Exhibition Spotlight: Americans

Americans is a new, long term exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian. I was floored by this exhibition. In a good way! It's on my must-see list for Washington, DC museum-goers for this summer.

Americans features 300 objects, still images, moving image clips, and historical artifacts across a 9,000 square foot gallery. There are interactive digital touch tables and a reflection room with excellent questions to get you thinking and writing. In addition to the images and objects, three mini-galleries trace the long lasting impacts of the legacy of Pocahontas, our changing memories regarding Battle of Little Bighorn, and the implementation of Indian Removal Act.

The exhibition highlights the ways in which American Indians, and specifically Indian imagery have been part of our national identity from 1600s until the present. Some of the images are difficult to look at, some complex, some took me by surprise, and some were very familiar.

From vehicle names, to fashion, to machines of war, to sports, we've co-opted American Indian imagery for commercial, political, and propagandic purposes. Often times we have done this in prejudicial, careless, and harmful ways. Other images were seemingly benign or sought to honor or pay homage. Seeing it all presented here in mostly a matter-of-fact manner was affecting and educational. I was moved and reflective after the experience.

Americans is located on the 3rd floor of the National Museum of the American Indian (4th St and Independence Ave SW). It will be on display until the year 2022.

Learn more:

Americans exhibition interactive website (FYI - has sound).
National Museum of the American Indian official website.
The Invention of Thanksgiving short film/video (featured in the exhibition).
Exhibition review by the Washington Post.
 

War Gardens at 100 | Gardens & Libraries

Gardens at the library? If you visit the Library of Congress this fall, yes! The Library's Thomas Jefferson Building has live displays on the grounds that mimic War Gardens, also known as Victory Gardens, from World War I. In an effort to free up resources for the military during the Great War, the United States government encouraged citizens not only to ration and conserve food, but also to cultivate their own food in small gardens. The gardens could be found in private yards, public parks, churches, schools, and playgrounds.

There are a wide variety of plants in the Library of Congress gardens, all contemporary to 1917 War Gardens. Plantings include flowering squash blooms, tomatoes, sage, lavender, leeks, beets, kohlrabi, onions, peppers, spinach, radish, carrots, turnips, and much more.  You can visit the gardens even if the Library is closed, but the inside of the Jefferson Building is magnificent and worthy of your time, if you can make it.

The Library donates all harvested crops to local Washington, DC food banks.

The gardens still bear herbs and vegetables here in mid-October.

Find gardens on the southwest, southeast, and northwest corners of the Library grounds.

The Fruits of Victory by Leonebel Jacobs. c. 1918.

Source: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Accessed October 10, 2017.

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Sow the Seeds of Victory! by James Montgomery Flagg. c. 1918.

Source: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Accessed October 10, 2017.

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Help! The Woman's Land Army of America by Charles Dana Gibson. c. 1918.

Source: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Accessed October 10, 2017.

Raymond Kaskey's American Storyboard

One of the most compelling elements of the National World War II Memorial is a series of bas-relief panels lining the north and south sides of the Memorial near 17th Street NW. DC-based sculptor Raymond Kaskey created the panels (and all other bronze sculptural elements in the memorial).

The 24 panels illustrate how World War II permeated every aspect of American life from the battlefields to living rooms, farms, and factories. They run in chronological order from east to west and are divided into the themes of Pacific front and Atlantic front, including scenes from life in the United States during the war.

Mr. Kaskey was inspired by the 1,200 foot wrap-around bas-relief frieze on the National Building Museum and used World War II era photographs housed at the National Archives to inform artwork on the panels . Here are a few close ups of these amazing depictions: 

The Nation We Build Together

The National Museum of American History recently debuted the newly renovated second floor wing, titled The Nation We Build Together. The exhibitions within tell a nuanced story about how foundational American ideals have transformed over 300 years. The exhibitions are deep, artifact rich, and current. The interactive elements are excellent at testing your knowledge of government and political systems, while challenging you to examine your own views.

We can incorporate the best of these exhibitions into a Discover DC tour and pair the experience with site visits to Capitol Hill, the White House, or presidential memorials. Call us (202-681-0046) to schedule an exciting and educational tour.  We leverage the best of DC and help you maximize your time here in the city. Learn more and book here.

Meanwhile, get inspired by these photos from The Nation We Build Together!

Who gets to vote? How do we manage voting methods state to state and county to county? The exhibition American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith touches on these questions and more, while illustrating how important political agency is to shaping American society.

When the United States of America began, only a small subset of land owning white men could vote. We've opened the door to more and more people over time, but the work isn't finished. The exhibition explores voting expansion over time on the federal, state, and local levels.

Many Voices, One Nation explores what it means it means to "be American," including how complex issues like immigration, assimilation, multiculturalism, and community intersect.

With no limited representation in the House and none in the Senate, residents of Washington, DC face a voting predicament unlike all other American citizens.

Campaign ephemera from recent elections and beyond.

Petition and protest are American traditions, are protected by law, and come in many forms.