| May programs at SAAM are full of artful conversations and experiences. |
|
| |
Featured Program
Annual SAAM Fellows Lectures
Wednesday, May 7, 1–5 p.m.
Thursday, May 8, 1–4:30 p.m.
Friday, May 9, 1–5 p.m.
McEvoy Auditorium and YouTube
Free | Registration Required
Register for May 7 | May 8 | May 9
Join the 2024–2025 SAAM Fellows for a thought-provoking series of talks that span a range of topics, time periods, media, and messages. This multi-afternoon program offers a unique opportunity to hear from a new generation of scholars who are delving into the Smithsonian’s collections and archives to uncover fresh perspectives on American art. Whether you’re a student, a scholar, or art enthusiast, this series will reveal new insights into America’s rich artistic and cultural heritage. The lectures will be held in person, in McEvoy Auditorium, and online; registration is free but required. |
|
|
| | Take 5: Jazz at SAAM with Kenny Rittenhouse
Thursday, May 15, 5–7 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Kogod Courtyard
Free | Registration encouraged Celebrate a uniquely American art form with Take 5: Jazz at SAAM, a series of free, live performances in the Kogod Courtyard. With a music career spanning 30 years, trumpeter Kenny Rittenhouse has performed with a variety of groups such as the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble, Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra. He is an educator, serving as an adjunct professor of jazz trumpet at both George Mason University and Morgan State University. Kenny and his quintet, the Kenny Rittenhouse Ensemble, will perform a dynamic blend of classic and modern jazz with soulful R&B influences.
Borrow a board game to play during the concert and stop by the Courtyard Café to purchase refreshments. |
|
|
| | Double Take: Pictures of Belonging
Wednesday, May 21, 5:30 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Meet in G Street Lobby
Free | Registration encouraged
In this gallery talk, learn more about the World War II-era works of artist Hisako Hibi with Melissa Ho, curator of twentieth-century art at SAAM, and Noriko Sanefuji, museum specialist at the National Museum of American History. These paintings, featured in the exhibition Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo, were created by Hibi when she and thousands of other Japanese Americans were incarcerated in government-run camps due to their heritage.
This program is part of the Double Take series where Smithsonian specialists from different disciplines team up to talk about artworks from SAAM’s collection. |
|
|
| | Eye-Popping Art: Tours for People with Colorblindness
Thursday, May 22, 5:30 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Meet in F Street Lobby
Free | Registration required Join the Smithsonian American Art Museum for a docent-led tour of highlights from the museum’s collection using museum-provided, colorblind correcting glasses that bring the vibrancy of these works to life. |
|
|
| | Art Bites Gallery Talk
Friday, May 23, 12:15 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
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 what each one tells us about the diverse cultural landscape of the United States. Rachel Tang, Betsy James Wyeth Predoctoral Fellow in Native American Art, discusses a work by Shan Goshorn in the exhibition The Shape of Power: Race and American Sculpture. |
|
|
| | Virtual Lavender Literary Society Book Club
Wednesday, May 28, 7 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom
Free | Registration required
Sign up to be available soon on the American LGBTQ+ Museum website Celebrate World Pride with SAAM and the American LGBTQ+ Museum for a special edition of their Lavender Literary Society book club. Join author and designer Jon Key for a discussion of Black, Queer, & Untold: A New Archive of Designers, Artists, and Trailblazers (2024). In his book that is part memoir and part history lesson, Key highlights influential artists, activists, political figures, writers, musicians and more from the nineteenth century to today. Kimberly Drew, author of This is What I Know About Art, leads the conversation.
This program is presented in celebration of World Pride 2025, hosted in Washington, DC. |
|
|
| | Pride Gallery Talk
Thursday, May 29, 2:30 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Meet in G Street Lobby
Free | Registration required Join a staff-led gallery talk with a focus on two works by LGBTQ+ artists represented in SAAM’s collection. Compare George Tooker’s enigmatic painting The Waiting Room (1959) with the mysterious narrative that unfolds in Night in Bologna (1958) by Paul Cadmus.
This program is presented in celebration of World Pride 2025, hosted in Washington, DC. |
|
|
| | Pride Gallery Talk
Thursday, May 29, 5:30 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Meet in G Street Lobby
Free | Registration required Join a staff-led gallery talk with a focus on two works by LGBTQ+ artists represented in SAAM’s collection. Explore the symbolism in Joey Terrill’s still life A Bigger Piece (2008) and compare it to Lenore Chinn’s forthright portrait of gay identity, Land’s End (1987).
This program is presented in celebration of World Pride 2025, hosted in Washington, DC. |
|
|
| | Pride Family Festival
Saturday, May 31, 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Kogod Courtyard
Free | Registration encouraged Join SAAM and the National Portrait Gallery to celebrate World Pride. Enjoy performances by DC’s Different Drummers, GenOUT, the youth chorus of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, and GRIDLOCK Dance. Throughout the day, the curated music stylings of Les The DJ keep the creative energy high while participants enjoy hands-on craft activities.
Celebrate LGBTQ+ artists represented in the museums’ collections with coloring sheets based on artworks, a scavenger hunt through the galleries, and a drop-in story time featuring biographies.
This program is presented in celebration of World Pride 2025, hosted in Washington, DC. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
| | Image Credits: 2024-2025 Fellows; Photos courtesy of the subjects.
Kenny Rittenhouse; Photo by Ron Rittenhouse
Hisako Hibi, Floating Clouds, 1944, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, 2023.6.1, © 2024, Ibuki Hibi Lee
Eye Popping Art Tour; Photo by Mary Tait
*Please be advised that artist Shan Goshorn (Eastern Band of Cherokee) intentionally titled this work with a slur.
Shan Goshorn, Squaw, 2018, arches watercolor paper splints printed with archival inks, artificial sinew, copper frame, Photo: David Stover © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Jon Key and Kimberly Drew; Photo courtesy of the American LGBTQ+ Museum
Paul Cadmus, Night in Bologna, 1958, egg tempera on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.87
Joey Terrill, A Bigger Piece, 2008, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2025.5, Image courtesy of the artist, Ortuzar, New York and Marc Selwyn Fine Arts, Los Angeles. Photo: Steven Probert. Artwork © Joey Terrill
Pride Family Day; Photo by Norwood Photography |
|
|
|
|
