Native Film Festival Collaborations

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A postcard annoucing the event with Elizabeth Weatherford at the Agua Calinte Cultural Museum

 

Later this month, the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (Palm Springs, CA) will host their annual Festival of Native Film & Culture in collaboration with the Film and Video Center at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).  Elizabeth Weatherford, Director of the Film and Video Center at NMAI, works closely with Agua Caliente staff to identify exciting films and filmmakers working from a Native American perspective.  A highlight of this popular event is the commentary Elizabeth provides prior to screening the films and an engaging Q&A afterwards.  This year Elizabeth will give an illustrated lecture about the emerging world of indigenous films.

Michael Hammond, Executive Director at Agua Caliente, talks about the partnership:

“Elizabeth has been our guest programmer for several years now.  Our Festival of Native Film and Culture deals with Native American and Indigenous films from around the world.  Elizabeth has her finger on the pulse of the Native and Indigenous film world.  From cutting-edge shorts to feature films, she has given us the best that the genre has to offer.  Under her tutelage, we have grown in both quality and stature.”

The Native Eyes Film Festival at the Arizona State Museum/ Hanson Film Institute

Elizabeth has also worked with other Affiliates on film festivals; she continues to work with the Arizona State Museum and the Hanson Film Institute, both at the University of Arizona on an annual event, the Native Eyes Film Showcase.  Lisa Falk, Director of Education and Associate Curator at the Arizona State Museum, discussed the ways that Elizabeth Weatherford has worked with them:

“Elizabeth, her staff and the resources of the Film and Video Center are invaluable to us as they provide a depth of understanding of Native filmmaking and festival organization as well as connections to filmmakers.  We have worked with Elizabeth Weatherford and her staff on our Native Eyes Film Showcase for years- consulting with them about new films and filmmakers and receiving recommendations.  The NMAI Film and Video Center helps us add breadth and depth to our programming, in particular enabling us to learn about and include films from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to our offerings.”

Let us know if you’re interested in a film series of your own- we can connect you with Elizabeth Weatherford at NMAI or other resources at the Smithsonian.  (Special thanks to Michael Hammond and Lisa Falk for images and insights!)

Exchange Boards: Post Your Exhibitions, Programs, Jobs Here

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Are you looking for a job or have one to announce? Are you searching for a new exhibition or a program for your museum? Do you have an exhibition or a program you’d like to travel to other Affiliates? 

You may have forgotten that the Smithsonian Affiliations website is your one-stop-shop for these types of announcements. On our Exchange Boards you can post a job you’d like to fill, announce a new traveling exhibition, or promote a program that’s available to other Affiliate organizations.  

Further your reach by submitting your job, exhibition, or program announcements with us and we’ll not only post on our website, but also promote it across our new media platforms.

Exhibition Exchange
Emails requesting exhibition exchange postings must be submitted in the following format:

  • Complete Affiliate name, city, and state
  • Brief description of available exhibition (1 or 2 short sentences)
  • Contact information for anyone interested
  • Attached PDF or Word document including all the necessary information about the exhibit
  • Complete link to the traveling exhibit page (if not using PDF)

Example: George Mendoza: Colors of the Wind
Presented by the Ellen Noel Art Museum in Odessa, TX.
New Mexico artist George Mendoza paints with a passion, revealing a unique inner vision and confidence, coupled with insight and creativity. His work, abstract in nature and brightly colored reflects his current physical “sight” intertwined with his dreams, memories, and emotional experiences. The exhibition includes 25-30 oil/acrylic paintings ranging in sizes from 20×30 to 48×60; fabric panels and quilts; text panels; label and educational material available on disk. Affiliates who are interested in hosting the exhibition should contact Doylene Land at doylene@noelartmuseum.org.

Program Exchange
Emails requesting exhibition exchange postings must be submitted in the following format:

  • Complete Affiliate name, city, and state abbreviation
  • Description and details of the program (including cost and available dates)
  • Attached PDF or Word document including all necessary information about the program

Example: Falling to Earth: An Apollo Astronaut’s Journey to the Moon lecture and book signing event opportunity with Apollo 15 astronaut, Al Worden.

Jobs Exchange
Job announcements must be submitted as a separate attachment (Word document or PDF) including:

  • Complete Affiliate name (and logo if possible)
  • Job title
  • Full job description
  • Deadlines
  • Contact information

Example: Flushing Town Hall

For more information, or to post an announcement, contact Elizabeth Bugbee.

