Press Room

In a solo show of new sculptures, turning on the hanging bronze bells that have been part of her oeuvre since 2017, artist Davina Semo gives us a colorful, clever, and artful exhibition titled, “A Serious Celebration” at the San Francisco-based Jessica Silverman gallery. On view from Jan. 9 to Feb. 22, 2025, the bells are a further exploration of the artist’s favored form, exploring new materials, shapes, paints, patinas, clappers, and strike tones.

On a windswept and snow-laden recent Sunday morning, the friars of the Priory of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies gathered in the Academic Courtyard for a once-in-120-year liturgical event: the blessing of a new bell. Despite having built a grand tower to the glory of God in 1905, the priory (located across from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in northeast D.C.) has remained without a bell all these years. That is, until now.

It’s not every day that one receives an invitation to a private tour of the White House. It’s even rarer for one to find occasion to send the dulcet tones of a bronze bell echoing down the corridors of that illustrious home. Yet bell ringers are an indefatigable bunch and, following the 2025 National Bell Festival, ringing was indeed heard at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Throughout December 2024 and early January 2025, the newly-cast Solidarity Bell visited Ukrainian congregations in the D.C. metropolitan area on a tour of blessings and ringings, allowing parishioners an up-close view of the bell before it enters our National Archives. Cathedrals and shrines opened their doors to hear the bell ring in support of Ukraine and the nation-at-war’s defense of its sovereignty.

It takes a village to bring a festival to life, so allow us a moment of humble gratitude and bountiful appreciation. The National Bell Festival would like to extend a thundering ovation to the team at NovaLabs, a vibrant maker community in Fairfax, Virginia, for their scrupulous attention to detail and selfless generosity in crafting a stand to support the Solidarity Bell. 

This New Year’s Day, community members gathered with parishioners at Washington National Cathedral for a blessing and ringing of the Solidarity Bell. The bell, a symbol of the steadfast American commitment to defending Ukrainian sovereignty, was commissioned by the National Bell Festival and cast entirely from spent munitions, like bullet casings, recovered from the war in Ukraine. 

On a brisk and breezy New Year’s Day morning, intrepid festivalgoers gathered at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum to listen to the sound of trash. That’s right. The Litter Bell, a new bell cast entirely from reclaimed and salvaged metals, was commissioned by the National Bell Festival and unveiled as part of the sixth-annual celebrations.

What’s that sound? It’s the joy of hope and relief. It’s the spirit of togetherness and celebration. It’s the confident ringing of a new bell for the Children’s National Hospital network. Commissioned by the National Bell Festival for Children’s National Rehabilitation & Specialized Care on Bunker Hill Rd. NE in Washington, D.C., the new bell will be rung whenever patients reach significant milestones in their treatment and recovery – or when kids just need a reason to smile.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, has died at age 100. A statesman and humanitarian, former President Carter will be remembered for his work to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.

Per U.S. campanological protocol:

Bells ring at sunset the day after the announcement of the death of a president or former president.

Ringing to commence on Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, at sunset local time.

On a recent, crisp November morning, the delicate chatter of the birds was disturbed by the whirl of a diesel engine at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. Why this intrusion on nature’s solemnity? To set a 940-lb. boulder in pride of place along the museum’s main entrance, upon which the Litter Bell will be mounted.