Communities
Communities are social groups, including immigrant and ethnic groups, with a shared interest, cultural heritage or worldview
Weekend Events: Dance Festival, Forensics and the Scurlock Studio
Friday, August 28: Forensic FridayJoin Smithsonian forensic anthropologists as they study new cases from America’s historic past. Take advantage of this opportunity to ask the forensic anthropologists questions and observe first-hand the basic methods used for documenting human remains recovered fr...
August 28, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Capoeira: A Dance, a Play or a Fight?
Ren Powell, the director of Capoeira Males, will join members of his Washington, D.C., based studio at the National Museum of the American Indian as part of the city-wide D.C. Dance Festival this Saturday. I spoke with Powell about this unique dance form and where it comes from.So, what is Capoeira...
August 28, 2009 |
By Abby Callard
Weekend Events: Book Signings, Indian Summer Showcase and the Scurlock Studio
Friday, August 21: Book Signings: They Have Killed Papa Dead and Burning of WashingtonAlthough we are celebrating the 200th anniversary of Honest Abe’s birth, it’s impossible to avoid thinking about the tragic circumstances of his death. Author Anthony Pitch will be available to sign copies of They...
August 21, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: Portraits Alive, Keith Secola Concert and a Book Signing with Fergus Bordewich
Friday, August 7: Portraits Alive! Tour and performancesA tour of highlights from the National Portrait Gallery’s collections, Portraits Alive! is a series of short dramatic monologues researched, written and acted by high school students participating in a summer internship program. The performanc...
August 07, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Native American Musician Keith Secola Chats With Around the Mall
Musician Keith Secola has played his unique blend of music all over the world and this weekend he graces the National Museum of the American Indian's 2009 Indian Summer Showcase. I was fortunate to be able to sit down for a phone chat with Keith about his work and the projects he has on the horizon...
August 07, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Smithsonian Events for the Week of August 3-7: Andy Warhol, Orchids, Superheroes and More!
Monday, August 3: Warhol Himself: Culture in Motion PerformanceCome experience a fantasy interview with the iconic pop artist extraordinaire Andy Warhol in a performance piece that culls quips and quotations from the artist, portrayed here by Kryztov Lindquist. Free, but seating is limited. Call 20...
August 03, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Smithsonian Events for the Week of July 20-24: Apollo 11, Shadow Puppets, Ipswich House
Monday, July 20: Book SigningsThe Apollo 11 moon landing was a landmark event and has inspired authors and artists alike. Come on by the Air and Space Museum where several authors will be available to sign their books about the moon landing and tour the museum's recently-opened exhibit, Alan Bean: ...
July 20, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Cooper-Hewitt's National Design Awards; Events on the Mall
A 10th anniversary is at hand. The Cooper-Hewitt's much vaunted National Design Awards turns 10. To celebrate, the New York City-based museum is bringing to Washington, D.C., a number of free public programs, featuring guest appearances from some of this year's award winners, design mavens such as ...
July 14, 2009 |
By Abby Callard
Smithsonian Events for the Week of July 6-10: Rainforest Animals, Zoo Serenade and a Ladybug Release
Monday, July 5: Nothing special going on today. Check out the Smithsonian events site for regularly scheduled events. Tuesday, July 7: Rainforest Summer with Reptiles Alive!Ever wanted to touch an iguana, turtle or boa constrictor? Now you can! Meet live animals from each level of the Rainforest an...
July 06, 2009 |
By Lauren Hogan
Weekend Events: Skateboarding, Air Force Band and the Real Thomas Jefferson
Friday, July 3: Ramp it up: Skateboard Culture in Native AmericaInterested in flips, grinds and catching air? See the skateboarders of Native America Jam perform on a mini-ramp and show why skateboarding is becoming the most popular sport in Native American culture. Free. American Indian Museum, 12...
July 02, 2009 |
By Lauren Hogan
At New York City's American Indian Museum, An Artist Questions the Meaning of the Museum
Picture an artifact. It could be a painting, an old wooden toy, a ceramic dish. Anything will do. Who made it, where does it come from, what’s its story? Typically, these are the questions that museum curators ask when they exhibit artifacts.But, if you place that object in the middle of a vast roo...
June 30, 2009 |
By Lauren Hogan
Smithsonian Events for the Week of June 29-July3: Apollo 11, Attilla the Hun, Animals and More!
Monday, June 29: Mondays with Miss Anita: Flights of Fancy—Stories for ChildrenCome sit with Miss Anita and hear stories about famous aviators, hot-air balloon flights, trips to Mars, characters visible in the night sky, or creatures that have their own wings. Free. Air and Space Museum,, 11:30 AMT...
June 29, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: The Welsh Table, Andean Music and a Treasure Hunt!
Friday, June 26: The Welsh Table Exhibition TourCurator Jill Piercy will take you on a tour of the new exhibit, The Welsh Table, and introduce you to the work of ten Welsh ceramists. Afterwards, go out and enjoy a taste of Welsh culture at the 2009 Folklife Festival. Free. Ripley Center, 2:00 PMSat...
June 26, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Smithsonian Weekend Events: Toddler Rock, Warholapalooza and a Guitar Festival
Friday, June 19: Toddler RockToday, the toddlers in your home have an opportunity to rock out at the Discovery Theater with Rocknoceros—an alternative rock/pop group whose catchy tunes and clever lyrics are sure to please your littlest audiophile. (And if you're a Generation X-er parent who shudder...
June 19, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: Byzantine Music, Garden Fest and Hawaii!
Friday, June 12: Dimitre Cantemir: A Life in MusicNot a fan of today's over-sexualized, pyrotechnic-laden popular music performances? For those of you longing for the music of a simpler—but nonetheless glorious—age, come on out to the Freer where you can enjoy the hit parade of the Ottoman Empire! ...
June 12, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
"Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America" Opens Friday
Skateboarding often gets a bad rap; "long-haired slackers in baggy pants." Right?But the upcoming Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian says otherwise, celebrating, instead, the positive contributions of American Indian sk...
June 11, 2009 |
By Jeff Campagna
Hawaiian Music Legend Comes to National Museum of the American Indian
"Celebrate Hawai'i," the National Museum of the American Indian's third annual Hawaiian cultural festival, is this weekend, and the Brothers Cazimero, internationally-known Hawaiian musicians from Honolulu, are its headliners.On Friday night, the museum will be showing Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula, ...
June 11, 2009 |
By Megan Gambino
Children of the Vietnam War
Born overseas to Vietnamese mothers and U.S. servicemen, Amerasians brought hard-won resilience to their lives in America
June 2009 |
By David Lamb
Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl Tells Hawaii's Stories
In Hawaii, Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl is known for January 1893, a five-act, nineteen-scene, fifteen-hour play inspired by the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. Since the mid-1980s, the Native Hawaiian-Samoan author and playwright has been a political and cultural voice for islands that outsiders ...
May 13, 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
Weekend Events: Abraham Lincoln, Cabaret and Migratory Birds
Friday, May 1: Cabaret with Tomson Highway: PerformanceWhat good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play! Life is a cabaret, ol' chum—come to the cabaret at the American Indian Museum. Playwright and novelist Tomson Highway will be joined onstage by singer/actress Patricia Cano and ...
May 01, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
