Tag Archive for: Affiliates

An inspiring exhibition for your neighborhood

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"The Healing Power of Art" while on view at the Smithsonian's S. Dillon Ripley Center in 2010.

Thirty-five seconds. That’s all it took to forever change the world for millions of Haitians on January 12, 2010. Now imagine those 35 seconds from a child’s point of view.  

Soon after the devastating earthquake, first lady of Haiti Elisabeth D. Préval called on Haitian artist Philippe Dodard and his fellow artists, as well as psychologists, educators and politicians, to create a safe place for children to express their feelings through art. Operating from converted buses at two sites in Port-au-Prince, Plas Timoun (The Children’s Place) uses the power of the visual and performing arts to bring healing to children, ages 6-10. 

Exhibition works of art in the concourse of the S. Dillon Ripley Center.

The simple works on paper created immediately following the earthquake were dark in color and imagery. Soon after, drawings began to reveal glimmers of hope and healing. The children of Plas Timoun were using brighter colors and depicting the innocence of childhood and their vision for a brighter future, attesting to the resilience of a nation and the power of art. With the help of Plas Timoun, these children will move more confidently toward their future and the lasting reconstruction of Haiti. “This exhibition gives the children of Haiti a chance to present to the world their vision of themselves and of the reconstruction of their country,” said Préval. “Their voices, so well expressed by colors and emotions, reflect our imaginary and social reality as vectors encouraging viewers to think with us of solutions to the problems facing contemporary Haiti.” 

Simple works on paper in "The Healing Power of Art" reveal glimmers of hope and healing.

Nearly 100 paintings and drawings created by Haiti’s young people at Plas Timoun are featured in the exhibition The Healing Power of Art: Works of Art by Haitian Children after the Earthquake, organized by the National Museum of African Art. Now, Smithsonian Affiliates can be the first to host this inspiring exhibition in their own community.  

While several of the artworks depict images relating to death and destruction, they also include illustrations of houses – both standing and damaged – with local architectural features, planes and helicopters reflecting rescue and recovery efforts, as well as colorful Haitian flags, nature scenes, abstract designs and children at play. Drawings by former First Lady Elisabeth Préval, First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, and Second Lady of the United States, Jill Biden who participated in a painting session at Plas Timoun, are included. 

"The Healing Power of Art" at the S. Dillon Ripley Center in 2010.

In addition, the exhibition includes three videos: Thirty Five Long Seconds: Haiti’s Deadly Earthquake, an 18-minute film chronicling the earthquake and its aftermath written and narrated by Mario L. Delatour, and two short video segments, one in which Dodard discusses the concept behind Plas Timoun and the other on a visit to Haiti by Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden. An outstanding beaded Haitian flag, map of Haiti and didactic panels complement the exhibition. 

For more information on booking this exhibition, click here to download the exhibition prospectus.

At the Controls in your neighborhood

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"At the Controls" exhibition at the Tellus Science Museum. Photo courtesy Eric Long.

Ever wondered what the cockpit looked like in Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis? Or what the viewpoint was inside the Wright brothers’ 1903 Flyer? Affiliates now have the opportunity to show their visitors an up-close view of some of the most famous cockpits in aviation history. At the Controls, an exhibition created from a book of the same title published by Eric Long and Mark Avino from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM), invites visitors to get a pilot’s point of view through 22 large-scale, color photographs. 

Originally a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service traveling exhibition, At the Controls completed its five-year tour in 2009 and returned to NASM where it is now being offered exclusively to Affiliates at a special rate. Interested Smithsonian Affiliates will only be responsible for the cost of shipping and insurance – there is no participation fee.  “The exhibition offers a never before seen and very unique perspective of the history of cockpits from some of the world’s most impressive air and spacecraft,” said Long.  

"At the Controls" at Tellus Science Museum. Photo courtesy Eric Long.

The exhibition is currently on view at the Tellus Science Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Cartersville, Georgia, and will close on November 13, 2011, after which time it will be open for additional booking.  

The images are printed on flexible material which can be displayed on lightweight, freestanding structures or on exhibition walls.  Each photograph is labeled with aircraft information and details specific to each cockpit.  Some of the extraordinary aircraft included are the Wright brothers’ 1903 Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis, John Glenn’s  Mercury Friendship 7, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, and the Space Shuttle Columbia. 

