montaña, an exhibition by Diana Mercado bringing together works from her two London exhibitions, Memories of the Andes (2023) and A Tale of the Andes (2025), within a new curatorial framework. The exhibition features 16 paintings, including a work that, together with a poem written for the exhibition, forms the conceptual and emotional bridge between the two original exhibitions.

Heather McMordie (Heather McMordie), curator (CreatureConserve )
Re-Inhabiting Conservation: Our Shared Skies
October 3–November 29, 2026

Re-Inhabiting Conservation: Our Shared Skies reconsiders the role of artists in wildlife conservation and explores the possibilities of art informed by science. The exhibit features work by over two dozen artists and writers from six countries. With a focus on creatures of flight, each artwork explores a different aspect of the complexity of wildlife conservation.
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Hillyer is funded in part by DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Galena Yorktown Foundation, and the John and Shirley Foundation.

10/18/2026

Upcoming Programs at Hillyer

Third Thursday

Thursday, November 19, 2026, 6:15 p.m.

Conversation with Diana Mercado

During our monthly third Thursday program, our featured solo artist, Diana Mercado, will be joined by Dr. Katie Larson, Vice President of Exhibitions at IA&A, to discuss topics related to her current exhibition La Casa en la Montaña.

The Conscious Museum-A Drop In Supper Club

Saturday, November 21, 2026, 6:15 p.m.

‘The Conscious Museum’ is a free, communal exploration of the ecology of food, the future of conservation, and the consciousness of our environment and the winged creatures who allow for its existence. This three-course, farm-to-table supper club will invite the artists from the exhibition and other guests from conservation, physics, community farms and sustainability to come into dialogue with our invited supper club guests to eat together and ideate together, creating our own museum of conscious thought.

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Hillyer is funded in part by DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Galena Yorktown Foundation, and the John and Shirley Foundation.

10/17/2026

A Luz de Luna
Under the Moonlight
Diana Mercado
2024
Oil, aquamarine, and gold leaf on linen
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La Casa en la Montaña
IA&A at Hillyer presents La Casa en la Montaña, an exhibition by Diana Mercado bringing together works from her two London exhibitions, Memories of the Andes (2023) and A Tale of the Andes (2025), within a new curatorial framework. The exhibition features 16 paintings, including a work that, together with a poem written for the exhibition, forms the conceptual and emotional bridge between the two original exhibitions. The title presents the house as a metaphor for the country left behind—an inner space shaped by memory, migration, and ancestral presence. Throughout the exhibition, the mountains remain a recurring symbol: constant, protective, and enduring across distance and time.
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Through landscape and feminine figures, the artist explores belonging, cultural inheritance, and the persistence of identity. Past and present, homeland and diaspora, converge in La Casa en la Montaña, affirming cultural memory not as something fixed in the past, but as a living presence that continues to evolve. Learn more about Diana Mercado’s exhibition by downloading Bloomberg Connects.
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Hillyer is funded in part by DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Galena Yorktown Foundation, and the John and Shirley Foundation.

10/16/2026

Re-Inhabiting Conservation: Our Shared Skies
Curated by Heather McMordie (Heather McMordie)
October 3, 2026 – November 29, 2026

Re-Inhabiting Conservation: Our Shared Skies reconsiders the role of artists in wildlife conservation and explores the possibilities of art informed by science. The exhibit features work by over two dozen artists and writers from six countries. With a focus on creatures of flight, each artwork explores a different aspect of the complexity of wildlife conservation. Some artworks draw attention to the tension between wildlife and the human-built environment, while others point to a hopeful future in which we all become part of the solution. Collectively, these works urge us to actively commit to caring for the animals, habitats, and natural resources around us.

Re-Inhabiting Conservation is curated by Creature Conserve (CreatureConserve), a global nonprofit outreach organization based in Rhode Island, USA, that brings artists, scientists, writers and other creatives together for wildlife conservation. Creature Conserve’s curators include Heather McMordie, Director of Curatorial Programs and Marissa Mireles Hinds, 2026
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Video Recording

The featured segment was taken from a program that was held on Saturday, October 10th. Heather was joined by Marissa Mireles Hinds (), a curatorial fellow, who will be organizing our next program titled “The Conscious Museum: A Drop-in Supper Club” scheduled for November 21st at 3 p.m. The full video will be available on our YouTube channel very soon .
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Hillyer is funded in part by DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Galena Yorktown Foundation, and the John and Shirley Foundation.

10/14/2026

Diana Mercado
En el Bosque (Into the Woods), 2024
Oil, glitter, and gold leaf on linen
30 x 24 in.

Diana Mercado (Diana Mercado) explores belonging, cultural inheritance, and the persistence of identity through landscapes and feminine figures in her exhibition, La Casa en la Montaña. Her work, En el Bosque (Into the Woods) (2024), highlights these connections via reminiscing about her childhood, walking through her grandfather’s garden where she learned to “[…] look closely at nature. Every tree, stone, and winding path seemed to hold a story waiting to be discovered. The forest became a place where memory and imagination could exist side by side.”

Listen to Mercado’s thoughts on En el Bosque (Into the Woods) (2024), as well as her other featured artworks, through our digital partnership with Bloomberg Connects:

https://guides.bloombergconnects.org/en-US/guide/internationalArtsArtists/exhibition/8430e5e1-1501-4a25-b901-c37fae84feb8

Additionally, please visit the gallery Tuesday - Friday, 12PM-6PM and Saturday & Sunday, 12PM-5PM to view Mercado’s exhibition, La Casa en la Montaña, in person (on view until Sunday, November 29th).

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Hillyer is funded in part by DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Galena Yorktown Foundation, the Mars Foundation, and the Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation.

10/13/2026

Join us at Hillyer this Thursday, October 15th, for a guided tour led by Director Tim Brown of all three exhibitions on view throughout October and November; Harbingers by Katherine Steichen Rosing (IG: ), La Casa en la Montaña by Diana Mercado (IG: ), and Re-Inhabiting Conservation: Our Shared Skies curated by Heather McMordie (IG: ).

Visitors can also take advantage of our extended evening hours, which occur on the third Thursday of every month.

Free to the public (a donation of $10 is suggested)

Please visit the gallery Tuesday - Friday, 12PM-6PM and Saturday & Sunday, 12PM-5PM to view all three exhibitions (on view until Sunday, November 29th).

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Hillyer is funded in part by , the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Galena Yorktown Foundation, the Mars Foundation, and the Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation.

10/12/2026

Interview with Preston Sampson (Preston Sampson)
Subject: Avis Robinson

During the run of the Avis Robinson exhibition titled “From Fabric to Paint: Funk, Soul, and the Art of Avis Robinson,” held in June 2025, Tim Brown, Hillyer Director, sat down with the artist, Preston Sampson, to learn more about his relationship with Avis Robinson and her enduring legacy.

The video was recorded on June 20, 2025, and is being shared with the public for the first time.

Enjoy!

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Hillyer is funded in part by DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Galena Yorktown Foundation, and the John and Shirley Foundation.

10/11/2026

Become a Volunteer!

Hillyer is looking for volunteers to assist with public programs and events. Events and programs are held on the “First Friday,” Second Saturday,” and “Third Thursday,” plus various other days through the month.

Hillyer is also looking for volunteers to help with the following:

-research

-installations and prep

-gallery operations

To learn more, visit our volunteer page at: https://athillyer.org/support/volunteer/ .

Or, email the Hillyer Director at: [email protected] .