Events/Things To Do

Instagram Live: A Discussion on Women’s Suffrage with Kate Clarke Lemay and Lara Vapnek

Tuesday, Aug. 18, 12:00 p.m. EST

Instagram @smithsoniannpg

Experience the museum’s first Instagram Live! Portrait Gallery historian Kate Clarke Lemay and Professor Lara Vapnek, who teaches history at St. John’s University, will delve into the long history of suffrage activism in the United States. On Aug. 18, 1920, the movement for women’s voting rights culminated in Tennessee’s vote to ratify the 19th amendment, providing the two-thirds majority of states needed for the amendment to become law. The conversation will highlight Leonora O’Reilly, a “working girl” from New York City who became a leading suffrage advocate, and whose portrait is in the museum’s collection. This conversation will also serve as an early celebration of Women’s Equality Day on Aug. 26.

Art Chats @ 5
Fridays, July 3–September 25, 5–5:30 p.m.
Jump start your weekend with art! Every Friday join NMWA educators for informal 30-minute art chats about selected artworks in the collection. Discuss a new sampling of artworks each week. You can even enjoy your favorite happy hour drink or snack during the sessions. Free; registration required and limited to 20 participants each week. Register online for July dates and check back in mid-July for August and September registration.

In Partnership with the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) and Santa Fe Indian Market, the National Museum of the American Indian presents the annual Native Cinema Showcase 2020 featuring “More Than A Word”, a documentary focusing on the Washington football team and its use of a derogatory mascot.

August 29 | 3 p.m. EST

Watch it here: americanindian.si.edu

After the screening, watch a conversation between Kevin Gover (Pawnee), Director of the National Museum of the American Indian, and activist Amanda Blackhorse (Diné), a plaintiff in the 2014 lawsuit Blackhorse v. Pro Football, Inc. The conversation will stream automatically when the film ends.

Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Additional support provided by the New York State Council on the Arts under Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council Initiative, and by The Walt Disney Company.

Art Chats @ 5
Fridays, July 3–September 25, 5–5:30 p.m.
Jump start your weekend with art! Every Friday join NMWA educators for informal 30-minute art chats about selected artworks in the collection. Discuss a new sampling of artworks each week. You can even enjoy your favorite happy hour drink or snack during the sessions. Free; registration required and limited to 20 participants each week. Register online for July dates and check back in mid-July for August and September registration.

In Partnership with the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) and Santa Fe Indian Market, the National Museum of the American Indian presents the annual Native Cinema Showcase 2020 featuring “More Than A Word”, a documentary focusing on the Washington football team and its use of a derogatory mascot.

August 28 | 7 p.m. EST

August 29 | 3 p.m. EST

Watch it here: americanindian.si.edu

After the screening, watch a conversation between Kevin Gover (Pawnee), Director of the National Museum of the American Indian, and activist Amanda Blackhorse (Diné), a plaintiff in the 2014 lawsuit Blackhorse v. Pro Football, Inc. The conversation will stream automatically when the film ends.

Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Additional support provided by the New York State Council on the Arts under Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council Initiative, and by The Walt Disney Company.

Christopher Tin’s To Shiver the Sky: An Inside Look
Saturday August 29, 2020 • 7 p.m. ET • YouTube Live

An online event exploring the call of the heavens, the history of flight, exploration, courage, and the birth of an oratorio: To Shiver the Sky

Danielle de Niese

soprano
Christopher Tin

conductor
The United States Air Force Band
Colonel Don Schofield, Commander and Conductor

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson

Launch Director, John F. Kennedy Space Center

Dr. Michelle Thaller

Astrophysicist and Astronomer – NASA

Jenny Bilfield

President & CEO, Washington Performing Arts

Originally scheduled as a live, world premiere concert in Washington, D.C. in May 2020, the event has been re-imagined and re-shaped into a new online format of music, interviews and live Q&A. No payment or advance registration is required for the event on Saturday, August 29 at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT, 6 p.m. CT). Viewers can bookmark and watch it here.

To Shiver the Sky is an oratorio about humankind’s quest to conquer the heavens and the history of flight. Told through the words of 11 of our greatest astronomers, inventors, visionaries and pilots, the work offers the chance to hear from Christopher Tin (in words, music and film) his inspiration for setting to music our relentless need to explore the universe, defy our earthly bonds and ultimately claim our place among the stars.

Tin joins forces with soprano Danielle de Niese and the United States Air Force Band in a world-premiere performance of “Courage”—a filmed movement from To Shiver the Sky created especially for this event—setting to music the words of Amelia Earhart, American aviation pioneer, author, and equal-rights advocate.

The program also includes contributions from two major figures in aviation and exploration: Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Launch Director (NASA) at John F. Kennedy Space Center; and Dr Michelle Thaller, Astrophysicist and Astronomer (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center.

The event continues with a live interview between Tin and Washington Performing Arts President & CEO Jenny Bilfield, reflecting on the themes of To Shiver the Sky and the reimagining of this event from a traditional concert to a novel online experience, and concludes with a live Q&A.

“I’d like this music, and the album, to be a reminder of an era when humanity could pull together to achieve the incredible. We believed in our own greatness. We believed in our ability to solve the scourge of World Wars, to cure diseases, and to break the bonds of Earth. We were once great, and we can be great again.

“It’s awful that live music isn’t possible at the moment but, true to our nature, we find ways to overcome obstacles. And we hope that the internet can democratize the viewing experience for all to share.” (Christopher Tin)

The Tea: Tamika Love Jones
In this new online series, women musicians perform original work on the first Friday of the month. Each session includes a short interview, conducted over a cup of tea, which explores the artist’s creative process. The series kicks off with Tamika Love Jones, a versatile vocalist, actress, mother of two and a sought after Teaching Artist in Washington, D.C. She has released three albums of original music incorporating soul, hip-hop, jazz, funk, blues and classical influences. Jones’s dramatic stage presence, acrobatic vocals and fluidity between genres has put her in a class of her own.

WHERE
Online, streaming on Facebook and nmwa.org  

WHEN
Friday, September 4, 12–1 p.m. 

PRICE
Free. No reservations required. Add to your calendar here.

Art Chats @ 5
Fridays, July 3–September 25, 5–5:30 p.m.
Jump start your weekend with art! Every Friday join NMWA educators for informal 30-minute art chats about selected artworks in the collection. Discuss a new sampling of artworks each week. You can even enjoy your favorite happy hour drink or snack during the sessions. Free; registration required and limited to 20 participants each week. Register online for July dates and check back in mid-July for August and September registration.