The Art of Remembering 9/11
Artworks in SAAM’s collection and the stories they tell us about 9/11
Eye Level
Eye Level is the blog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery. Publishing behind-the-scenes museum stories since 2005.
Centering Black Youth Voices in Baltimore
SAAM educator Elizabeth Dale-Deines talks with Karim R. Amin about the outcomes of creating a youth-focused photography program
Creating Authentic Community Collaboration
One SAAM educator explores creating a meaningful partnership with a community-based organization to achieve something neither could have done alone.
Connecting with Nam June Paik’s Electronic Superhighway
Reflecting on Paik's innovative installation with a new installment of the video series American Art Moments
Podcast Release: Music and Conversation with WAMMIE Award Winner, Flowerbomb
Rachel Kline and Dan Abh of Flowerbomb discuss the release of their WAMMIE award-winning album, Pretty Dark.
Making William H. Johnson’s Sunflowers Bloom Again
Making William H. Johnson’s Sunflowers Bloom Again
SAAM's conservation fellow explores the extra challenges of treating an iconic artwork during the pandemic
Throwback Thursday: Make a Sun Print
Soak up the summer sun with a photography-inspired craft you can do at home
Across the Nation and Around the Globe: Learning with American Art
Hear from SAAM’s education team about leading during the pandemic as teachers transitioned to online teaching
New Comic Series Presents Ten Visionaries and Rule Breakers in SAAM’s Collection
SAAM Debuts Drawn to Art: Ten Tales of Inspiring Women Artists
Reflecting on Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020 During a Global Pandemic
Reflecting on Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020 During a Global Pandemic
Nora Atkinson, curator-in-charge of SAAM’s Renwick Gallery, reflects on an unprecedented year and a half and the universal force of nature
Making the Most: In the Studio with Kevin Pourier
Oglala Lakota artist Kevin Pourier creates art from buffalo horn, a material with a deep ancestral and cultural connection
Chicanx Artists on Sharing Knowledge and Building Community
We look at themes from ¡Printing the Revolution! as discussed in conversations between the artists, curators, and scholars
Leslie Thornton and the Art of Surviving
Leslie Thornton’s feminist punk reset of experimental filmmaking’s aims and inclusions tackles issues we still grapple with today.
Building Community Through Video Games
Chris Totten reflects on how the gaming community around SAAM Arcade has grown since the first event debuted seven years ago
Chicanx Graphic Arts in Focus: RIFA, from Méchicano 1977 Calendario
Go in-depth with ¡Printing the Revolution's! iconic image
Podcast Release: Music and Conversation with Bartees Strange
Bartees Strange warns us against creating musical silos and describes how DC’s rich legacy of Black musicianship shaped his goals and his worldview.
Exhibition Showcases How Artists Challenge Mythic Conceptions of the American West
Now on tour! Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea, a collaboration among SAAM and four partner museums, offers counterviews of “the West” and showcases modern and contemporary artists who are who are reclaiming the narratives of their region.
SAAM Arcade 2021: What Is a Game Jam?
SAAM Arcade is back with a new virtual program format, the museum’s first-ever Game Jam. Learn more about what a game jam is in this blog post!
Chicanx Graphic Arts in Focus: Between the Leopard and the Jaguar
Artist Melanie Cervantes explores indigeneity, identity, and activism in her printmaking practice