Scenes from SAAM Arcade 2019: Breaking Barriers. All photos by Libby Weiler.
SAAM Arcade, the weekend of all weekends for gamers to visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum, has sadly come to an end. We welcomed more than 24,000 visitors at the event! The theme of the 2019 Arcade was “breaking barriers,” with an emphasis on games that recognize and celebrate the diversity of gaming audiences. The centerpiece is always the Indie Developer Showcase in the Kogod Courtyard, which this year featured games made by the LGBTQ+ community and people of color, and games that addressed mental health and disability issues and that use inventive play to break barriers. We also filled the museum with classic arcade cabinets, brought back vintage consoles, and turned our Luce Foundation Center into a board gamer's dream with a table top game lending library. Here are some of our favorite photos from the event.
Whether it was your first Arcade, or if you are a SAAM regular, thank you for visiting the Smithsonian American Art Museum. We hope you take advantage of our many programs and events throughout the year, and be sure to mark your calendars now for SAAM Arcade 2020 on August 1–2!