 

water matters

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Join the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies for FREE online webinars around the theme of water.  These are great events to share with  your local teachers, educators and students. 

In February, March, and May, the Smithsonian will look at water, the most essential of subjects, from many points of view, from marine biology to American history. Explore both water quality (how we can ensure that water is safe for ourselves and for the environment) and water quantity (how we can manage crises of too much water and not enough water).

We invite you to take part with your K-12 class, or on your own as professional development. The Shout program addresses curriculum standards for ecological, social, and economic systems; human impact on the environment; and civic responsibility.

Free registration is now open. 

Here’s some details to “wet”  your appetite for learning!

Teacher Preview Session
January 19, 2012, 3pm EST 

Get ready to make the most of the Shout: “Water Matters” program by signing up now for the teacher preview session on Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 3 pm ET. If you cannot participate live, a recording will be made available following the live event for your enjoyment at any time.   You’ll learn about Smithsonian classroom resources, interact with other teachers who are also incorporating the SHOUT program into their curriculum, and discover how to stay connected through various social media sites. This online preview will allow you to plan ahead for the upcoming conference sessions and will be a forum for discussion of incorporating global environmental issues into the classroom.

Water Questions: When We Want to Learn More
February 7-8, 2012

For the full program for February 7-8, visit: https://www.smithsonianconference.org/shout/program-2012/

Topics to be Covered include:

Planet Water
What kinds of human interventions can help the health of marine life?

It’s Not Easy Being Amphibian: The Importance of Water
How does water quality and quantity relate to conserving amphibians in captivity and the wild?

Listening to the Water Nations
How do Indigenous peoples perceive and respond to water issues?

A Look Back at Music as an Environmental Advocacy Approach
How can music build awareness of environmental issues?

Looking at Global Water Resources from Space
What can orbiting satellites tell us about Earth’s greatest resource?

The Nitrogen Problem: Causes and Remedies
How can our actions affect coastal waters and the cycle of an essential element?

Sink or Float: Water and Design Solutions
How does design solve problems of individuals and communities around the world in sustainable ways?

 

Stay Connected:
Twitter: twitter.com/shoutlearning
Facebook: facebook.com/shoutlearning

This event is part of Shout, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution, Microsoft Partners in Learning, and TakingITGlobal. More at www.shoutlearning.org.

SEE YOU THERE!

coming up in affiliateland – december 2011 and january 2012

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a busy ending to 2011… and full steam ahead into 2012!  

TEXAS:
The Frontiers of Flight Museum hosts the the National Air and Space Museum’s At the Controls in Dallas, 12/1.

GEORGIA:
The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History celebrated its 10th anniversary as a Smithsonian Affiliate in Kennesaw, 12/3.

COLORADO:
The Littleton Museum hosts SITES’ 125 Years of Lasting Light: Grand Canyon Photography in Littleton, 12/8.

TENNESSEE:
The American Museum of Science and Energy hosts SITES’ Earth From Space in Oak Ridge, 12/16.

FLORIDA:
The Mennello Museum of Art will host SITES’ William H. Johnson: An American Modern in Orlando, 1/6.

MISSISSIPPI:
The Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center will present a professional development workshop at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, 1/12.

FLORIDA:
The Orange County Regional History Center will host SITES’ Beyond Baseball: Roberto Clemente in Orlando, 1/21.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:
Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, MA), Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, AL), National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, PA), Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI), Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, CA), Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA), Institute of Texan Cultures (San Antonio, TX), and the Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland, OH) will participate in a two day meeting to brainstorm ways in which the institutions could work together to foster civic engagement on immigration/migration issues, 1/25-1/26.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:
The Rubin Museum of Art (New York, NY), the Museum of Nature and Science (Dallas, TX), Miami Science Center (Miami, FL), and the California Science Center (Los Angeles, CA)  will participate in planning meeting for a National Symposium on Early Learning, 1/27-28.

CALIFORNIA:
The Columbia Memorial Space Center will host SITES’ Suited for Space in Downey, 1/28.

 

First Look: SITES’ Evolving Universe

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Our Sun is only one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Without it, life on Earth would not be possible. What we know about our Sun serves as the foundation for what we understand about distant stars. Credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin/SAO.

Special thanks to Ed Liskey, Senior Scheduling & Exhibitor Relations Coordinator, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, for this guest post.

The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) is pleased to offer Smithsonian Affiliates an early opportunity to be among the first venues to host the new The Evolving Universe traveling exhibition.  The Evolving Universe will feature 27 full-color, oversize images that will explore what we know about the history and structure of our solar system, the Milky Way and other galaxies and the universe as a whole. 