For more information on exhibition availability, please contact Smithsonian Affiliations National Outreach Manager, Caroline Mah, at mahc@si.edu or 202-633-5308. 

Exhibition Specifications: 

  • Contents: 22 large-format color digital images with text printed on flexible banner material, freestanding units
  • Size: 130 running feet
  • Crates: 3
  • Weight: 173 kg (382 lb.)
  • Estimated Shipping: For example, recent costs from Washington, D.C. to Cartersville, GA via Fed Ex were approximately $300.   Shipping prices will vary. 
  • Insurance Value: $22,000 ($1,000 per banner). Venues must have adequate general commercial liability insurance or be self-insured.
  • Space Requirements: minimum 700 sq ft.

**Affiliates are responsible for shipping and insurance costs.

 

A record-breaking sailplane of the 1930s, the Senior Albatross Falcon looks like an otherworldy life form.

 

Museums’ Futures Rely on Relevance

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Special thanks to Ellen Rosenthal, President and CEO at Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Fishers, Indiana, for this guest post.

Around 500 BCE the legendary Greek philosopher Heraclitus declared that the only constant is change. Imagine what he would say today. 

For more than a quarter century museums have been a central part of my life (Conner Prairie Interactive History Park since 1999).  It’s safe to say that I expected the world to change during my career, but at this rate?  In retrospect, I was clueless. 

Entering Dupont, part of the 1863 Civil War Journey at Conner Prairie. Photo courtesy Conner Prairie.

We museum leaders find ourselves in the midst of a digital revolution, globalization, new discoveries in the way people learn and retain information, the manner(s) in which information is conveyed,  economic challenges (for us and for our guests), and attention spans that seem to shrink with the launch of every new Smartphone app.  

So what are we to do with this tsunami of challenges facing our industry if we are to avoid being relegated to another heap within history?   

Museums must not only find ways to engage today’s sophisticated and restless consumers, but we must recognize a shared need to remain relevant – to keepup with change.  My 20-year-old son once challenged me, “Why do I need to go to Conner Prairie when I can experience time-travel on my laptop?” Conner Prairie has an answer. 

The Depot in the 1863 Civil War Journey at Conner Prairie. Photo courtesy Conner Prairie.

The shared purpose that we embrace at Conner Prairie is to create intergenerational learning “exhibits” that pique curiosity, generate positive attitudes toward learning and encourage grandparents, parents, teachers and children to share experiences that spark conversation. 

Although there are no long-term studies to prove the importance of museums to educational attainment, research on the summer learning gap shows that underprivileged students fall behind their middle-class classmates, because they do not visit museums or have other out-of-school learning experiences over the summer. There is an important role for museums to play in sustaining America’s educational competitiveness.  

Conner Prairie seeks to make it easier for entire families of all income levels to share learning experiences by first, making those experiences exciting enough to leave home for, and by second, offering reduced admission based on need through the Access Program, which offers $1 admission to any Hoosier family on public assistance. 

A Raided Warehouse in the 1863 Civil War Journey at Conner Prairie. Photo courtesy Conner Prairie.

We understand that if we, as a contemporary museum, are to remain relevant and at least within a thoroughbred’s length of change we must do the following: 

  1. Look outside the museum field for models.
    Consider who or what engages all family members regardless of age.  Movie maker Pixar is an example, not in terms of costs, but in the way it ingeniously creates simultaneous plot lines – one that moves and amuses adults, another that speaks to kids.
  2. Create experience. In our recent Civil War Journey experience we used technology but not for technology’s sake. As our consultants put it: “It isn’t the whiz-bang that matters, it’s the story the whiz-bang is trying to bring to life.”
  3. Program for diverse audiences. If you want to engage diverse multi-generational audiences, make sure that everyone sees someone with whom they can identify. The stars of our Civil War  exhibit are a 16-year-old girl; an 18-year-old escaped slave and a 12-year-old message boy. 

Seventy-seven years after our founding we continue to discover that our founder Eli Lilly had at least part of the answer to our museum-industry dilemma: “nothing is done that cannot be done better.”  Keep an eye on the way lives are changing and a loose grip on tradition and relevance will take care of itself.

