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.
Art Talks and Activities
Double Take: One Artwork Two Viewpoints
Tuesday, July 9, 6 p.m.
Keep the patriotic spirit alive after Independence Day with Joanna Marsh, SAAM’s deputy education chair and head of interpretation and audience research, and Barbara Clark Smith, curator of political and military history at the National Museum of American History. Marsh and Smith examine the pop culture appropriations found in the artwork Washington Crossing the Delaware from the series History, currently on view in SAAM’s exhibition American Myth & Memory: David Levinthal Photographs.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, meet in the G Street Lobby
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Conservation Talks: Time-Based Media
Friday, July 12, 1 p.m.
Explore time-based media art, a field that spans video, film, audio, and computer-based artworks, and learn how SAAM conservation experts protect these works. Lunder Conservation Fellow Shu-Wen Lin discusses the preservation challenges of antiquated technology, custom electronics and illuminating circuit design present in Jim Campbell’s Grand Central Station #2, an innovative projection artwork from SAAM’s media collection.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, meet in the G Street Lobby
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Mornings at the Museum
Saturday, July 13, 9 a.m.
Mornings at the Museum is a sensory-friendly program for children, teenagers, and young adults with disabilities and their families. The program includes early entry into the museum, facilitated and thematic activities, a take-a-break space, and pre-visit materials like social narratives and sensory maps.
Location: Renwick Gallery, first floor galleries and Rubenstein Grand Salon
Tickets: Free; Registration is required. Email access@si.edu
Event Link
A Closer Look: Objects: USA at 50
Friday, July 19, 3 – 6 p.m.
Join us for an afternoon symposium featuring scholars, artists, and curators as they discuss the importance and legacy of Objects: USA. This studio craft exhibition premiered at SAAM in 1969 and is regarded as a groundbreaking exhibition that featured more than 500 artworks by 308 American craftspeople. Fifty years later, SAAM looks at the impact this exhibition had in 1696 and discuss how it still resonates today. A complete schedule of events is available online.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Handi-hour
Wednesday, July 24, 5:30 – 8 p.m.
Take a break from the summer heat to explore the newly reinstalled exhibition Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery. Draw inspiration from woven treasures such as Fibonacci 5, then head to the Rubenstein Grand Salon to make a basket from fiber or paper for your summer souvenirs. Enjoy craft beer from Denizens Brewing and music by From Pebble to Pearl while you work. Ticket price includes two beers, a souvenir glass, crafting supplies, live music, and light snacks. Must be 21 or older to purchase tickets and present valid ID at the door for entry.
Location: Renwick Gallery, Rubenstein Grand Salon
Tickets: $25; Available online starting July 8
Event Link
Art Bites: The Girl I Left Behind Me
Friday, July 26, 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. Research fellow James Brookers discusses Eastman Johnson’s The Girl I Left Behind Me (ca. 1872). 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 in the G Street Lobby
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Yoga in Luce
Wednesday, July 31, 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 (third floor)
Tickets: $10; Tickets available online starting July 17 at noon. Cash is not accepted at the door
Event Link
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Music, Performances & Film
Film Screening: A Not So Still Life
Thursday, July 11, 6 p.m.
Join us for the harrowing documentary A Not So Still Life about artist Ginny Ruffner, who miraculously survived a near-fatal car accident and a two-month-long coma. The documentary examines Ruffner’s life and work, from before her accident, through her recovery, and to her reinvention and renewed success in the art world today. The film is presented in conjunction with her current exhibition at the Renwick Gallery titled Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination. The screening is followed by a question-and-answer session with the artist. TV-G (80 minutes, 2010).
Location: Renwick Gallery, Rubenstein Grand Salon
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Luce Unplugged Community Showcase
Friday, July 12, 6 – 8 p.m.
Luce Unplugged Community Showcase pairs DC’s best local bands with local beers surrounded by beautiful artworks in the Luce Foundation Center. In this installment, enjoy some experimental hip-hop beats from Model Home and the syncopated acoustic stylings of Daniel Bachman. Free beer tastings (21+) provided by a local craft brewery. Additional beverages and small snacks available for purchase. This program is presented in collaboration with the Washington City Paper.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center (third floor)
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Film Screening: North Star: Mark di Suvero
Saturday, July 13, 3 p.m.
Join us at SAAM for a screening of the documentary North Star: Mark di Suervo, a film that highlights the early stages of renowned sculptor Mark di Suvero’s career. Presented in conjunction with SAAM’s exhibition Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975, watch as di Suvero creates his sculptures as a reflection on the Vietnam War. Directed by François De Menil, this in-depth film uses biographical material and interviews to show how di Suvero became one of the most recognized sculptors of the 20th century. (54 minutes; 1978)
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, MacMillan Education Center
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Steinway Series: Neave Trio
Sunday, July 14, 3 p.m.
SAAM welcomes violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura for their first performance at the museum. The Boston Musical Intelligencer included Neave in its “Best of 2014” and “Best of 2016” roundups. The group honors women composers as they perform piano trios by Rebecca Clarke, Amy Beach, Cécile Chaminade, and Jennifer Higdon.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Take 5! with Integriti Reeves
Thursday, July 18, 5 – 7 p.m.
Relax and Take 5! with free, live jazz music in the beautiful Kogod Courtyard. In this installment of Take 5! vocalist Integriti Reeves celebrates the great Nat “King” Cole, who would have celebrated his 100 birthday this year. Reeves is a graduate of DC’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Baltimore’s Peabody Institute, and Howard University, where she was a member of their award-winning vocal ensemble Afro-Blue. She is a former Strathmore artist in residence and a Betty Carter Jazz Ahead alumna. During the concert, you can stop by the Courtyard Café for refreshments or borrow a board game to play.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Kogod Courtyard
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Film Screening: In the Year of the Pig
Wednesday, July 24, 3 p.m.
Presented in conjunction with SAAM’s exhibition Artists Respond: American Art and The Vietnam War, 1965-1975, this groundbreaking documentary conveys the long history of colonial involvement in Vietnam. Assembled from archival footage, interviews, and historical images, this Oscar-nominated film examines the war’s historical roots and America’s escalating involvement in this divisive conflict. NR (103 minutes; 1968).
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium
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.
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center Information Desk, Third-floor
Tickets: Free
Event Link
Conservation Conversation
Wednesday, July 10, 17, 24, 31, 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
Art Signs: Gallery Talk in American Sign Language (ASL)
Thursday, July 11, 5:30 p.m. and July 21, 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, July 14, 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 18, 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
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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
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