An exhibition on contemporary African American women artists curated by Robert L. Hall and exhibited at the Anacostia Museum of the Smithsonian Institution from November 1990 to April 1991. Artists included are: Erlena Chisolm Bland, Lilian Thomas Burwell, Yvonne Pickering Carter, Margo Humphrey, Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Viola Burley Leak, Winnie Owens-Hart, Stephanie E. Pogue, Malkia Roberts, Gail Shaw-Clemons, Sylvia Snowden, Renée Stout, Denise Ward-Brown, Joyce E. Wellman, and Adell Westbrook.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Audiovisual materials related to an exhibition on contemporary African American women artists curated by Robert L. Hall and exhibited at the Anacostia Museum of the Smithsonian Institution from November 1990 to April 1991. Artists included in the exhibit were: Erlena Chisolm Bland, Lilian Thomas Burwell, Yvonne Pickering Carter, Margo Humphrey, Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Viola Burley Leak, Winnie Owens-Hart, Stephanie E. Pogue, Malkia Roberts, Gail Shaw-Clemons, Sylvia Snowden, Renée Stout, Denise Ward-Brown, Joyce E. Wellman, and Adell Westbrook.This collection contains the audiovisual materials related to the exhibit, including artist interviews, exhibit tours and docent training recordings.
Related Archival Materials note:
Anacostia Community Museum. Gathered visions: selected works by African American women artists.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Audio tour for the exhibition 'Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women Artists' in Spanish. Narrator described the artists, their lives, and their works throughout the exhibition.
Audio tour. Sound only, Spanish. Related to exhibition 'Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women Artists.' Undated.
Biographical / Historical:
Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women Artists' included fifteen individuals whose creative efforts reflect a multitude of experiences and universal concerns. Among the works on display were prints that comment on contemporary living, mixed-media sculptures that explore social and historical questions, and paintings that address women's issues. The exhibition presented the richness of the African American artistic traditions in the greater Washington area. It was held from November 18, 1990 to April 28, 1991 at the Anacostia Museum
Series Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Curator Robert Hall led docent training for the exhibition 'Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women Artists.' Hall introduced the docents to the various art forms and media used by artists. With a slide presentation, he explained, in detail, the specific artworks displayed throughout the exhibition.
Related to exhibition 'Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women Artists.' Dated 19901108.
Biographical / Historical:
Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women Artists' included fifteen individuals whose creative efforts reflect a multitude of experiences and universal concerns. Among the works on display were prints that comment on contemporary living, mixed-media sculptures that explore social and historical questions, and paintings that address women's issues. The exhibition presented the richness of the African American artistic traditions in the greater Washington area. It was held from November 18, 1990 to April 28, 1991 at the Anacostia Museum
Series Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Artist Malkia Roberts led docent training for the exhibition 'Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women Artists.' Roberts talked about docent techniques to reach museum visitors. With a slide presentation, she discussed art created by Black artists, not in the exhibition. Roberts also showed her two works, which would be in the exhibition, and explained them.
Related to exhibition 'Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women Artists.' Dated 19901025.
Biographical / Historical:
Gathered Visions: Selected Works by African American Women Artists' included fifteen individuals whose creative efforts reflect a multitude of experiences and universal concerns. Among the works on display were prints that comment on contemporary living, mixed-media sculptures that explore social and historical questions, and paintings that address women's issues. The exhibition presented the richness of the African American artistic traditions in the greater Washington area. It was held from November 18, 1990 to April 28, 1991 at the Anacostia Museum
Series Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
At the Anacostia Museum, Robert Hall interviewed artist Winnie Owens-Hart, who spoke of her work as a ceramist. Owens-Hart provided detailed description about two of her works: 'Trimesters' and 'Four Star Water Jar;' both works of art are part of the recording. She also spoke of her experience learning how to make traditional Nigerian pottery.
Interview. Dated 19901024.
Series Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
African American women artists talked about their artwork in-detail, including technique and meaning of work; the various types of media and tools they use to produce their work; their creative and work processes; and when and how they became interested in the media they are working. Additionally, Gail Shaw-Clemons spoke of her Anacostia roots. Most of the interviews took place in the artists' studios; and some of the artists, such as printmaker Stephanie Pogue, demonstrated part of their work process. All interviews included samples of the artists' work. The painters, sculptors, printmakers, mixed media, and performance artists included Viola Burley Leak (7-25-90), Erlena Chisolm Bland (7-27-90), Joyce Wellman (7-31-90 and 9-22-90), Malkia Roberts (8-1-90), Stephanie Pogue (8-3-90), Renee Stout (8-6-90 and 9-5-90), Gail Shaw-Clemons (8-7-90), Lilian Thomas Burwell (8-8-90), Adell Westbrook (8-10-90), Margo Humphrey (8-15-90), Yvonne Pickering Carter (8-17-90), Martha Jackson Jarvis (8-20-90), Denise Ward-Brown (9-7-90), and Sylvia Snowden (9-22-90).