Two bright pinpoints of light in NGC 6240 show two supermassive black holes merging in the galaxy’s center. The black holes are only 3,000 light years apart and have been spiraling toward each other for about 30 million years. Credit: NASA/CXC/MIT, NASA/STScI.

 

Through these stunning photographs and engaging text, visitors will travel back in time and space to the beginnings of our universe.  With specialized content targeting both the young and curious as well as more technically-savvy visitors, The Evolving Universe will have wide appeal.  Act now to host this exciting exhibition of the latest cosmological knowledge and the amazing technologies scientists use to attain that knowledge.  Learn more and see additional exhibition images on SITES’ The Evolving Universe website.

 

During the supergiant and supernova phases of star death, nuclear reactions fuse helium and carbon into heavier elements, such as silicon (seen in green in this image) and iron (red). These elements are ejected forcibly in clouds that are light-years in diameter, seeding the next generation of star formation with the elements that make up planets like Earth. Credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/UMass-Amherst.

 

 

kudos! december 2011 – january 2012

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Congratulations Affiliates on ending the year so strong!

Two Affiliates received SITES’ Smithsonian Community Grants, supported by MetLife Foundation:

        The Orange County Regional History Center (Orlando, Florida) received $5,000 to fund honoraria, travel, materials and marketing for three programs related to the themes of Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente.    

        The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (Baltimore, Maryland) received $3,310 to fund a panel, “Clemente in Context/Clemente en Contexto,” to provide museum visitors with some historical and cultural context about Afro-Latino populations in the Caribbean and in the United States. All programming relate to the themes of Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente and IndiVisible: African-Natives Lives in the Americas.

 Chabot Space and Science Center (Oakland, California) received $200,000 to fund the Redwoods overnight environmental education center from the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council which promotes programs and projects to bring young people in touch with the environment. 

The Center for Jewish History (New York, New York), announce the expansion of its international fellowship program to include senior scholars, early career scholars and emerging artists and writers through a new five-year, $750,000 grant from The Vivian G. Prins Foundation. The grant will support fellowships for those who seek permanent teaching and research positions in North America. 

Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) received a $5 million gift from the estate of the late William S. Dietrich II to turn a vacant building into an artifacts storage facility and conservation center. The Center also received a $2 million grant from UPMC to support educational programs and operations at the museum, where the library and archives will be renamed for Thomas and Katherine Detre.

Three Affiliates received Art Works grant awards from the National Endowment for the Arts:

     Michigan State University Museum (East Lansing, Michigan) will receive a $40,000 grant to support the 2012 Great Lakes Folk Festival. In collaboration with the City of East Lansing, the university will produce a festival that showcases the traditional music, dance, foodways, and other cultural expressions of the nation’s Upper Midwest using an innovative approach, highlighting the cultural sustainability and adaptive reuse (recycling) inherent in traditional culture in conjunction with modern technology (a solar powered stage).

     Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art (Biloxi, Mississippi) will receive $34,000 to support the exhibition, George Edgar Ohr: Apostle of Individuality. Designed to be installed in the Knight Gallery, the exhibition will include works by Mississippi ceramic artist George Ohr.

     Whatcom Museum (Bellingham, Washington) will receive $34,000 to support the exhibition, Vanishing Ice: Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art, 1775-2012. The exhibition will examine the artistic legacy of the planet’s frozen frontiers — glaciers, icebergs, and fields of ice– now jeopardized by climate change through the presentation of 75 works.

Science Museum Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) received a $1 million donation from Love’s Travel Stops to help kick off a capital campaign and $30 million renovation for the museum entrance and the addition of a permanent exhibit aimed at introducing young children to science.

Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre (Davenport, Iowa) received $5,000 award from the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend to support the Putnam Power Mission video production. 

Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, Massachusetts) will receive a $235,000 grant from the state’s Cultural Facilities Fund to fund repairs, improvements, and expansions. 

The Coca-Cola Foundation awarded $50,000 to the North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh, North Carolina) for the development and implementation of the initiative “Educational Outreach Programs for North Carolina Students.”

Two Affiliates were recipients of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) 2011 Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives awards:

     Center for Jewish History (New York, New York) received $229,600 to fund Illuminating Hidden Collections at the Center for Jewish History.

     San Diego Museum of Man (San Diego, California) received $115,200 to fund Capturing History: Cataloging the San Diego Museum of Man’s Photographic Collection.