SAAM Stories

A detail of a painting outside of a house. Through the window, a woman is putting a blanket on a bed..
Chicano Graphics From the Collection
09/24/2021
Exploring Latinx Stories in American Art
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a look into the diversity and depth of SAAM’s Latinx collection
Headshot of woman with black hair
Rebekah Mejorado
Public Relations Specialist
Eemcee Night Train 357 poses with his WAMMIE trophy in front of a gold curtain.
Luce Foundation Center Five Question Interviews
09/23/2021
Music and Conversation with Night Train 357
Night Train 357 describes the importance of organization in a creative life and teases his new independent martial arts film.
Anne Wilsey
Program Specialist for the Luce Foundation Center
A detail of a comic book cover showing a young African American girl with a paintbrush in her hand
Women Artists
09/21/2021
Happy Birthday, Alma Thomas
Celebrating what would have been artist Alma Thomas’s 130th birthday with a comic about her life and work
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
A black and white photograph of three women looking in the near distance with shocked looks on their faces
From the Collection
09/08/2021
The Art of Remembering 9/11
Artworks in SAAM’s collection and the stories they tell us about 9/11
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
An African American girl wearing a rose-colored hijab stands, smiling, in front of a stone and brick rowhome.
Education
09/02/2021
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
Elizabeth Dale-Deines
An African American girl wearing a black hijab looks directly at the camera, smiling. In front of her is a fence painted to resenble piano keys. Her fingers rest atop the fence.
Exhibitions Behind-the-Scenes
08/31/2021
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.
Elizabeth Dale-Deines
Two visitors wearing cloth masks stand in front of the "Electronic Superhighway" installation. One is pointing at the artwork.
From the Collection
08/27/2021
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
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Rachel Kline, of the band Flowerbomb, plays a guitar on a stage
Luce Foundation Center Five Question Interviews
08/26/2021
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.
A Still-Life of yellow and green sunflowers on a gray background
From the Collection Conservation
08/25/2021
Making William H. Johnson’s Sunflowers Bloom Again
SAAM's conservation fellow explores the extra challenges of treating an iconic artwork during the pandemic
Saki Kunikata
A close up of a cyanotype photogram showing white outlines of blossoms on a dark blue background
Craft Making Activities
08/19/2021
Throwback Thursday: Make a Sun Print
Soak up the summer sun with a photography-inspired craft you can do at home
An image of Gloria Kenyon.
Gloria Kenyon
Public Programs Coordinator
Image of two women looking at tv screen conducting a distance learning class
Behind-the-Scenes Education
08/18/2021
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
Carol Wilson
An illustration of a nun creating a screenprint
Women Artists
08/12/2021
Drawn to Corita Kent
Celebrating the renowned artist with a comic about her life and work
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Collage of two comic covers: "Mickalene Thomas: Portrait" and "Berenice Abbott: Picturing a City"
Women Artists
08/12/2021
New Comic Series Presents Ten Visionaries and Rule Breakers in SAAM’s Collection
SAAM Debuts Drawn to Art: Ten Tales of Inspiring Women Artists
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Image of large installation artwork of a comet suspended from the ceiling
Exhibitions Behind-the-Scenes
08/11/2021
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
Photograph of Nora Atkinson by Libby Weiler.
Nora Atkinson
The Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator-in-Charge, Renwick Gallery
Fragment of a buffalo horn painted with orange butterflies on it.
Contemporary Craft New Acquisitions
08/09/2021
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
A photograph of a woman with brown hair and a dress standing inside a building.
Mary Savig
Lloyd Herman Curator of Craft
A zoom screen split with four participants
Chicano Graphics Exhibitions
08/06/2021
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
Headshot of woman with black hair
Rebekah Mejorado
Public Relations Specialist
Black and white Image of boy and girl with back to camera blurred
From the Collection One Smithsonian
08/03/2021
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.
This is a photograph of curator Saisha Grayson
Saisha Grayson
Curator of Time-Based Media
"SAAM Arcade" Repeated five times
SAAM Arcade
08/02/2021
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
Chris Totten