<b>New Exhibits
</b>Elizabeth Stone Gallery is holding an art exhibit by Katherine Janus Kahn, illustrator of Sammy Spider series from March 25-April 7 at the gallery, 1127 King St., Suite 201, Alexandria. Visit www.elizabethstonegallery.com.
See "Roots and Branches" from March 24-April 29 at the Target Gallery in the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union St. The exhibit explores themes of ancestry, migration and history. Visit www.torpedofactory.org for more.
See "Western Light" photographs by James Steele and fiber artist Ann Citron at the Athenaeum, 201 Prince St. Exhibit runs through April 7. Visit www.nvfaa.org or 703-548-0035.
See "Near and Far," alkyd and oil paintings of the United States and abroad by Torpedo Factory member Jewell Pratt Burns from April 3-May 6 at The Loft Gallery, 313 Mill St., Occoquan, Va. Visit www.loftgallery.org or 703-490-1117.
Calling all artists. Artists are being sought for "Praising God Through the Arts" which will be held on June 15 from 6-8:30 p.m. at Messiah LutheranChurch, 6510 Ft. Hunt Road. All types of media will be accepted, and the artmay be for sale or display only. Deadline is June 7. Contact Emery Lewis, 703-768-7114 or e.lewis@cox.net.
<b>Closing: Last Chance
</b>Art in City Hall, a bi-annual juried exhibition, Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and second Saturday of each month, 9 a.m.-noon through March 23, at Alexandria's City Hall, 301 King St.
<b>Ongoing Exhibits
</b>The largest and longest-running open needlework competition in the United States is held through March 31 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Woodlawn Plantation, 9000 Richmond Highway, Alexandria. Demonstrations throughout the month will highlight a variety of techniques. "Nelly's Needlers' Tea Room" offers lunch and desserts from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. (cash and checks only). Group luncheon reservations for 10 or more are required 703-323-1781. Tickets for Nelly's Needlers' annual quilt raffle will also be available for purchase. Admission $9 for adults and $4.50 for students through 12th grade. All proceeds benefit Woodlawn. 703-780-4000, stacey_hawkins@nthp.org or www.woodlawn1805.org.
The Kiln Club's "61st Annual Juried Show" Is on display through April 1 at the Scope Gallery at the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union St. , Alexandria. Free. Visit www.torpedofactory.org or 703-548-6288.
See "Duets" featuring sculptures by Gwen Lockhart of Alexandria and oil paintings by Susan Norman at The Loft Gallery, 313 Mill St., Occoquan, Va. The exhibit runs through April 1.
Maria Simonsson's solo art exhibit "Form Over Function" will be featured in the Art League Gallery, 105 N. Union St., Old Town, through April 1. This exhibit explores the bounds of shape, form and functionality. Visit www.theartleague.org or 703-683-1780.
It's nothing new for the Del Ray Artisans (DRA), 2704 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, to extend Southern hospitality. Through April 1, DRA will host an art exhibit entitled "Southern Surge: Hurricane Force Art from Hancock County, Mississippi." This exhibit will showcase the work of Hancock County's artists, many of whom lost their homes, studios, tools and entire bodies of work during Hurricane Katrina. In addition to fine art, Southern Surge will also feature "Mississippi Market," a collection of Hancock County's arts and crafts. Beginning Saturday, March 3, there will also be free screenings of a fascinating documentary film "The Art of The Storm." The film will be shown 4:30 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday (March 3-April 1). Visit www.TheDelRayArtisans.org.
See "Locomotion: View From my Train Window" through April 2 at Multiple Exposures Gallery, in the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria. Visit www.torpedofactory.org.
See "Depth and Transparency" on display at the Enamelists Gallery in the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria. Runs through April 2. Visit www.torpedofactory.org or 703-836-1561.
Barbara Chiminello will be the featured exhibitionist at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, 3001 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria from March 19-April 28. Visit www.schlesingercenter.com for more.
See "Flora and Fauna Reflections" by Lorne Peterson through April 29 at Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria. Free. Visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/gsgp or 703-941-7987.
See "Artistic Duo" by Stephen and Carolyn Gawarecki from through April 30 at Green Spring Gardens Park, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria . Landscape and floral watercolors by Carolyn and photographs by Stephen. Visit www.greenspring.org.
Printmakers Inc. presents "Food For Thought and Flowers for the Table" through April 30 in Studio 325 at the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria. Free. Visit www.torpedofactory.org for more information.
The Alexandria Black History Museum has a new exhibit, "From Morning to Night: Domestic Service in the Gilded Age South." This traveling exhibit, examines the role of African Americans in domestic service in the South. "From Morning to Night: Domestic Service in the Gilded Age South," looks at the lives of the men and women who worked from morning to night, to make a better life for themselves and their families. The free exhibit will be on view from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays – Saturdays, through June 1. The museum is located at 902 Wythe St. in Alexandria. For more information, call the Museum at 703-838-4356.
Through June 28, visitors at River Farm, 7931 East Boulevard Drive can view the floral artwork of Russian artist Nikolai Antuychin, which ranges in style from the traditional realistic mode of the Moscow School of Art to the Russian Impressionists. Nikolai Antuychin's artwork will be displayed in the main house at River Farm, which is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Contact Trish Gibson, AHS Events Manager and Curator of Buildings, at 703-768-5700 ext. 114 or tgibson@ahs.org.
The F.M. Kirby Foundation Gallery in the newly opened Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center at Mount Vernon is inaugurated by the traveling exhibition "A Son and His Adoptive Father: The Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington." The exhibition commemorates the upcoming 250th anniversary of Lafayette's birth and features more than 125 artifacts drawn from some 20 museums and private collections. The exhibition, showing at Mount Vernon through Aug. 5, is accompanied by an illustrated publication with a foreword by the French Ambassador to the United States. Admission fees, which include access to the entire estate, are $13 for adults; $12 for seniors; $6 for youth ages 6-11; and free for children ages five and younger.
<b>Other Topics
</b>Empowered Women International selects talented immigrant women artists, arts educators, and women who want to open businesses to promote art to participate in the business training for artists' success starting March 19 through June 11. Classes meet each Monday from March 19 to June 11, 6:30-9 p.m. at EWI - A Woman's Story Gallery at 1307 King St., Alexandria. Training Fee $175. Low-income artists may be considered for scholarships. Application deadline March 1. Visit www.ewint.org/entrepreneurial_f.htm.
The United Community Ministries Food Pantry is perilously low and we need your help. The Torpedo Factory Art Center is hosting an Emergency Cold Weather Food Drive through March 17. Bring items to the donation box inside the front doors of the art center, 105 N. Union St., and 100 percent of the food will be distributed at no cost to families in need. Items needed include: rice, beans, tomato sauce, pasta, canned meats, fruit and soup and other non-perishable foods. Gift certificates for local grocery stores are also welcome. Cash donations may be made directly to UCM. You may also bring donations to UCM at 7511Fordson Road, Alexandria.