March Programs at SAAM

Featured Program

Virtual Studio Tour with Ursala Hudson 
Thursday, March 7, 7 p.m. ET

Join Sharing Honors and Burdens: Renwick Invitational 2023 artist Ursala Hudson (Tlingit) in a virtual, behind-the-scenes tour of her studio, followed by a conversation on her materials and artistic process. Hudson, who was given the name Kadusné ("they are weaving") by her mother, is a transdisciplinary artist of Caucasian, Filipina, and Tlingit descent. She explores her interrelated worldview and philosophies through two-dimensional and fiber arts. 

Hudson is best known for her woven, couture Chilkat and Ravenstail ceremonial regalia, which are often featured in high-fashion outlets and cultural venues. In addition to the intimate look at her studio space, Hudson will discuss the importance of incorporating sound and movement into this sacred medium, contrasting the traditionally seen static display of regalia in historic and cultural institutions.

Media sponsorship for Sharing Honors and Burdens: Renwick Invitational 2023 programing is provided by the American Craft Council.

Converse with a Conservator: Alma Thomas
Tuesday, March 5, 5:30 p.m.

Join SAAM’s head of conservation, Amber Kerr, for a conservation-focused tour through the museum’s popular exhibition, Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas. Kerr will discuss in-depth how Thomas achieved her unique visual effects in large-scale works, and the methods conservators use to gain insight into her working methods. Space is limited.

America InSight: Verbal Description Tours
Sunday, March 10, 1:30 p.m. 

Join SAAM for a docent-led tour designed for participants who are blind or have low vision. Discover highlights from the collection through rich verbal descriptions that invoke a multisensory experience.

Art in the A.M.
Tuesday, March 12, 10:30 a.m. 

Spark your imagination with SAAM during Art in the A.M. Children ages 0-5 and their caregivers are invited to join SAAM before hours to learn, connect, and create in the galleries. Together, attendees will explore the expressive colors and music behind the exhibition Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas, with close looking at artworks such as White Roses Sing and Sing and Untitled (Music Series). After touring the galleries, children will create their own Alma Thomas-inspired artworks. Space is limited and registration is required.

Art Signs: Artful Conversations in ASL  
Thursday, March 14, 5:30 p.m.   

Curious about American art? Join us for a 30-minute in-person conversation about selected works from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection. This program is presented in American Sign Language (ASL) with voice interpretation for hearing participants. 

Charles C. Eldredge Prize Lecture with Caitlin Meehye Beach 
Thursday, March 21, 4 p.m. 

Join art historian Caitlin Meehye Beach for the Eldredge Prize lecture “Sculpted Bodies and the Matter of Racial Capitalism.” She is the 2023 recipient of the Eldredge Prize, which annually recognizes originality and thoroughness of research and excellence in writing, for her book Sculpture at the Ends of Slavery. Beach explores the intersections between the economic wealth generated by enslavement and the materials, production and circulation of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century sculpture.She also highlights the artists’ role in reproducing anti-Blackness even as they professed anti-slavery politics. In her lecture, Beach will use her book as a starting point to discuss sculpture's relationship to ideas about race and the human body in nineteenth-century art and material culture.

Beach is an assistant professor of art history, affiliated faculty in African American Studies at Fordham University, and co-director of Fordham’s Asian American studies program.  

The lecture will be held in person and online; registration is required.  

Art Bites Gallery Talk 
Friday, March 22, 12:15 p.m. 

Join SAAM’s research fellows for this lunchtime series of gallery talks as they share new discoveries about artworks on view. Learn the stories behind these objects and how each one tells us about an ever-changing culture in the United States. Chaeeun Lee, SAAM Asian American Art Predoctoral Fellow discusses Carlos Villa’s During.

Cherry Blossom Family Celebration 
Saturday, March 23, 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets NW 
Kogod Courtyard
Free | Registration encouraged

Celebrate the season of cherry blossoms with SAAM! Begin the day on the F Street Plaza (weather permitting) with a taiko drumming performance by drumming group Nen Daiko. The program continues inside in the Kogod Courtyard for a day of performances and Japanese pop, boogie, and more with Les The DJ.

Children 12 and younger can enjoy cherry-blossom themed crafts and face painting. Treat yourself with tasty offerings for purchase from the Courtyard Café. A spring-themed scavenger hunt through SAAM’s galleries extends the cherry blossom fun. 

This program is part of the 2024 National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Beyond the Studio Workshop: Cherry Blossoms with Nicolas Shi 
Sunday, March 24, 1 p.m.

Kick off cherry blossom season with a workshop presented with Nicolas Shi, the official artist of the National Cherry Blossom Festival! A longtime resident of Washington, DC, Shi’s work is influenced by his upbringing in Honduras, his Chinese heritage, and his formal education in the United States. In this two-hour workshop, he will discuss his work with the National Cherry Blossom Festival before leading participants through an activity inspired by DC’s beloved cherry blossoms.

Please note space is limited for this program, and registration is required. Participants must register by 7 p.m. ET on March 10.

This program is presented with the 2024 National Cherry Blossom Festival. 

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is able to create and share experiences like these thanks to funding from generous supporters like you. Thank you for ensuring that American art is available to all. Donate to support SAAM.

Image Credits: Ursala Hudson; Photo by Sydney Akagi

Jack Whitten, Photograph of Alma Thomas at Whitney Museum of American Art exhibition opening, 1972, Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

America InSight; Photo by Mary Tait

Alma Thomas, Untitled (Music Series), 1978, acrylic on canvas, 71 5/8 x 52in. (182.0 x 132.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1978.40.5

Art Signs; Photo by Mary Tait

Photo courtesy of Caitlin Meehye Beach

Carlos Villa, During, 1982, acrylic on canvas, 82 x 72 in. (208.3 x 182.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible through Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2023.26 

Cherry Blossom Family Day; Photo by Norwood Photography

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Shi

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