| | July Programs at SAAM 
In-Person Screening: Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV
Thursday, July 13, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW
McEvoy Auditorium
Free | Registration Required
Join SAAM’s celebration of artist Nam June Paik’s birthday with a screening of the 2023 documentary, Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV (107 min) that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. Known as the “father of video art,” Paik transformed twentieth-century art with his innovative media-based artwork.
The film explores Paik’s career and influence through his writings, archival footage, and clips of his work. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Executive Producer David Koh, Director Amanda Kim, and SAAM’s Curator of Time-Based Media, Saisha Grayson. |
 | In-Person Converse with a Conservator: Musical Thinking
Friday, July 7, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW
Free | Registration required
Take a conservation-focused tour through the exhibition Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies with Dan Finn, SAAM's time-based media conservator. Participants will learn about the intricacies of the preservation process as well as the challenges conservators face in addressing video, sound, and interactive installations. Space is limited.
|
 | Virtual Beyond the Studio with Marcella Kriebel
Sunday, July 9, 1 – 2 p.m.
Tickets $15 | Registration required
Register now for this engaging Zoom workshop with artist Marcella Kriebel and learn the basics of watercolor and illustration techniques before trying your hand at creating your own masterpiece. Kriebel is known for her culinary watercolor paintings and murals throughout DC.
Tickets include the cost of materials needed for the activity, instructions, and postage. Participants must register by 7 p.m. ET on June 25.
|
 | Virtual America InSight: Verbal Description Tours
Thursday, July 13, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Free | Registration required
Discover highlights from the collection through rich verbal descriptions that invoke a multisensory experience. This docent-led virtual tour designed for participants who are blind or have low vision.
|
 | In-Person Take 5: Jazz at SAAM with Keith Butler, Jr.
Thursday, July 20, 5 – 7 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW
Kogod Courtyard
Free | Registration encouraged
Celebrate a uniquely American art form with Take 5: Jazz at SAAM, a series of free, live performances in SAAM’s airy Kogod Courtyard. July features Keith Butler, Jr., who has deep roots in many musical traditions having come of age in the cultural melting pot of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Butler is a founding member of adventure music ensemble The New World and is a member of the avant-jazz quartet ¡FIASCO!. Borrow a board game, purchase refreshments from the Courtyard Café, and enjoy summer evenings at SAAM.
|
 | In-Person SAAM Arcade
Saturday, July 22, 11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW
Kogod Courtyard
Free | Registration encouraged
Turn the volume up for our annual exploration of video games and art, this year exploring many of the same themes on display in the new exhibition, Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies. The popular Indie Developer Showcase will highlight games that use music and sound design in engaging, experimental, and inventive ways, from rhythm games to musical instrument simulators to groundbreaking soundtracking.
Play classic video and arcade games provided by local partner MAGFest and explore SAAM's collection with a sonic-inspired art scavenger hunt. Visit SAAM's website for a full list of games and more details about the 2023 program.
|
 | Art Bites Gallery Talk
Friday, July 28, 12:15 – 12:45 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW
Free | Meet in G Street 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 America’s ever-changing culture.
Zoe Weldon-Yochim, the Douglass Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, provides new insights into Patrick Nagatani’s Trinity Site, Jornada Del Muerto, New Mexico from the series Nuclear Enchantments.
To view other Art Bites talks, visit SAAM’s full calendar of events. |
| |
Image Credits:
Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV, Photo by Elliott Erwitt, Greenwich Entertainment
Conservation photo by Laura Hoffman
Marcella Kreibel, Photo courtesy of the artist
ASL tour, Photo by Mary Tait
Keith Butler, Jr, Photo by Will Blunt
SAAM Arcade, Photo by Norwood Photography
Patrick Nagatani, Trinity Site, Jornada Del Muerto, New Mexico from the series Nuclear Enchantments, 1989/1993, chromogenic print, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of Dr. Mark Reichman |
|
| | |
|
