Exhibition Opportunities

Featured Affiliate Exhibition

I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music

A group of exhibition panels are displayed in an empty museum gallery

Old-time music is described and experienced in different ways and for different purposes, but at its heart, old-time is mountain folk music with strong ties to Appalachia and the diverse peoples who have called it home. While old-time music has primarily been related to “hillbilly music” and its roots and branches can be found in the development of country and bluegrass, it is one of the melting pots of American culture, connecting to multiple genres, influences, and instruments.

Women have always been central to old-time music – in the home and on the stage, and as instrumentalists and singers, preservationists, activists, promoters, and cultural memory keepers. I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music highlights the many women who have been integral to this music, exploring the challenges they’ve faced making a career in the field, the ways they have impacted the genre, and their vision for the future of old-time.

The exhibition is organized by the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and available to travel to museums, libraries, cultural centers, and other venues and events starting February 2024. More information at the exhibition website or download the exhibition info sheet here.

Photo credit: Birthplace of Country Music Museum

Affiliate Traveling Exhibition Opportunities

Click on the links below for traveling exhibition opportunities from Affiliate partners.

Arizona State Museum (Tucson, Arizona)
Weaving Has a Heartbeat is an exhibit about the sharing of the relationships created, and the weaving and natural-dyeing skills learned, among participants in Arizona State Museum’s program, Honoring Traditions: Connecting Master and Emerging Indigenous Artists across Cultures and Museums. The exhibit consists of 24, 30×40 panels, a plexi wall case for a 14 inches x 23 inches textile collaboratively created by master artists Barbara Teller Ornelas (Navajo) and Porfirio Guitierrez (Zapotec). View the Weaving Has a Heartbeat online version and contact Lisa Falk, head of community engagement, to inquire about booking the panel version- Falk@arizona.edu.

Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, Michigan)
Traveling exhibitions

  • Arab Americans: History, Culture and Contributions illustrates how Arab Americans have been an integral part of American society for more than 125 years.
  • What We Carried: Fragments & Memories from Iraq & Syria exhibition documents what it means to leave everything behind through photographer and author Jim Lommasson’s images.

Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, California)
The museum offers many of the exhibitions it has hosted to other museums and cultural facilities. These exhibitions range in size and subject matter, offering engaging experiences for visitors of all ages and with varied interests. Please refer to the contact information for each exhibition for availability information, loan fees, and other details- Traveling Exhibitions

Cosmosphere (Hutchinson, Kansas)
Liberty Bell 7 Spacecraft exhibition

If you have a traveling exhibition to announce, please contact us for posting.

Featured SITES Exhibition

Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest / Historias del bosque boreal

Two people stand in front of an exhibit panel in the Knowing Nature exhibition at the Michigan State University Museum

“I commend SITES on the meticulous research, design, and execution of this initiative. The exhibition is having a profound impact on our visitors.” – Devon M. Akmon, Director, Michigan State University Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate

Immerse your visitors in the incredible beauty and ecological importance of the boreal forest, which makes up nearly a third of the Earth’s forested land. In North America, it covers much of Alaska and Canada, and extends into the northern United States. A true natural wonder, the boreal contains miles of rivers, 1.5 million lakes and 500 billion trees which are home to over 3 billion migratory birds. The boreal forest stores more carbon than most tropical forests and helps regulate Earth’s climate. Having lived in these forests for thousands of years, the Indigenous peoples of the boreal today can offer a vision for a sustainable future.

Co-developed by experts from Indigenous communities, conservation leaders, and Smithsonian researchers, Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest / Historias del bosque boreal uncovers the biodiversity and global importance of the boreal through first-person stories, objects made by Indigenous artists, interactive experiences, and exquisite photography and videography. As the widespread smoke from recent forest fires has shown, we are all connected to the boreal forest.

Booking now for 2024 and beyond- discounts available! Contact: Ed Liskey, Senior Scheduling and Exhibitor Relations Coordinator, 202-633-3142, liskeye@si.edu

*Please sign in to your Salesforce account to view all exhibition information.

Photo: Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest at the Michigan State University Museum. Photo by Doug Coombe.

Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Opportunities

Click on the links below for traveling exhibition opportunities from Smithsonian museums.

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)
List of exhibitions

Smithsonian American Art Museum
Exhibitions offered for tour

National Museum of American History
Spark!Lab National Network

National Portrait Gallery
Traveling Exhibitions