Art Beat With Sean Rameswaram, July 18

(July 20-Feb. 3) Because 40 is the new 40
The Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery has housed the institution’s contemporary craft program since 1972. Beginning Friday, the gallery celebrates those forty years of creativity and looks ahead with 40 under 40: Craft Futures. The exhibition explores evolving notions of craft within a variety of fields, including sculpture, industrial design, and sustainable manufacturing. The forty works by artists born since ’72 are showing through February.

(July 20-Aug. 18) Atmospheric Front
A pair of siblings prop up an immersive art installation at Northwest Washington’s Flashpoint Gallery this Friday. Hana and Shana Kim blend motors and micro-controllers with handmade textiles and pulleys to explore the technology of our time in Atmospheric Front. Motion sensors dictate a different experience for each viewer through mid-August.

(July 19-29) Pirates return to ARRrrlington
If you’re a lover of old school operas and you can’t seem to get through to your pirate-loving tykes, Encore Stage & Studio is here with a summertime solution. You’ll get your libretto and your pirate-themed coming of age story in The Pirates of Penzance. The classic Gilbert and Sullivan musical is showing through the end of the month in Arlington.

Music: “Onwu Dinjo” by The People Star