September Programs at SAAM

Explore the newly reimagined and reinstalled modern and contemporary art galleries, as well as a look at our special exhibitions, Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea and Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies in an afternoon of gallery talks.

Join SAAM’s curatorial and conservation staff as they discuss the new artworks and spaces, which highlight many voices—including artists who identify as Asian American, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and LGBTQ+—presenting a multifaceted view of art in the United States.

Join Sharing Honors and Burdens: Renwick Invitational 2023 artists Erica Lord (Athabaskan/ Iñupiat) and Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) in conversation with guest curator, Lara Evans (Cherokee Nation).

Thompson, a fiber artist and designer who derives inspiration from her Ojibwe heritage, explores family history and broader themes relating to her Native American experience in her work. Lord is a multimedia artist who crafts beaded burden straps and sled-dog blankets with abstracted representations of the diseases that disproportionately impact Native and other marginalized communities. They will discuss the importance of cultural identity and how it informs their creative practice.

Smithsonian American Art Museum
McEvoy Auditorium and YouTube
Free | Registration required

Interdisciplinary artist Cauleen Smith kicks off the annual Clarice Smith Distinguished Lecture Series. Smith explores African American identity through her work, particularly in films such as Sojourner, featured in SAAM’s current exhibition Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies.

She describes her work as a reflection on “the everyday possibilities of the imagination,” drawing on poetry, Afrofuturism, science fiction, and tactics of experimental film to conjure alternative narratives and what the artist has called “a cornucopia of future histories."

Virtual Artist Conversation with Carrie Mae Weems
Wednesday, September 20, 6:30 p.m. ET

Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to hear from legendary artist Carrie Mae Weems, Described as an icon, national treasure, and genius, Weems is a moral compass in the field, entwining art and activism to address racism, sexism, classism, colonialism, and xenophobia. For four decades, Weems has been an inspiring force in American art, using photography, text, textile, video, film, installation, public art, and performance.

Weems will be joined in conversation by Saisha Grayson, SAAM’s curator of time-based media, to explore her new exhibition Carrie Mae Weems: Looking Forward, Looking Back. She will discuss her career, key artworks, what inspires her to create, and SAAM's new installation of her work Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me - A Story in 5 Parts.

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.

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

Image Credits:
Audrey Flack, Queen, 1976, acrylic on canvas, 80 × 80 in. (203.2 × 203.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Louis K. and Susan P. Meisel, 2022.11.5
Erica Lord and Maggie Thompson, Photos courtesy of the artists
Cauleen Smith, Photo by Josh Franzos
Carrie Mae Weems, Photo by Audoin Desforges

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