September Programs at SAAM

Featured Program
Performance by Christine Sun Kim: Five Finger Discount History
Wednesday, September 11, 6:30 p.m.

Smithsonian American Art Museum
McEvoy Auditorium
Free | Registration required

Artist Christine Sun Kim brings her performance piece, Five Finger Discount History, to SAAM, challenging misconceptions in this “crash course” on the history of Deaf culture. Across her practice, Kim draws from her personal experiences to explore the nuances of language and communication.

This program is presented in ASL and spoken English. The performance received federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice Gallery Talk
Wednesday, September 4, 5:30 p.m. 

Smithsonian American Art Museum
Meet in the G Street Lobby
Free | Registration required

Join Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Teacher Institutes Educator Phoebe Hillemann for a highlights tour of SAAM's exhibition Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice. Painted in the mid-1940s, these artworks honor the stories of African American historical figures such as Marian Anderson, Frederick Douglass, and Paul Robeson, who tirelessly worked to bring peace to the world while facing the realities of racism, oppression, and violence.

Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond Opening Festival
Saturday, September 7, 11:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

Celebrate the opening of Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond, an exhibition organized by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center that showcases the impacts of Asian American culture and creativity on Washington, DC. Enjoy an afternoon of martial arts presentations, visual arts demonstrations and hands-on craft activities, a discussion with local Asian American chefs, and music and dance performances, including DJ sets. Representatives from local Asian American community organizations will talk with visitors about their work and histories in the area.

This event is co-presented by SAAM and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

Virtual America InSight: Verbal Description Tours
Thursday, September 12, 5:30 p.m. 

Join the Smithsonian American Art Museum for a docent-led virtual 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.

Beyond the Studio Workshop: Moss Art with Daphne Lee of Potahto
Sunday, September 15, 1 p.m.   

Create a hanging wall art piece with local artist and entrepreneur Daphne Lee of Potahto. Attendees will choose from several types of preserved moss and other materials to construct their own artwork. Perfect for those with or without a green thumb, this craft requires zero watering. Watch your artwork thrive long after the workshop.

Please note that space is limited for this program, and registration is required. Participants must register by 7 p.m. ET on September 8. 

Take 5: Jazz at SAAM with Stephen Arnold and Sea Change
Thursday, September 19, 5–7 p.m.

Celebrate a uniquely American art form with Take 5: Jazz at SAAM, a series of free, live concerts in the Kogod Courtyard. Performing this month is Sea Change, with founder and bassist Stephen Arnold, saxophonist Sarah Marie Hughes, pianist Federico Gonzalez Peña, guitarist Nelson Dougherty, and drummer Keith Butler, Jr.

Borrow a board game to play during the concert and stop by the Courtyard Café to purchase refreshments.

Art in the A.M.
Tuesday, September 24, 9 a.m.  

Spark your imagination with SAAM during Art in the A.M! Children ages 0-5 and their caregivers are invited to the museum before hours to learn, connect, and create in the galleries. Participants will learn about the different materials and textures used in fiber art by exploring the exhibition Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women. After the tour, children will practice their weaving skills on a community piece, then begin their own individual projects using yarn, paper, and other materials.

Please note space is limited for this program and registration is required.

Art Bites Gallery Talk
Friday, September 27, 12:15 p.m.

Renwick Gallery
Free | Meet in the Renwick Gallery Lobby

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. Julia Hamer-Light, SAAM Predoctoral Fellow in American Craft, discusses Louise Nez’s Reservation Scene.

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.

Christine Sun Kim; Photo by Iga Drobiz

William H. Johnson, Harriet Tubman, ca. 1945, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1146 

Photo by Harry Lee Chow

America InSight; Photo by Mary Tait

Daphne Lee; Photo courtesy of the artist  

Lia Cook, Crazy Too Quilt, 1989, dyed rayon; acrylic on woven and pressed abaca paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance and Bernard and Sherley Koteen and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1991.199, © 1989, Lia Cook

Louise Nez, Reservation Scene, 1992, commercial yarn, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1997.124.189 
 

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