NewsMuseums & Heritage
Wanted: leaders with ‘stamina’ as Smithsonian tackles the creation of two new museums in Washington, DC
A turf battle may loom on the National Mall, but secretary Lonnie Bunch hopes to limit the hurdles for institutions devoted to Latino culture and women’s history
NewsSmithsonian Institution
Wonder Women: Smithsonian appoints advisory council for budding women’s history museum in Washington, DC
Ranging from actor Lynda Carter and tennis star Billie Jean King to former US commerce secretary Penny Pritzker and television executive Abbe Raven, its members are expected to play a crucial role in fundraising
NewsNancy Holt
Nancy Holt’s archives head to Smithsonian, opening the door for more land art works
From astronomical observations to personal photographs, the 50,000-piece collection includes documentation of unrealised works that the artist's foundation hopes to one day complete
Newsreopenings
Smithsonian will reopen its remaining 10 museums on a staggered schedule starting next month
Venues in Washington, DC and New York will require masks and many will have reduced hours
Newsreopenings
Smithsonian will reopen eight museums and other venues in May after more than five-month closures
National of Gallery of Art also plans to open its West Building in Washington, DC
NewsScience
Dr Fauci’s 3-D printed coronavirus model given to Smithsonian
The educational aide will be part of a forthcoming exhibition at the National Museum of American History
NewsHigh Desert Museum
Oregon museum receives $6m grant to display its vast but largely unseen art collection
The High Desert Museum, which has previously had an emphasis on natural history, holds important works by artists like Rick Bartow and Edward Curtis
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Beloved Smithsonian building returns to its pioneering roots
Celebrating an anniversary, Arts and Industries landmark will revisit its beginnings as an incubator of new ideas
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Smithsonian downsizes $2bn expansion of its south campus in Washington
The institution unveils planned changes to its historic Castle and Arts and Industries Building
NewsUS Capitol riot
‘Shameful vandalism and desecration’ : Met leaders condemn right-wing crowd's assault on US Capitol
Museum joins other institutions in assailing protestors' rampage and hate-inspiring imagery as a threat to democracy and equality
FeatureCoronavirus resources
Locked down with kids? Check out these arty resources to keep them entertained and educated
Organisations and museums offer plenty of online art projects for parents
NewsMuseums
Building a picture of the pandemic: Smithsonian curators capture Covid-19 in real time
Museum curators chart the human angle of the crisis, but collecting material on recent events comes with ethical considerations
NewsMuseums & Heritage
'Long overdue': US will build national museums for American Latinos and women's history after Congress approves historic bill
Bipartisan effort, decades in the making, permits Smithsonian Institution to move ahead with plans
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Lone senator blocks US bills creating museums that would celebrate American Latinos and women
Utah Republican says that such museums would “divide an already divided nation”
NewsMuseums
Smithsonian and Berlin museums join forces to investigate Asian art provenance
The programme includes webinars examining dealers and collectors
NewsIndigenous art
Where to learn about and support Indigenous art and culture on Native American Heritage Month
From the Smithsonian's award-winning Americans exhibition to virtual Indigenous art markets
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art will shut down again amid spike in coronavirus cases
Move by Washington, DC museums comes amid a wave of new US closures
NewsAppointments
Poet and author to lead National Museum of African American History and Culture
Kevin Young, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, will succeed Lonnie G. Bunch III
NewsMuseums
Citing pandemic, V&A and Smithsonian drop plan to co-curate a gallery in London
After cancellation of project for V&A East, the institutions say they still plan to cooperate on an internship programme
NewsSmithsonian Institution
‘Estamos unidos’: proposal for a new Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino awaits Senate consideration
After passage in the House, planners try to line up support for an institution that would fill in an incomplete US narrative
NewsDonors
Smithsonian confirms that its donor data was potentially breached in ransomware attack
Hacking of Blackbaud software systems exposed hundreds of clients, including other US and UK nonprofits
