Luce Foundation Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m.

The nation’s first collection of American art, an unparalleled record of the American experience.

Plan your visit

Renwick Gallery Stairwwell

Renwick Gallery

Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Located just feet from the White House, a branch of the museum that is home the nation's collection of contemporary craft and decorative art.

Plan your visit

How Do I Research My Art?

Want to learn more about the painting you found while clearing out the attic? For answers, be prepared for a little detective work.

How to Care for Your Collections

Regardless of the monetary value of your artwork, if it is personally meaningful, you should consider having the object conserved.

Recording a Changing Nation

This resource uses images from photographic surveys in 55 communities in 30 states across the United States as source documents to spark sustained inquiry.

Critical Thinking in Action

These 60-to-95-minute units pair thinking patterns with works of art to instill a thinking disposition transferable across classroom curriculum and into the wider world.

Event Venues and Space Rental

Museum Store Online

Detail of brown ceramic jar with writing and the signature "Dave" inscribed around the top.

David “Dave” Drake: Potter and Poet

Craftsman David “Dave” Drake, enslaved for most of his life, produced uncommonly large ceramic jars in 19th-century South Carolina adorned by his poetic verses

Artist Tanya Aguiñiga wearing a suit made of glass elements while standing next to the U.S./Mexico border wall

Exploring Border Stories with Artist Tanya Aguiñiga

Curator Mary Savig details an artist’s journey to create the powerful performance work Metabolizing the Border that explores the physical and psychological experiences migrants face while crossing the borderlands.

Director’s Circle

A national membership group of museum friends who share a love of American art and craft and our commitment to celebrating the extraordinary creativity of our nation’s artists.

A membership group for young professionals who are interested in immersing themselves in the American art experience.

Artist

Sonya Clark

born Washington, DC 1967

An African American woman wearing a headwrap and glasses stands in front of a large-scale woven artwork. — Photo by Paul Morigi

Born: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Nationalities: American

Videos

Exhibitions

Quilt featuring the portrait of a woman

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World

May 13, 2022–April 2, 2023

Renwick Gallery

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today. The exhibition highlights the role that artists play in our world to spark essential conversations, stories of resilience, and methods of activism—showing us a more relational and empathetic world. It centers more expansive definitions and acknowledgments of often-overlooked histories and contributions of women, people of color, and other marginalized communities.

Related Posts

Large scale installation of fabric made of woven linen with madder dye, on a wodden board.

Contemporary Craft Women Artists

11/18/2021

Sonya Clark’s “Monumental” Achievements

Examining historical imbalances and the roots of racial injustice through fiber art

Photograph of Nora Atkinson by Libby Weiler.

The Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator-in-Charge, Renwick Gallery

Artist Augusta Savage with her sculpture

03/18/2022

Presenting Ten More Visionaries and Rule Breakers in SAAM's Collection

The Drawn to Art comic series continues to share the lives of women artists you should know

A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.

Gabrielle Ching

A holographic figure in a dark room behind a velvet rope and drapes.

From the Collection New Acquisitions

12/31/2021

Growing a Mindful Collection in 2021

Ten artworks we are excited to add to SAAM’s collection

SAAM

An illustration of 10 women artists

09/22/2022

Comic Series Presents Ten (More) Stories About Visionaries and Rule Breakers

The comic series Drawn to Art, published online by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, features tales of inspiring women artists.

A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.

Illustrated comic cover. On the left is a close up of an African American woman wearing a headwrap, large glasses, and earrings. On the right is the title "If You Stitch With Me, I'll Tell You A Story."

02/17/2023

Drawn to Sonya Clark

Celebrating the renowned artist with a comic about her life and work

A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.