Smithsonian Kicks Off 2013 Latino Museum Studies Program
The Smithsonian Latino Center will begin its 2013 Latino Museum Studies Program in Washington, D.C., July 1, marking the 17th year of this professional-development opportunity for graduate students. Each year the Latino Center selects 15 students from a nationwide pool who have demonstrated interest and leadership in the areas of Latino history, museum studies, historic preservation and arts management. Participants this year come from universities in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington, D.C.
The program is offered in two components: the first includes two weeks of presentations, workshops and discussions with leading Smithsonian curators, researchers and scholars. Participants learn about current and future Smithsonian projects and museum best practices via site visits and behind-the-scenes tours of collections and exhibits. Highlights this year include a conversation with Smithsonian museum and research center directors about the role of ethnic-specific museums, participation in the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, a visit to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a tour of the Smithsonian’s Cultural Resources Center, which houses more than 12,000 whole ceramic vessels from Central America, and meetings with representatives from the National Park Foundation’s American Latino Heritage Fund and the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino.
The second component is a four-week internship at a Smithsonian museum or research center to advance a Smithsonian project or program initiative. Building upon a successful collaboration in 2012, the Latino Center will partner again with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to offer two additional internships. This year projects will range from immigration initiatives and art conservation to Latino solidarity movements and research on the indigenous people of the Caribbean. The Latino Museum Studies Program received support from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation.
Since 1997, Anheuser-Busch and its foundation have invested in local communities through donations of nearly $490 million to charitable organizations. Anheuser-Busch is a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer, and continues to operate under the Anheuser-Busch name and logo.
The Smithsonian Latino Center is a division of the Smithsonian that ensures Latino contributions to art, science and the humanities are highlighted, understood and advanced through the development and support of public programs, scholarly research, museum collections and educational opportunities at the Smithsonian and its affiliated organization across the U.S. and internationally. For information on the Latino Museum Studies Program, visit www.latino.si.edu.
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SI-267-2013
