In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, David Penney, Associate Director of Museum Scholarship, Exhibitions, and Public Engagement at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), joins Liz Covart to talk about the NMAI’s exhibit called Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States & American Indian Nations. [Read more…] about Treaties Between the US & American Indian Nations
Smithsonian
Cremona to Central Park: Stradivari & Nahan Franko’s Legacy
Musician Nicola Matteis arrived in London in the early 1670s. Describing himself as “Napolitano,” he was the first Baroque violinist of note active in the capital. Very much his own promoter, he published his Arie diverse per il violin in 1676, a collection of 120 pieces for solo violin. A second extended edition with an English title-page appeared two years later. In 1685, he published the third and fourth parts of the famous Ayres for the Violin.
Matteis is credited with changing English taste for violin from the French to the Italian style of playing. Soon after, attention shifted from performer to instrument which sparked a veritable cult of Cremonese violins. The name Stradivari became a metaphor for perfection attained by a combination of individual genius, skill and attention to detail. [Read more…] about Cremona to Central Park: Stradivari & Nahan Franko’s Legacy
First Vote: A Letter from MANY’s Erika Sanger
I don’t remember who was on the ballot the first time I voted, but I remember the challenge of finding my polling place – a community meeting room in the basement of an apartment building – on a rainy night in New York City.
The room was lit with flickering fluorescent bulbs and the floor was covered with gray linoleum tile. It took the poll volunteer who sat on a metal folding chair behind a metal folding table a long time to find me in a very large register. [Read more…] about First Vote: A Letter from MANY’s Erika Sanger
Restless Roamer: James Smithson’s Final Journey
A descendant of Dutch settlers, Jacob Aaron Westervelt began his career in 1814 as an apprentice in Christian Bergh’s shipyard at the point of land on the East River known as Corlears Hook. He left his employer in 1835 to start his own operation along the river. Over a period of three decades, the yard produced 234 vessels.
One of Jacob’s first commissions in 1836 was to build the packet boat Mediator for John Griswold’s Black X Line. Founded in 1823, its ships ran between New York and London displaying a house flag with a black X on a red background. [Read more…] about Restless Roamer: James Smithson’s Final Journey
Space History With Smithsonian’s Head Space Historian
This week on The Historians Podcast, Margaret Weitekamp is the guest. Weitekamp chairs the space history department at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and is the author of Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America’s First Women in Space Program. [Read more…] about Space History With Smithsonian’s Head Space Historian
Smithsonian Offers ‘Talking About Race’ Portal
In a short essay published earlier this week in Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Institute Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch wrote that the recent killing in Minnesota of George Floyd has forced the country to “confront the reality that, despite gains made in the past 50 years, we are still a nation riven by inequality and racial division.” [Read more…] about Smithsonian Offers ‘Talking About Race’ Portal
BFW Road Trip: Washington, D.C., NMAAHC
Not all historians publish their findings about history in books and articles. Some historians convey knowledge about history to the public in public spaces and in public ways.
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Lonnie Bunch, the Founding Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of how historians do history for the public. [Read more…] about BFW Road Trip: Washington, D.C., NMAAHC
NYS Museum: New Deal Artists Exhibit Opens
A new exhibition — 1934: A New Deal for Artists — has opened at the New York State Museum showcasing paintings created against the backdrop of the Great Depression with the support of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), the first federal government program to support the arts nationally.
During the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people,” initiating government programs to foster economic recovery. Roosevelt’s pledge to help “the forgotten man” also embraced America’s artists. [Read more…] about NYS Museum: New Deal Artists Exhibit Opens
Local Museums Offer Free Admission Saturday
Saturday, September 25, 2010, museums around New York State will participate in the sixth annual Museum Day, presented by Smithsonian magazine.
A celebration of culture, learning, and the dissemination of knowledge, Smithsonian’s Museum Day reflects the spirit of the magazine, and emulates the free-admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, DC-based institutions. Doors will be open free of charge to Smithsonian readers and www.Smithsonian.com visitors at museums and cultural institutions nationwide.
Museum Day 2010 is poised to be the largest to date, outdoing last year’s record-breaking event. Over 300,000 museum-goers and 1,300 venues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico participated in Museum Day 2009. Last year, two million visitors logged on to www.smithsonian.com/museumday to learn more about the program.
Attendees must present the Museum Day Admission Card to gain free entry to participating institutions. Visit www.Smithsonian.com/museumdayto download your Museum Day Admission Card. Each card provides museum access for two people, and one admission card is permitted per household. Listings and links to participating museums’ and sponsors’ web sites can also be found at the site. The complete list of participating museums in new York State is located here.
Free Admission to Nearly 100 NY Museums Saturday
This Saturday, September 26, 2008, nearly 100 museums in New York State will participate in Smithsonian magazine’s fifth annual Museum Day. Museum Day is an opportunity for museums and cultural institutions nationwide to open their doors free of charge. A celebration of culture, learning and the dissemination of knowledge, Smithsonian’s Museum Day reflects the spirit of the magazine, and emulates the free-admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C. – based museums.
Last year, more then 200,000 people attended Museum Day. All fifty states plus Puerto Rico were represented by 900 participating museums. This year, the magazine expects to attract over 1000 museums. Established New York institutions like the New York State Museum, the Adirondack Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Museum of the City of New York, The Museum at Bethel Woods, The Iroquois Indian Museum, and more, will all take part this year. A complete list of New York museums that are participating is located here.
Museum visitors must present Smithsonian magazine’s Museum Day Admission Card to
gain free entry to participating institutions. The Museum Day Admission
Card is available for free download at Smithsonian.com.