Smithsonian Celebrates Women’s History Month
The Smithsonian celebrates Women’s History Month in March with a series of films, lectures and performances at museums around the Institution. All programs are free unless otherwise indicated.
Feature Event
The Institution will kick off Women’s History Month at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Saturday, March 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with its “Women’s History Month Family Day Celebration: Women in Aviation and Space.” The day includes hands-on art and science activities and presentations on the contributions of women to aviation and aerospace. The event is free, but parking is $15.
Films
The National Museum of American History and the National Portrait Gallery pay tribute to the life, career and civil rights legacy of legendary jazz singer Lena Horne with a panel discussion and film screening Thursday, March 31, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the Kogod Courtyard at the Reynolds Center. Panelists include Susan Lacy, the director of the documentary Lena Horne: In Her Own Voice, and Gail Lumet Buckley, Lena Horne’s daughter and the author of The Hornes: An American Family. The discussion will be moderated by Dwight Blocker Bowers from the National Museum of American History and Richard Golden from The George Washington University.
For Children
Ever since Mary Katherine Goddard was appointed Baltimore’s postmaster in 1775, women have played an important role in the nation’s mail service. Visitors can discover the stories of these postal women and try their own hands at the jobs they performed during the National Postal Museum’s Family Day Saturday, March 19, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Lectures
The Smithsonian American Art Museum will present a gallery talk by Carol Wilson, the museum’s assistant chair of education, Wednesday, March 9, at 4 p.m. Wilson will discuss Duane Hanson’s thought-provoking sculpture “Woman Eating.” Lecture attendees should meet at the F Street Information Desk.
Karine Chapdelaine, a recent graduate of Howard University and a member of the Howard University Jazz Ensemble, will give a lecture and musical performance on popular Brazilian singer Simone Bittencourt at the Anacostia Community Museum Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m. The event is free, but registration is required; the public may call (202) 633-4866.
Photographer Phyllis Galembo will share images of African masqueraders from her recent book Maske in a lecture at the National Museum of African Art Thursday, March 17, at 4 p.m. in the museum’s lecture hall. Galembo’s portraits document and describe the transformative power of the mask. A book signing will follow.
The National Museum of the American Indian will host an illustrated talk by Margarete Bagshaw (Santa Clara Pueblo) about her work and her upbringing among a family of painters. Bagshaw’s work is currently featured in the museum’s “Vantage Point” exhibition. The talk will take place Saturday, March 12, at 2 p.m. on the fourth floor of the museum, in rooms 4018-4019.
The National Museum of American History will host “Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC,” a daylong series of panel discussions featuring contributors to the book Hands on the Freedom Plow. The book features the personal stories of 52 women who worked for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the civil rights movement. There also will be a book signing. The event is sponsored by the National Museum of African American History and Culture and will take place in the American History museum’s Carmichael Auditorium Saturday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, the public may call (202) 633-0070.
Demonstrations
Suzanne Traditional Woman will give a quilting demonstration in the National Museum of the American Indian’s Potomac Atrium Saturday, March 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Traditional Woman (Diné), who has been a quilter since age 9, will embellish a work based on Plains-style ledger art.
Tours
The Smithsonian American Art Museum will offer an American Art Highlights tour featuring works by women artists March 1 to 31 at 12:30 and 2 p.m. Tour attendees should meet in the museum’s F Street lobby. The museum also will offer the hour-long, walk-in tour “Women in Art” March 3 and 17, at 5 p.m. and March 11 and 25, at 5:30 p.m. The tour explores the social inclusiveness of American women artists from the colonial period to the present day. Tour attendees should meet in the museum’s F Street lobby.
The Renwick Gallery will offer a highlights tour March 1 to 31 at noon on weekdays and
1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The daily tour will feature crafts and decorative artwork by women. Tour attendees should meet in the museum’s lobby.
Visitors to the National Museum of American History can take the “Discover Addy’s World” self-guided tour every day in March. This tour features objects throughout the museum that tell the stories of everyday people Addy might have encountered. Guides are available at any time at the information desks on the first and second floors. Visitors who bring a completed and stamped guide to the museum store will receive a free American Girl gift to take home.
All programs are subject to change. For more information about the Women’s History Month programs, visit: www.SmithsonianEducation.org/Heritage or e-mail heritagemonths@si.edu. For general Smithsonian information, call (202) 633-1000 or (202) 633-5285 (TTY).
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SI-97-2011