NewsMuseums & Heritage
US House votes to establish a National Museum of the American Latino
Bill calls for an institution honouring the contributions of a population that numbers nearly 60 million
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Amid turbulent US protests, Smithsonian's African American museum opens a conversation about race
Goal of online portal is to spur dialogue about racism and its “corrosive impact”
BlogDiary
Take pride: Smithsonian livestreams LGBTQ+ history—and the Pet Shop Boys—in YouTube broadcast
NewsMuseums
Smithsonian provost overseeing Cooper Hewitt after ouster of director
Caroline Baumann was reportedly forced to resign from the NY museum after concerns raised about her 2018 wedding
NewsMuseums
Instead of permanent space, Smithsonian will co-curate gallery at V&A East for two years
The Washington institution also announces joint effort with London communities to train young adults
NewsAcquisitions
National Portrait Gallery acquires 20 works from collecting couple
Ian and Annette Cumming set out to commission likenesses of people who would remain renowned
NewsMuseums
Freer/Sackler rebrands its identity as the National Museum of Asian Art
Museum officials say the decision is unrelated to protests over the Sackler family's ties to Purdue Pharma
NewsSmithsonian Institution
Interview | Lonnie Bunch on founding the Smithsonian's African American history museum and drawing inspiration from Lincoln
As his new book is released, the new secretary of the Smithsonian Institution talks of extending its reach beyond Washington
NewsAppointments & departures
Lonnie Bunch elected new secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
The director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is the first African American, and first historian, to lead the organisation
NewsFreer and Sackler Galleries
The Smithsonian presents Whistler’s Peacock Room as the artist envisioned it
The famed Chinoiserie dining room, designed by James McNeill Whistler, has been reinstalled in closer alignment to the artist’s aesthetic vision
NewsClimate Change
From the Arctic to Wyoming, Smithsonian artefacts offer insights into climate change
Institute’s collections are helping to provide an understanding of how global warming affects specific locations
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Hiroshi Sugimoto to redesign Hirshhorn's sculpture garden
The renovation taps into the spirit of the founding architect, Gordon Bunshaft
NewsShutdown
Counting the cost of the longest government shutdown in US history
The shutdown dealt a blow to federally-funded museums, with disappointed visitors, furloughed staff, disrupted exhibitions and lost revenue that “can never be regained”
Analysis
Take it to the top—how US museums are dealing with diversity
Institutions need all hands on deck to redress imbalances in jobs and programming
News
Smithsonian to open first base outside US at former Olympic site in London
US Institution will collaborate with Victoria and Albert Museum at its new outpost in East London
News
The road to recovery: Puerto Rican museums regroup after hurricane
Island’s institutions join forces to safeguard collections and plan for future disasters
BlogIn the frame
Lin-Manuel Miranda steps up for Smithsonian's twitter rap battle
News
Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries reopen after $13.6m renovation
Asian art museums on National Mall get a physical and “mental” makeover
NewsIn the frame
What did we do before cats on the web? The Smithsonian finds out
ArchiveHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Richard Koshalek of the Hirshhorn Museum makes a stand against censorship
“Censorship has no role here... the only way to deal with these subjects is through dialogue"
ArchiveDavid Wojnarowicz
Outrage at Smithsonian self-censorship over Wojnarowicz work
Controversy follows decision to remove David Wojnarowicz video loaned by National Portrait Gallery
ArchiveSmithsonian Institution
Smithsonian reshuffle elevates status of art museums to that of scientific and historical study
The five art museums run by the federal body are now overseen by just one senior manager, Hirshhorn director Ned Rifkin
ArchiveExhibitions
Star Wars exhibition opens in Bradford
“The Art of Star Wars”, National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford, until 29 April 2001
CommentDesign
Davos 2019: Cooper Hewitt museum director on the power of inclusive design
Empathetic, user-centred products that can shape a more equitable world for people with disabilities go on show at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this week
Caroline Baumann