Ellen M. Rosenthal – President and CEO
Conner Prairie Interactive  History Park
Fishers, Indiana
(317) 776.6000

Civil War reenactors from throughout the Midwest portrayed Morgan’s Raiders during the creation of Conner Prairie’s new 1863 Civil War Journey: Raid on Indiana. © Conner Prairie

Affiliates invited to share 150th Civil War activities via Smithsonian social media

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The General Locomotive at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History (Kennesaw, GA). Photo © Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History.

In April 1862, as train passengers and crews were eating breakfast in Big Shanty (modern Kennesaw, Georgia), a band of Union Civil War spies led by James J. Andrews stole the General locomotive from under the watchful eyes of guards at nearby Confederate Camp McDonald. Destroying telegraph wires and uprooting tracks in their escape north, the raiders would leave a path of destruction to the Western & Atlantic Railroad through the North Georgia Mountains. Conductor William Fuller and Confederates pursued “Andrews Raiders” using three different locomotives and caught them outside Chattanooga, Tennessee. Today, visitors to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Kennesaw, Georgia, can follow in the daring footsteps of William Fuller as he chases “Andrews Raiders” through the mountains, see the General locomotive itself, and participate in upcoming commemorative events.  

https://www.civilwar150.si.edu/

Smithsonian Affiliates across the U.S. are hosting events, exhibitions and highlighting artifacts like the General locomotive in Kennesaw, GA, throughout the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. We’re inviting all Affiliates to promote their artifacts, blog, online exhibitions, upcoming exhibitions, events and anything related to the Civil War 150th anniversary so they can be highlighted on the Smithsonian Civil War 150 Facebook page and the Affiliate museum listed on the Smithsonian’s Civil War 150 website. 

 

To have your Affiliate highlighted:

  • Submit your events, exhibitions, blog posts, and artifacts to Elizabeth Bugbee
  • Send your own Facebook and Twitter info so we can “like” or “follow” your page
  • Send “This Day in Civil War History” stories from your community, highlight a Civil War expert from your neighborhood, talk about an artifact in your collection. the possibilities are limitless!
  • We’d love to go year-by-year, starting with 1861, but don’t let that stop you from submitting any information. We want to hear about anything Civil War-related at your organization!  

Smithsonian Affiliates are an important educational resource for visitors who are unable to travel to Washington, D.C., for commemorative events at the Smithsonian.  Let’s connect Civil War enthusiasts, historians, and fans of the Smithsonian to the resources available in Affiliate neighborhoods! 

Affiliates featured on the Smithsonian’s Civil War 150 website: (not listed? Email Elizabeth Bugbee)

Historic Arkansas Museum (Little Rock, AR)
Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History (Kennesaw, GA)
Conner Prairie (Fishers, IN)
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum (Baltimore, MD)
Lowell National Historical Park (Lowell, MA)
American Textile History Museum (Lowell, MA)
North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh, NC)
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Cincinnati, OH)
Oklahoma Historical Society (Oklahoma City, OK)
National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, PA)
The National Civil War Museum (Harrisburg, PA)
The Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
South Carolina State Museum (Columbia, SC)
American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar (Richmond, VA)
Kenosha Public Museum (Kenosha, WI) 

Morgan's Raiders

Civil War reenactors from throughout the Midwest portrayed Morgan’s Raiders during the creation of Conner Prairie’s new "1863 Civil War Journey: Raid on Indiana."

Don’t forget to “like” the Smithsonian Civil War 150 Facebook page!

Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship Program

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The Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship (SARF) offers visual artists the opportunity to spend between one and three months working among the vast collections of the Smithsonian Institution with experts on the Smithsonian staff. The fellowship offers a dynamic research environment in which to investigate the objects, discoveries, and historical events that inspire creative work rather than a studio. The program brings artists together with Smithsonian scholars from a variety of disciplines at museums and research centers in the United States and abroad to explore cross-disciplinary connections between history, art, culture, and science. SARF fellows are chosen by a panel of Smithsonian art experts with input from representatives from the Smithsonian history, culture, and science research communities. Fellowship terms are one to three months and must begin between June 1, 2012 and March 1, 2013. 

The program seeks to recognize outstanding established, mid-career and emerging artists with a demonstrated record of accomplishment. Artists should have a strong exhibition history; experience with public projects or commissions is desirable. Undergraduate students and MFA candidates are not eligible. The fellowship is open to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. Successful applications will make a strong case for research projects that utilize Smithsonian-specific collections and resources. 

