Events and Programs at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Events and Programs at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC

Programs are free and open to the public unless ticket information is noted.

Please note:

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has reopened its doors, resuming normal operating hours of 11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. daily. The Renwick Gallery is excited to welcome guests back starting Saturday, February 2 at 10 a.m.

All previously scheduled programs for January and early February have been canceled, including the popular annual Chinese New Year Family Festival. Below is current information about our February programs, which is subject to change in the event of another partial government shutdown starting February 16. For up-to-date information regarding programs, please refer to our online calendar at americanart.si.edu/calendar.

Art Talks and Activities

See Me at SAAM
Wednesday, February 6, 2 p.m.
See Me at SAAM is an interactive program designed to improve the well-being of individuals with dementia and their care partners by experiencing and discussing art in a small group.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Meet in the Kogod Courtyard
Tickets: Free; Registration required. Please email access@si.edu or call (202) 633-2921
Event Link

Yoga in Luce
Wednesday, February 6, 6 p.m.
Bring your mat and relax with this Vinyasa yoga and art appreciation series. Participants are invited to reflect on an artwork of their choosing before a credentialed instructor from Flow Yoga Center leads a one-hour, all-levels class surrounded by the beautiful artworks in the Luce Foundation Center.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Tickets: $10; Participants must register online, tickets go on sale Wednesday, January 30
Event Link

Charles C. Eldredge Prize Lecture with Susan Rather
Thursday, February 7, 4 p.m.
Join Professor Susan Rather of the University of Texas at Austin for a discussion on her prize-winning book, The American School: Artists and Status in the Late Colonial and Early National Era. Professor Rather is the recipient of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s 2018 Eldredge Prize, an award given to an author whose work provides new insight into works of art, the artists who made them, or aspects of history and theory that enrich our understanding of America’s artistic heritage.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Conversation Pieces
Wednesday, February 13, 6 p.m.
Want to deepen your understanding and appreciation of contemporary art? Join Joanna Marsh, senior curator of contemporary interpretation, for this popular ongoing series of gallery talks. Marsh uses a single artwork from the museum’s collection to spark conversation and greater discovery.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Meet at G Street Lobby
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Valentine’s Pop-Up Handi-hour
Thursday, February 14, 12 – 5 p.m.
Celebrate love this Valentine’s Day at Handi-hour, which makes a special pop-up appearance at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s main building. Volunteers will be on hand with supplies and templates to help you make a personalized card for your valentine. Bring a date or a friend — or perhaps make a connection with another SAAM enthusiast — and enjoy crafting under the beautiful canopy of the Kogod Courtyard.
Note: This installment of Handi-hour takes place at SAAM located at 8th and F St. NW, not at the Renwick Gallery
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Kogod Courtyard
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Wikipedia-Edit-A-Thon
Sunday, February 17, 10:30 a.m.
Come to SAAM’s Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon to learn how to edit and then create new articles about African American artists. All levels of technological proficiency welcome. A special tour of SAAM’s African American art collection starts the program off at 10:30 a.m.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, MacMillan Education Center
Tickets: Free; Please RSVP at SAAMPrograms@si.edu
Event Link

Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor Symposium
Friday, February 22, 1 – 6 p.m.
Join us for an afternoon of discussions and lectures on topics related to the exhibition, Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor. SAAM curator Leslie Umberger will lead a distinguished group of scholars who provide new insights and information about how one man’s visual record of African American life gives larger meaning to the complexity of his world and the story of this nation.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Art Bites Gallery Talks: Talia Shabtay
Friday, February 22, 12:15 p.m.
Take a lunch break and join SAAM’s research fellows as they share their new discoveries about artworks from the collection. For this installment, research fellow Talia Shabtay discusses Harry Bertoia’s Sculpture Group Symbolizing World’s Communication in the Atomic Age (1959). Come learn the stories behind this artwork and find out what it tells us about America’s ever-changing culture.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Meet at G Street Lobby
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Beyond the Studio: Repeat Pattern Design with Kathryn Zaremba
Sunday, February 24, 1 p.m.
Gain valuable insight from teaching artist, Kathryn Zaremba, about her experience as a maker in DC and receive instruction on how to create your very own repeat pattern designs. This program is presented in collaboration with The Lemon Collective.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Tickets: $10; Registration required. Tickets available February 10th at noon
Event Link

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Music/Film

Luce Unplugged Community Showcase
Friday, February 8, 6 – 8 p.m.
Explore some of the three thousand artworks in SAAM’s Luce Foundation Center while listening to the experimental improvisation duo, Weed Tree, and the ambient melodies of Twin Jude. Free beer tastings will be provided by a local brewery (ages 21+). Additional beverages and snacks are available for purchase. This program is presented in collaboration with the Washington City Paper.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Movies at SAAM: Black Is the Color
Saturday, February 9, 3 p.m.
Join us for this comprehensive and lively documentary that looks at African American art from 1867 to today, featuring works by Edmonia Lewis, Kerry James Marshall, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Before the film, Jason Nichols, hip-hop artist and lecturer at the University of Maryland, will perform an opening rap. After the screening, a discussion with leading experts in the field will commence. Rated G (52 minutes; 2017)
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program
Sunday, February 10, 2 p.m.
Join the Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists as they return to the Renwick Gallery for their 17th annual performance. The artists serenade audience members with a selection of arias from this season’s repertoire, including some of the great Italian operas Princesses, Puccini, and Pappataci.
Location: Renwick Gallery, Rubenstein Grand Salon
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Take 5! With Ali Ryerson Quartet
Thursday, February 21, 5 – 7 p.m.
Relax and “Take 5!” with free, live jazz from flutist and recording artist Ali Ryerson along with her longtime colleagues Wade Beach (keyboards), Amy Shook (bass), and Frank Russo (drums) in the stunning Kogod Courtyard. Ryerson and her quartet present “From New York to Rio – Music from Hank Mobley to Ivan Lins.” For added fun, borrow a board game to play during the concert.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Kogod Courtyard
Tickets: Free
Event Link

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Ongoing Programs

Sketching: Draw and Discover!
Tuesdays, 2:30 – 4:30pm
Draw inspiration from artists’ sketches as well as the thousands of objects on display in the Luce Foundation Center of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, then spend time sketching in our workshop. Some materials provided; please bring a small sketchbook and pencils. Repeats weekly.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center Information Desk, Third-floor
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Art Signs: Gallery Talk in American Sign Language (ASL)
Sunday, February 7, 1 p.m.
Join us for lively gallery conversations in American Sign Language led by Deaf gallery guides. For more information, email CohrsG@si.edu.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, meet in the F Street Lobby
Tickets: Free
Event Link

America InSight: Verbal Description Tours
Sunday, February 10, 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 21, 3:30 p.m.
Join a docent-led tour designed for visitors who are blind or have low vision. Discover highlights of the collection through rich verbal description and sensory experience.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, meet in F Street lobby
Tickets: Free
Event Link

Conservation Conversation
Wednesday, February 6, 13, 20, and 27, 3 p.m.
Learn how museum conservators preserve SAAM’s artworks in the Lunder Conservation Center. The center has five state-of-the-art laboratories and studios equipped to treat paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures, folk art objects, contemporary crafts, decorative arts, and frames. Group size is limited.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Lunder Conservation Center
Tickets: Free
Event Link

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For more information on this museum, visit our Smithsonian American Art Museum page.

Event listings are provided by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery