Description: Just two days ago, the Smithsonian celebrated the one-year anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). It seems like just yesterday that we were all waiting for the doors to open; yet, so much has happened in the past year. Since President Barack Obama rang the bell that opened the museum, long lines and happy faces are
Description: A couple of years ago, in the process of curating Now is Then, an exhibition for the Newark Museum, I spent some time researching and thinking about the content, meaning and sequential lives of snapshots. Since their introduction in the late 19th century, inestimable numbers of those small, but powerful pictures have been made, looked at and saved—at least for a while.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_13754,size=400,center]When people think of a Smithsonian exhibit, they probably don’t think of one filled with documents from an archives! A piece of paper doesn’t grab your attention from across the room, as the Fénykövi elephant or Chuck Berry’s car do. But on closer inspection, handwritten scraps have fascinating stories to tell. They can be