Public Programs

Newsroom of the Smithsonian

Media resources for our public programs. See our Event Calendar for all of our public programs.

SAAM Arcade
Smithsonian American Art Museum Hosts Its First Game Jam as Part of “SAAM Arcade 2021”
Free Week-Long Virtual Event Celebrates Community and Individuality in Gaming
07.09.2021
American Art Museum Public Programs
Making Matters 2021 logo
Smithsonian Folklife Festival Presents “Beyond the Mall: Making Matters” June 25–27
Weekend of Virtual Craft Workshops and Creative Conversations
05.24.2021
Public Programs
Hands weaving
Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Making Matters: Weaving

Peruvian backstrap weaving. 

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Hands with chisel
Michael A. Dunn
Making Matters: Chisel

Nicholas Benson uses a mallet and chisel to carve inscriptions for the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. 

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View of large apartment building exterior lit up at night

Chris Chong Chan Fui, “BLOCK B,” 2009. 35mm film formatted to hard drive for projection; 20:44 min. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Museum Purchase, 2010 (10.2). Still courtesy of the artist.

Hirshhorn Introduces Summer Screening Series, “Lost in Place: Voyages in Video,” May 14–Aug. 20
Online Presentation of 11 Contemporary Videos Addresses the Pandemic’s Impact on the Shared Experience of Space, Featuring Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler, Ragnar Kjartansson, Laure Prouvost, Jacolby Satterwhite, and Superflex
04.30.2021
Hirshhorn Museum Public Programs
Museum building on lawn
National Museum of African American History and Culture Discussion Revisits African Burial Grounds 30 Years Later in May Virtual Programming
04.29.2021
African American Museum Public Programs
Culinasia: The Future of Asian Food in America. Free!
Free Conversation Series CULINASIA Explores the Future of Asian Food in America
04.19.2021
Smithsonian Associates Public Programs
White tags hang from branches of tree

Yoko Ono, “Wish Tree for Washington, DC,” 2007. Installed at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Photo by Jazmine Johnson.

Hirshhorn Presents Yoko Ono’s “Wish Tree for Washington, DC” for the First Time in a Virtual Activation on Instagram With #WishTreeDC, April 15–30
Open Invitation to the World Begins With Artists, April 15
04.15.2021
Hirshhorn Museum Exhibitions Public Programs
Illustration of space station and interstellar objects
Virtual Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Chandra Operations Control Center Now Available
04.13.2021
Astrophysical Observatory Public Programs
Artwork with the words "We Walk the Way of the New World"

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Gift of the Furious Flower Poetry Center, JMU

National Museum of African American History and Culture Celebrates National Jazz Appreciation and Poetry Month in April
Virtual Programs Feature a Conversation With the Youngest Original Freedom Rider, COVID-19 and Artists, and a Panel About Gospel Music and Men
03.31.2021
African American Museum Public Programs
Smithsonian sunburst logo
Smithsonian and The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America to Present Women in Preservation Symposium
Three-day Virtual Event Will Celebrate Women and Their Pivotal Role in American Preservation
03.31.2021
Public Programs
Grass field with clouds in the form of a world map

Image credit: duncan1890

National Museum of the American Indian Celebrates Earth Day With Its Annual Living Earth Festival
Online Festival Features Native American Business Representatives, Films and Youth Leaders on Sustainability and Innovation in Indigenous Agriculture
03.23.2021
American Indian Museum Public Programs
Woman sits in field with mountain in background
Peruvian woman preparing chuño, 2018. Photography by hadynyay, iStock.com.
Living Earth Festival: Preparing chuño

Peruvian woman preparing chuño, 2018. 

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Portraits of six people

Diana Al-Hadid, photo by Lisa DeLong; Jacolby Satterwhite, portrait by photographer Sam Waxman; Teresita Fernandez, photo: Natalia Mantini, courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul and London; Catherine Opie, photo credit: Heather Rasmussen; Riva Lehrer, courtesy of the artist; Charles Gaines, © Charles Gaines, courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth, photo: Fredrik Nilsen.

Hirshhorn Announces Fourth Season of Free Online Artist Talks, a Series Enjoyed by Over 22,000 Viewers So Far, March 17–May 26
Marking One Year Since Museum Went Virtual, New “Talking to Our Time” Lineup Features Charles Gaines, Catherine Opie and Deana Lawson
03.17.2021
Hirshhorn Museum Public Programs
Smithsonian sunburst logo
Smithsonian Folklife Festival Goes Virtual for 2021
03.11.2021
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Public Programs
Young girls sits and paints at an easel in her home
Smithsonian Summer Virtual Adventures Offer Live Learning Experiences for Kids
Kids Can Explore, Discover, Create and Go Behind the Scenes at the Smithsonian—Online
03.10.2021
Smithsonian Associates Public Programs
Create. Imagine. Discover.
Smithsonian Open Access at One Year: What Have People Created?
02.25.2021
Public Programs
Woman stands and reads as a crowd of women watch

Rahama Wright served in the Peace Corps in Mali from 2002 to 2004. Photo courtesy of Rahama Wright.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival Presents “The Peace Corps at 60 and Beyond: A Towering Task Film Screening & Panel Discussion”
Acting Peace Corps Director Will Join Film Director, Social Entrepreneur and Senior Museum Curator for Panel Discussion
02.25.2021
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Public Programs
National Museum of African American History and Culture building on the National Mall
National Museum of African American History and Culture Presents Its First Virtual Symposium “Making African America”
More Than 40 Panelists Include Haitian American Novelist Edwidge Danticat, Multimedia Journalist Felice León, Dominican American Poet and Bestselling Author Elizabeth Acevedo and Award-winning Filmmaker Julie Dash
02.24.2021
African American Museum Public Programs
Craft Optimism graphic with collage of ornate jewelry

Collage created from magazine cut-outs, by Lelia Cartier

Smithsonian’s ‘Craft Optimism’ Opens April 24
Online Craft Show Is a Curated, Climate-Conscious Makers’ Market
02.24.2021
Public Programs
Close up of cherry blossoms

Debora Moore, Cherry (detail), from the series Arboria, 2018, blown and sculpted glass and natural boulder, approx. 90 x 28 x 20 in., Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Rozarii Lynch.

Smithsonian American Art Museum Presents a Series of Virtual Programs as Part of the 2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival
Cherry Blossom Family Celebrations Online March 20 to April 11
02.19.2021
American Art Museum Public Programs
Woman with bare shoulders and floral headgear stares straight ahead

Waikiki, dir. Christopher Kahunahana, 2020.

Smithsonian Presents the Mother Tongue Film Festival, “The Healing Power of Storytelling”
Sixth Annual Festival Will Be Held Online as Free Monthly Screening Series
02.11.2021
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage American Indian Museum Natural History Museum Public Programs
Conical sculpture reflects early morning light in front of National Air and Space Museum building
National Air and Space Museum Celebrates Perseverance Landing
02.01.2021
Air and Space Museum Public Programs
Aged, family group photograph from 1901

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Families of Anita Williams Christopher and David Owen Williams

Book Discussion With Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain Kicks Off Black History Month Programming at the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Uplifting the Black Family Social Media Campaign Shares the Experience of the Black Family
01.27.2021
African American Museum Public Programs

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