Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Before Freedom Came: African American Life in the Antebellum South

View an exhibit that examines the lives of African Americans, free and enslaved, during the Antebellum South.

December 12, 1993 – March 1, 1994

Table of Plenty

Through an ongoing partnership between Lucy Ellen Moten Elementary School and the Anacostia Museum, students and adults from the community join ceramic sculptor Martha Jackson Jarvis in creating a sculpture.

November 2, 1993 – November 28, 1993

Anacostia Community Museum

Expressions D.C.

See an exhibit that showcases the talents of residents of 4 D.C. youth detention centers.

October 10, 1993 – November 28, 1993

Anacostia Community Museum

Always There: The African American Presence in American Quilts

Explore the history of African American quiltmaking from the late eighteenth century to the present. Organized by the Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc. of Louisville, KY, with additional materials supplied by the Anacostia Museum.

July 18, 1993 – October 17, 1993

Anacostia Community Museum

Photography of the Pearl Primus Residency

View photographs that document the 1992-1993 Howard University residency of renowned choreographer Pearl Primus.

May 16, 1993 – June 27, 1993

Anacostia Community Museum

Body & Soul: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

See costumes and prop designs by Romare Bearden and Randy Barcelo celebrating the 35th anniversary of famed dance theater.

March 28, 1993 – June 13, 1993

Anacostia Community Museum

Supplement to Richmond Barthe/Richard Hunt: Two Sculptors, Two Eras

See photographs depicting the Washington "presence" of Richmond Barthe and Richard Hunt.

December 20, 1992 – March 20, 1993

Anacostia Community Museum

Richmond Barthe/Richard Hunt: Two Sculptors, Two Eras

See 36 works and photomurals that survey the long and distinguished careers of 2 African American sculptors.

December 20, 1992 – February 28, 1993

Anacostia Community Museum

An Eye on the Past: Photographs of Washington's Historical Landmarks

See 25 large format images photographed by architectural photographer Carol M. Highsmith that capture the rich beauty and diversity of the District's architecture.

November 1, 1992 – December 13, 1992

Anacostia Community Museum

To Achieve These Rights: The Struggle for Equality and Self Determination in D.C. 1791-1978

Celebrate the bicentennial of the District of Columbia in this exhibition that examines the African American journey toward racial equality in the nation's capital.

January 19, 1992 – November 1, 1992

Anacostia Community Museum

Who's Gonna Sing Our Song

See 25 photographs by students from the Johnson Jr. High School that document the Anacostia community.

October 3, 1992 – October 28, 1992

Anacostia Community Museum

Diverse Concepts

View watercolors, oils, and mixed-media collage by artists from communities east of the Anacostia River that are featured in this exhibition organized by Tomorrow's World Art Center of Washington, D.C.

August 9, 1992 – September 27, 1992

Anacostia Community Museum

Affirmations: Assemblages by Schroeder Cherry

See an exhibition of 16 mixed-media works by artist and museum educator Schroeder Cherry

January 19, 1992 – February 29, 1992

Anacostia Community Museum

In Process...Black Mosaic—The Many Faces of Black Life in Washington, DC

A display of family photographs depicts Washington, DC residents of African descent who migrated from Central and South America and the Caribbean.

November 24, 1991 – January 10, 1992

Anacostia Community Museum

Kaleidoscope: African American Photography in Washington

See an exhibition of the work of over 30 local black photographers, including Addison and Robert Scurlock, Robert McNeill, Sharon Farmer, and Matthew Lewis

June 22, 1991 – November 3, 1991

Anacostia Community Museum

Camp Logan

See reproductions of historical documents and photographs on the Houston Riot and Court Marital of 1917, involving members of the 24th Infantry regiment stationed at Camp Logan in Houston, Texas.

June 1, 1991 – June 30, 1991

Anacostia Community Museum

Personal Views:Young Photographers Focus on Anacostia (DC Art/Works Summer Youth Employment Program)

Students instructed by Ron Cooke, Tomorrow's World Art Center, present photographs of their views of Anacostia.

March 17, 1991 – May 29, 1991

Anacostia Community Museum

Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women

This exhibition gathers works by a diverse group of African American women artists based in metropolitan Washington, DC.

November 18, 1990 – April 28, 1991

Anacostia Community Museum

Every 18 Minutes

View a video project on Responses to AIDS in the Black Gay Community, Part I: When It Hits Home: Coming Out In the Age of AIDS.

February 20, 1991 – March 7, 1991

Anacostia Community Museum

Reaching the Other World

See an exhibition about 8 men and women from Massachusetts who present their experience of intravenous drug addiction.

February 20, 1991 – March 7, 1991

Anacostia Community Museum

Whose Art Is It, Anyway?: The Arts in Public Places

View an exhibition that explores the visual and performing arts in public spaces.

July 15, 1990 – September 16, 1990

Anacostia Community Museum

The Real McCoy: African-American Invention and Innovation, 1619-1930

African American inventors, from prominent figures such as George Washington Carver to anonymous innovators, have made important contributions to American technology.

May 21, 1989 – May 31, 1990

Anacostia Community Museum

Inspiration: 1961-1989 - DC Art Association Exhibition

A retrospective of artwork by the District of Columbia Art Association, from its founding in 1961 by art teachers in the Washington, DC public school system to the present.

January 15, 1989 – March 5, 1989

Anacostia Community Museum

Out of Africa

View a poster panel exhibition of photographs, illustrations, text, and quotations from contemporary publications, that trace the passage from West Africa to America, and back to West Africa.

August 1, 1987 – January 6, 1989

Anacostia Community Museum

Climbing Jacob's Ladder: The Rise of Black Churches in Eastern American Cities, 1740-1877

African American churches began forming in East Coast cities between 1740 and 1877. In addition to tending to spiritual needs, they played a central role in community development.

October 18, 1987 – October 30, 1988

Anacostia Community Museum