Candidates are nominated by Smithsonian curators of contemporary art and research staff; outside nominators representing international curators and scholars; and former and current Smithsonian Artist Research Fellows. Artists who are nominated and asked to submit an application are strongly encouraged to communicate with Smithsonian staff whose research relates to their project interests before applying to confirm the feasibility of projects.  A research staff directory is available online in the publication Smithsonian Opportunities for Research and Study, at www.si.edu/research+study .  A complete list of Smithsonian museums and research centers may be found online at: www.si.edu/museums  and www.si.edu/research .   

Nominators should consider the following in making nominations:  the quality of the artist’s work; his or her record of career accomplishments; and the feasibility and potential significance of the research proposal. 

Nominations must be submitted no later than September 15, 2011
Application Deadline: November 15, 2011
Notification of Decisions: by March 15, 2012

For questions, application guidelines, or to request a nomination form, please contact Pamela Veenbaas at veenbaasp@si.edu  or 202-633-7070.

Professional Development: Broadening your access to the Smithsonian

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We like to say that we’re the “portal” to the Smithsonian here in the Affiliations office for all of our more than 165 Affiliate partners.  And I think that is especially true for those Affiliate staff members who have taken part in our professional development programs over the years. Going behind-the-scenes to learn a new skill, conducting valuable research first-hand, or simply meeting with as many experts as possible to bring an idea to reality, and then bringing that knowledge back home to the Affiliate community is something really unique.  And this collaborative feeling benefits both our Visiting Professionals and our Intern Partners who each have the opportunity to bring something new and exciting back to share with their Affiliate community.  

We’re wrapping up our 2011 Intern Partnership and Visiting Professionals programs, but are accepting applications for the 2012 Visiting Professionals Program until August 31, 2011. If you have an intern you’d like to recommend for summer 2012, they’ll be able to apply online this fall–the deadline is January 20, 2012. And don’t forget, we’ve made changes to the Intern Partnership Program to reduce Affiliate costs!

But don’t take it from me- I may be a little biased.  See how our Professional Development programs have benefited your fellow Affiliate colleagues and interns:  

Solimar Salas speaking at MCI's Topics in Museum Conservation lecture.

Solimar Salas– 2011 Visiting Professional from the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (San Juan). Working primarily with the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute (MCI) but with many other Smithsonian units as well, Solimar focused on the policies and procedures involved in developing conservation and research centers. She even was the featured presenter at MCI’s Topics in Museum Conservation lecture! 

Angelica Docog poses with the Honorable Sam Johnson (R-TX), Harold Closter, and Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough after receiving her Visiting Professionals Certificate of Award.

Angelica Docog– 2011 Visiting Professional from the Charlotte Museum of History (Charlotte, NC). Angelica met with more than 30 Smithsonian experts while working on her pan-Institutional project to learn all that she could about models of accessibility at the Smithsonian. Meeting with specialists in accessible museum design, cultural interpreters, community outreach programmers, and educators, Angelica was able to develop a network of professionals that will help her create programs and exhibitions based on the Smithsonian models she observed. 

Annette Fromm visits the Smithsonian Folklife fest during her Visiting Professional residency.

Annette Fromm– 2011 Visiting Professional from the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University (Miami). Annette researched Osceola-related collections across the Smithsonian Institution as well as met with many experts regarding sensitive exhibition development/design, including outreach into the Seminole community. Annette said of her time at the Smithsonian: “A number of insightful and valuable meetings were arranged which introduced me to individuals with lengthy experience working with Native American topics.” 

Intern Partner Marlina Reese in the Numismatics Collection at NMAH.

Marlina Reese– 2011 Intern Partner from the Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future (Dallas, TX). Calling it her “dream internship” to intern at the Smithsonian, Marlina has been working to catalogue Confederate paper money in the Numismatics Collection at the National Museum of American History.  

Annette Shumway– 2010 Intern Partner from Florida International University (Miami).  Annette spent the summer of 2010 working on digitizing the Postmaster General Collection for the National Postal Museum. A roaring success story, Annette was hired by NPM to continue her work on the Postmaster General Collection!  

2010 Intern Partner Annette Shumway at the National Postal Museum.

Remember, the deadline for 2012 Visiting Professionals Program is August 31, 2011! For more information for each program and how to apply, visit the Professional Development Program page on our website.