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Arts & Culture

Bisa Butler, I Am Not Your Negro, 2019. Cotton, wool and chiffon, quilted and appliquéd. 79 x 60 in.

Artist Bisa Butler Stitches Together the African American Experience

Her dynamic quilts that reimagine old portraits will be on display in New York in her first solo exhibition

In the recent "Portraits" podcast, LL recounts why he turned to a 100-year-old masterpiece of the richest person in modern history—John D. Rockefeller Sr.—for his power pose.

How a Maverick Hip-Hop Legend Found Inspiration in a Titan of American Industry

When LL COOL J sat for his portrait, he found common ground with the life-long philanthropical endeavors of John D. Rockefeller

Saba Ali, right, and Contemporary Muslim Fashions from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Smithsonian Voices

Contemporary Muslim Fashions Are Having Their Day in the Sun

Ranging from high-performance sportswear to haute couture, emerging and established designers are meeting the needs of stylish Muslim women

Cryptids like Bigfoot, Yeti, Sasquatch or the mis-translated "Abominable Snowman" abound in folk tales.

Why Bigfoot and the ‘Abominable Snowman’ Loom Large in the Human Imagination

In cultures around the world, folklore of a ‘Wild Man’ share a common narrative

Socrates Sculpture Park is located in Queens—New York's most diverse borough, and also the hardest hit by COVID-19.

Covid-19

Are Sculpture Parks Having a Moment in the Sun?

Many art museums are still closed due to COVID-19, but open gardens and parks on their grounds are attracting eager visitors

The Washington National Cathedral shrouded in scaffolding post-earthquake.

The Decades-Long Journey to Restore the National Cathedral

Craftspeople in the building arts are practicing “social distancing stone masonry” in safeguarding this cultural heritage

Trixie Friganza, noted feminist, suffragist and inspiration for "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

Women Who Shaped History

The Feminist History of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’

Trixie Friganza, an actress and suffragist, inspired the popular song of the seventh inning stretch

The Anacostia Community Museum wants to know not just how you’re surviving this moment, but how you’re being resilient.

In This Historical Moment, Here’s How to Collect Your Thoughts

The Anacostia Community Museum wants your story for its new archive #Moments of Resilience

People protest against the name of the Washington, D.C., NFL team before a game between Washington and the Minnesota Vikings. Minneapolis, November 2, 2014.

Smithsonian Voices

Ending the Use of Racist Mascots and Images

The appropriation of Native language and imagery perpetuates racism and legitimizes racist acts, says the director of the American Indian Museum

As protesters citing Louis IX’s history as a crusader call for the statue’s removal, counter-protesters ardently protect it.

History of Now

In St. Louis, History and Nostalgia Battle It Out

The city’s Catholic community faces off against protesters over a statue honoring the city’s namesake

The sequencer on the 808, a row of 16 color-coded buttons, offered artists a way to store beats they programmed.

The TR-808 Drum Machine Changed the Sound of Pop Music Forever

Sometimes, technology has more impact after it’s obsolete

When I felt strong enough to go out for a walk, out of desperation from being locked up in the flat, I would walk along the Thames on the large promenade that borders the river. It was a cool night in April, and the sun had left a searing purple and pink horizon line on the city. It is rare to see such colors linger at dusk and I had with me my Polaroid camera. I took a few shots and remember how silent and eerie the city felt. A ghost town is truly what it was. This image was taken home and washed with water, sprayed with a foamy bleach and then doused with liquid hand sanitizer in the patches of foam.

Covid-19

Start With a Polaroid, Then Add Disinfectant. Here’s the Result

A quarantined photographer makes the most of the harsh materials at hand to create a fragile portrait of life in a pandemic

Sunset Drive In, San Luis Obispo 7/25/1981 "Let's hope young people today can get fascinated by the aura of that time," Kappeler says.

A Snapshot of Life in America in 1981

The magic of a young artist’s carefree trip across the country four decades ago

The third president evidently had a love of vanilla ice cream.

Make Thomas Jefferson’s Recipe for Ice Cream

The co-author of the Declaration of Independence also drafted a radical recipe

As innovations go, the ice cream truck might seem merely nutty. But summer would never be the same.

How the Ice Cream Truck Made Summer Cool

As innovations go, the Good Humor vehicle is as sweet as it gets

The global health pandemic has challenged the most visited museum in the world to draft new visitor guidelines that meet health and safety requirements.

Covid-19

How the Pandemic Is Giving the Louvre Back to Parisians

With a steep drop in international tourists and new COVID-19 safety measures in place, the most visited museum in the world reopened yesterday

The valiant Inez Milholland, standard-bearer in the nation’s struggle for female enfranchisement, is portrayed here by Isabella Serrano.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Recreating a Suffragist’s Barnstorming Tour Through the American West

Inez Milholland Boissevain’s campaign to win the vote for women inspires a dramatic homage a century later

Bellini at Harry's Bar in Venice

Virtual Travel

Make These Eight Famous Cocktails From Bars Around the World

They might taste sweeter when you know the history behind them

The so-called "Letter From Heaven" was marketed as a message from Jesus himself, conveying instructions and conferring protection on those who sent them to others.

Before Chain Letters Swept the Internet, They Raised Funds for Orphans and Sent Messages From God

Recipe exchanges, poetry chains, photo challenges and other ostensibly comforting prompts are enjoying a resurgence amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Members of the Kiowa Gourd Clan Ceremony stand as the flag of Spencer “Corky” Sahmaunt is raised in Carnegie, Oklahoma, July 4, 2019. Sahmaunt served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was a member of the Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society, as well as the Kiowa Gourd Clan. The Kiowa Flag Song, analogous to the Star Spangled Banner, accompanied the flag-raising.

How Do Native Americans Observe the Fourth of July?

The answer has always been as complicated as America’s history

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