SAAM Stories

open egg shaped basket with flash drive inside
Contemporary Craft Exhibitions
11/02/2021
Native American Arts in Focus: Sustaining Traditions—Digital Memories
Discover how artist Kelly Church is ensuring that centuries of Indigenous traditions are preserved for future generations with her beautifully woven basketry.
Ashley Reese
The four musicians of the band Rosie Cima and What She Dreamed stand with their arms around eachother in a room full of framed pictures.
Luce Foundation Center Five Question Interviews
10/28/2021
Podcast Release: Music and Conversation with Rosie Cima
Rosie Cima of Rosie Cima and What She Dreamed discusses her welcome to DC’s music community and her approach to keeping it real in front of an audience.
Anne Wilsey
Program Specialist for the Luce Foundation Center
Sculpture that shows gold skeleton hands reaching around a gold skull that is wearing rose-colored glasses.
From the Collection
10/27/2021
Are You Feeling Spooky or Soulful This Season?
Choose how to celebrate the season with two different ways to explore SAAM's collection
Headshot of woman with black hair
Rebekah Mejorado
Public Relations Specialist
Illustration of a woman standing in a garden, holding a paintbrush.
Women Artists
10/26/2021
Drawn to Maria Oakey Dewing
Celebrating Maria Oakey Dewing with a comic about her life and work
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
A detail of a sculpture of fiberglass fists painted gold
10/22/2021
What Happens When an Artist Meets an Olympian?
Evoking Tommie Smith's legacy through a work of monumental sculpture
Photo of Sarah Newman by John DeWolf.
Sarah Newman
James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art
A woman in a blue mask standing in front of plants.
From the Director
10/22/2021
Representation and the Many-Layered Stories of American Art
Stephanie Stebich, the Margaret and Terry Stent Director, talks about how a variety of voices are represented in SAAM’s collections, galleries, and programming to reflect the complexity of American stories.
 Stephanie Stebich, SAAM's Margaret and Terry Stent Direction in the museum's Lincoln Gallery. Photo by Gene Young. 
Stephanie Stebich
The Margaret and Terry Stent Director, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery
collection of neon lights with stuffed animals and computer parts bundled together
Contemporary Craft Exhibitions
10/19/2021
Contemporary Glass Art Exhibition Brings Fresh Global Perspectives to the Renwick Gallery
New Glass Now showcases artists challenging the status quo, offering new perspectives, and experimenting with what the medium of glass can do!
Ashley Reese
Detail from a painting. Orange and blue organic shapes on a dark blue background.
Exhibitions
10/15/2021
When Kusama Met Cornell
On the surprising friendship between artists Yayoi Kusama and Joseph Cornell
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
An illustration of a woman standing in front of a wall of colorful, abstract art.
Women Artists
10/06/2021
Drawn to Carmen Herrera
Celebrating the renowned artist with a comic about her life and work.
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Detail of painting of woman with dark hair holding a blue object
Exhibitions
10/05/2021
American Artists and the Magic of Venice
An interview with the curator of Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano
A photograph of Anne Showalter in front of Superhighway.
Anne Showalter
Digital Interpretation Specialist
A photograph of Alex Man by Libby Weiler.
Alex Mann
Former Curator (Prints and Drawings)
An illustration of a young woman with dark hair weaving holding a shuttle in her hand and is sitting a loom, weaving.
Women Artists
09/29/2021
Drawn to Kay Sekimachi
Celebrating Kay Sekimachi’s 95th birthday with a comic about her life and work
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
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