“With Drawn Arms” Post-Film Screening Panel Discussion

On October 9, 2024, artist Glenn Kaino joined Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie G. Bunch III and sports journalist and professor Kevin Blackistone for a conversation about his powerful aerial sculpture Bridge, on view in SAAM’s Luce Foundation Center. Comprised of 200 golden arms, each is a casting of the outstretched right arm of Tommie Smith, the American winner of the men’s 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. During the medal ceremony, Smith bowed his head and raised his black-gloved fist in a symbolic act of protest.  

This live program discussion followed a screening of Kaino’s documentary With Drawn Arms (2020, running time 1 hour, 24 minutes). The film looks back 50 years to the moment that helped define a movement and changed the course of Olympic gold-medalist Tommie Smith’s life forever. 

Watch the trailer for With Drawn Arms: https://youtu.be/FMcnBkOD6SU?si=LXHXrbn03IuXA05j