Arts & Culture

Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) by Winslow Homer (1873-1876) is one of the many artworks recreated for the Pageant of the Masters.

At the Pageant of the Masters, Famous Works of Art Come to Life

For nearly a century, a volunteer cast has recreated visual masterpieces on stage in Laguna Beach, California

Jenova Chen, Kellee Santiago, Flower, 2007, video game for SONY PS3, color, sound

Smithsonian Voices

This Week, the Popular SAAM Arcade Is Game On for Video Game Makers

Chris Totten reflects on how the gaming community around SAAM Arcade has grown since the first event debuted seven years ago

The Cardboard Boat Museum tells the quirky history of a 28-year tradition.

A Small Town in Ohio Is Home to the World's Only Cardboard Boat Museum

For nearly 30 years, New Richmond has hosted the International Cardboard Boat Regatta, a high-spirited race on the Ohio River

Professional puzzler Stanley Newman leads a Smithsonian Associates Streaming seminar "Mastering Crossword Puzzles" on August 21.

Smithsonian Voices

Master Crosswords, Learn Embroidery, Visit Venice or Explore Copper Canyon, Mexico

Beat the August heat with these 20 Smithsonian Associates online programs

Angel Rodríguez-Díaz, The Protagonist of an Endless Story, 1993, oil on canvas, 72 x 57 7/8 in. (182.9 x 147.0 cm.)

Smithsonian Voices

How Artists Challenge Mythic Conceptions of the American West

Forty-eight modern and contemporary artists who are reclaiming the narratives of their region

Butler is not just a talented writer, says curator Monica Montgomery. She is “this magnifying, visionary author and was and is a social justice warrior for our times.”

Futures

The Pioneering Sci-Fi Writer Octavia E. Butler Joins a Pantheon of Celebrated Futurists

The author’s career is honored by a newly commissioned work by digital artist Nettrice Gaskins

Carolyn Smith collecting beargrass in Klamath National Forest, 2015. For beargrass to be supple enough for weavers to use in their baskets, it needs to be burned annually. Ideally, it is burned in an intentionally set cultural fire, where only the tops are burned, leaving the roots intact. Prescribed fires in the Klamath National Forest are few and far between, so weavers “follow the smoke” and gather, when they can, after wildfires sweep through the landscape.

Smithsonian Voices

How Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Offers Solutions to California's Wildfires

“We need to reintegrate Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge and cultural and prescribed burning into our landscape,” Carolyn Smith says

The Anacostia Community Museum was able to serve incarcerated audiences through use of newly issued tablets at the D.C. Jail.

Smithsonian Voices

Reaching Out to Those Behind Bars

Learn how the Anacostia Community Museum redesigned its acclaimed exhibition "Men of Change" as a digital offering for incarcerated audiences

Will an American athlete from the Tokyo Games grab gold and become the next to be featured on the cover of Wheaties?

The Tokyo Olympics

How Wheaties Became the 'Breakfast of Champions'

Images of Olympians and other athletes on boxes helped the cereal maintain a competitive edge

A mural in Munich's former Olympic Village features Otl Aicher's pictograms.

The Tokyo Olympics

This Graphic Artist's Olympic Pictograms Changed Urban Design Forever

Having lived through Germany's Nazi regime, Otl Aicher went on to pioneer democratic design

None

The Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Summer Olympics: Smithsonian's Guide to the Games

Prepare yourself for the Tokyo Olympics with this comprehensive guide to the history, science, arts and thrills of the worldwide celebration

The blanket toss is one of the many events that occur during the annual World Eskimo Indian Olympics in Fairbanks, Alaska.

For More Than 60 Years, Indigenous Alaskans Have Hosted Their Own Olympics

Athletes at the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics in Fairbanks test their mettle in events like the blanket toss, knuckle hop and ear pull

The entrance to Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.

Fifty Years Ago, Berkeley Restaurant Chez Panisse Launched the Farm-to-Table Movement

'Local, organic, sustainable' are common buzzwords on American menus now, but it wasn't always that way

Maui's Haleakala is the world's largest dormant volcano, and its summit is considered the quietest place on Earth.

Ridiculous Reviews of Some of the Best National Parks

A new book combines illustrations of the parks with laughably bad critiques from disgruntled tourists

Cooking Up History, presented by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and Smithsonian Associates, shares fresh insights into American culture past and present through the lens of food.

Smithsonian Voices

Cook Up Delicious Feasts With These Culinary Legends

Cooking Up History programs share fresh insights into American culture past and present through the lens of food

Dorothy Gale, the lead character played by actress Judy Garland in 'The Wizard of Oz' served as a lodestone for gay culture

Smithsonian Voices

How Coded Language Like 'Are You a Friend of Dorothy?' Protected the LGBTQ Community

A Smithsonian folklorist explain how Dorothy Gale, played by actress Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz," served as a lodestone for gay culture

#FreeBritney activists protest at Los Angeles Grand Park during a conservatorship hearing for Britney Spears on June 23, 2021 in Los Angeles.

Britney Spears and the Age-Old History of Men Policing Women's Trauma

The singer's conservatorship, on trial this month, recalls the history of hysterectomies, insane asylums, forced contraception, among others

Smith, who died in 1987 at age 39, was a rising star in fashion in the mid-1970s, with clothing designs priced and sized for everyday people. "Willi Smith: Street Couture" is on view at the Cooper Hewitt in New York City through October 24, 2021.

Fashion Designer Willi Smith Looked to the Streets for Inspiration and Appreciation

The 1970s founder of WilliWear combined high-end design with mass-market appeal

In a Smithsonian Associates Streaming program on July 28, a panel of experts share the best advice and resources for staying safe, healthy and well-informed so you can relax on your long-overdue trip.

Smithsonian Voices

How to Start Traveling Again and 25 Other Smithsonian Programs Streaming in July

Announcing Smithsonian Associates' July offerings—multi-part courses, studio arts classes and virtual study tours

The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover, Vermont, is worth the detour.

Eight Unusual Roadside Attractions Worth Stopping For

The stories behind these American road trip pit stops are as curious as the landmarks themselves

Page 33 of 349