Agency history, 2016-

Subject

• Goslins, Rachel
• Skorton, David J
• Thomas, Abraham (Museum curator)
• Molese, Ashley
• MacDonald, Brad
• Montgomery, Monica O
• Alnouri, Laith
• Reynolds, Ellie
• Meadows, Ashley
• Peck, Allison
• Watt, Hilary-Morgan
• Arts and Industries Building (Washington, D.C.)
• Halycon
• United States President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
• Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
• Crosslines: A Culture Lab on Intersectionality (Program) (2016: Washington, D.C.)
• The Long Conversation: Ideas to Light the Future (Program) (2017: Washington, D.C.)
• The Long Conversation: Ideas to Light the Future (Program) (2018: Washington, D.C.)
• By the People (Festival) (2018: Washington, D.C.)
• By the People (Festival) (2019: Washington, D.C.)
• FUTURES (Exhibition) (2021-2022: Washington, D.C.)
• Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Category

Agency History

Notes

• This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
• SI News Release, "Smithsonian Names Rachel Goslins Director of the Arts and Industries Building," https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-names-rachel-goslins-director-arts-and-industries-building, August 11, 2016
• "Belle Of The Mall: Saving Smithsonian's Jewel-Like Arts And Industries Building," by Elizabeth Blair, August 25, 2016, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2016/08/25/489457490/belle-of-the-mall-saving-smithsonian-s-jewel-like-arts-and-industries-building, accessed February 27, 2023
• "The Long Conversation" event, https://www.si.edu/events/longconversation, accessed February 27, 2023
• "By the People 2018," Halcyon, https://www.halcyonhouse.org/arts/by-the-people/by-the-people-2018/, accessed February 27, 2023
• Arts + Industries Building website, https://aib.si.edu/, accessed February 27, 2023
• "FUTURES" exhibition, https://www.si.edu/exhibitions/futures%3Aevent-exhib-6535, accessed February 27, 2023
• SI-email announcement, "Message from the Under Secretary for Museums and Culture: Rachel Goslins is leaving the Smithsonian," August 3, 2022
• Accession 22-068: Smithsonian Institution, Arts and Industries Building, Curatorial Records, 2016-2020
• LinkedIn, Brad MacDonald, https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradmacdonald1/, accessed February 27, 2023
• LinkedIn, Monica O. Montgomery, https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamontgomery/, accessed February 27, 2023
• LinkedIn, Ashley Molese, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-molese/, accessed February 27, 2023
• LinkedIn, Laith Alnouri, https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalnouri/, accessed February 27, 2023
• LinkedIn, Ashley Meadows, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-meadows-647a2a18/, accessed Febraury 27, 2023
• LinkedIn, Ellie Reynolds, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellie-reynolds-19335a9/, accessed February 27, 2023
• LinkedIn, Allison Peck, https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonepeck/, accessed February 27, 2023
• LinkedIn, Hilary-Morgan Watt, https://www.linkedin.com/in/hmwatt/, accessed February 27, 2023
• "Crosslines: A Culture Lab on Intersectionality," Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, https://smithsonianapa.org/crosslines/, accessed February 27, 2023
• After being closed for nearly 12 years, the Arts and Industries Building reopened for special events in 2015 and hosted several activities, including the 2016 Folklife Festival Marketplace and the Asian Pacific American Center's "Crosslines: A Culture Lab on Intersectionality," which brought together artworks, performances and dialogues that explored identities in intersection. As part of Secretary David J. Skorton's plan for the Arts and Industries Building, he appointed Rachel Goslins to be director of the building. Starting her tenure on August 22, 2016, Goslins, the former executive director of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, was charged with creating a space for educating and inspiring visitors about the impact of creativity and innovation in the United States. One of the first programs to take place in 2017 and 2018 was "The Long Conversation: Ideas to Light the Future" which was a relay of two-person dialogues among leaders in the arts and sciences that took place in the Arts and Industries Building. In 2018 and 2019 the Arts and Industries Building served as one of the sites in Washington, D.C. for the "By The People" festival, organized by Halcyon, that focused on the themes of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness through interactive visual art installations, performances, speakers, and augmented reality art hunt. Opening in November 2021 the "FUTURES" exhibition featured site-specific art installations, working experiments, inventions, speculative designs, and "artifacts of the future," as well as historic objects and discoveries from 23 of the Smithsonian's museums, major initiatives, and research centers. After the closing of "FUTURES" in July 2022, the Arts and Industries Building remains temporarily closed while the Smithsonian determines the ultimate use of the building.
• Following the closure of "FUTURES", Goslins left the Smithsonian in August 2022. Other staff of the Arts and Industries Building included Ashley Molese, Curator, 2020-2022; Brad MacDonald, Director of Creative Media, 2020-2022; Monica O. Montgomery, Special Projects and Programs Curator, 2020-2022; Laith Alnouri, Director of Advancement, 2019- ; Ellie Reynolds, Director of Marketing, 2019-2022; Abraham Thomas, Senior Curator, 2019-2020; Ashley Meadows, Director of Education and Visitor Engagement, 2020-2022; Allison Peck, Director of External Affairs and Partnerships, 2018- ; and Hilary-Morgan Watt, Director of Digital Engagement, 2021-2022.
• For a history of the larger creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above.

Repository Loc.

Smithsonian Institution Archives Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520

Date

• 2016
• 2016-

Topic

• Education
• Museums
• Technological innovations
• Museum exhibits
• Museums--Educational aspects
• Interviews

Form/Genre

Mixed archival materials

Local number

SIA AH00459

Full Record

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