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum Search this
Extent:
2 Digital files
1 Sound cassette
Type:
Archival materials
Digital files
Sound cassettes
Place:
Washington (D.C.)
Date:
circa 1992-1993
Scope and Contents:
Elena Tscherny spoke about the Office of Library Services and Programs, her career with and work for the District of Columbia Public Library, services and events that the DC Public Library offers the Spanish speaking community, artist exhibitions, bilingual librarians and staff, and the Mt. Pleasant library. She also explained how she would be able to help with Anacostia Museum's Latino exhibit; her involvement with and thoughts about community organizations and DC government's Office of Latino Affairs; how DC government budget cuts affect the DC Public Library; and ideas for documenting the Latino community.
Elena Tscherny was interviewed at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library in Washington, DC. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include very loud white noise and static, and very background noise, including voices and a vacuum, at the beginning of the interview; interviewee's voice can be difficult to hear at times.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
21.6 Cubic feet (consisting of 17 cartons, 2 oversized boxes.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Transcripts
Color slides
Exhibition records
Exhibit scripts
Contact sheets
Photographic prints
Correspondence
Place:
Washington Metropolitan Area
Date:
1942-1998
Summary:
These records document the planning, organizing, execution, and promotion of an exhibition exploring the immigration of people of African descent from Central and South America and the Caribbean to the Washington Metropolitan Area. The show was organized and hosted by the Anacostia Museum from August 21, 1994 through August 7, 1995. Materials include correspondence, research files, exhibit script, administrative records, brochures, press coverage, education packets, loan agreements, floor plans, and catalogues.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the Black Mosaic exhibition presented by the Anacostia Community Museum measure 21.6 cubic feet and date from 1942 to 1998, with the bulk of material dating from 1990 to 1995. The records include administrative records, publications, research files, floor plans, exhibit text drafts, oral history transcripts, and project files for programs coordinated for or tangentially with the Black Mosaic Exhibit.
Administrative records include advisory board member lists, meeting minutes, agendas, grant proposals, project reports and assessments, correspondence, training material for museum volunteers and docents, and assorted notes. Publications within the series directly relate to the Black Mosaic Exhibit and the Anacostia Community Museum. Correspondence includes both internal correspondence and those with local community members.
Writings and notes were previously scattered throughout the collection have been collocated within the Administrative Records series, and a majority are undated. The notes cover topics ranging from administrative activities to exhibit and research planning. Included are printed documents, scrap paper, and spiral-bound notebooks.
The research files contain background information about numerous immigrant communities within Washington D.C. The community research files were originally organized by country, continent, or region of origin, and then later by subjects that coordinated with the exhibit's designated themes. This organization method has largely been maintained. Research files include scholarly articles, news clippings, event programs, compiled bibliographies, and material related to the study of museology.
The exhibit files include floor plan layouts, photocopies of images, interview transcripts, exhibit literature, and extensive exhibit text drafts. Drafts of the exhibit's text include notes throughout multiple editing stages. Additionally, copies of flip books for different thematic sections of the Black Mosaic exhibit are included and are organized alphabetically by title. Other exhibit literature present is primarily in English with one French copy present.
The project files include training material for collecting oral histories and documenting community folklife, conference records, event records, and records pertaining to related projects at the Anacostia Community Museum. Concurrent projects supporting the exhibit include the Black Mosaic community newsletter and an educational curriculum project. Additional project records that thematically overlap with the Black Mosaic exhibit but extend beyond the timeframe of the formal exhibit are present also.
Arrangement:
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D.C. exhibition records are arranged in four series:
Series 1: Administrative Records
Series 2: Research Files
Series 3: Exhibit Files
Series 4: Project Files
Historical Note:
The exhibit Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D.C. was curated by the Anacostia Community Museum's supervisory curator Portia James, and was open at the Anacostia Community Museum from August 1994 to August 1995. The exhibition explored the immigration of people of African descent from South America, Central America, and the Caribbean to the Washington Metropolitan Area.
Topics addressed in the exhibition include migration, situations faced by Black immigrants, the maintenance of relationships with places of origin, community events and cultural performances, public and private expressions of culture, commodification of culture for economic support, and the expression of multiple identities. Some intentions of the exhibit were to provide forums for discussing culture and identity, provide resources for people learning about communities in the Washington Metro area, and to be a model to other museums and cultural institutions for understanding and interpreting similar immigration and settlement patterns.
The exhibit was designed to be experienced with broader cultural concepts being introduced towards the external part of the exhibit, while personal stories could be experienced further in. Over 100 oral history interviews featured prominently in the exhibit where interviewed individuals explained their immigration experience and how they've adapted to life in the area. The exhibit also included mounted photographs, artifacts, music, and conversations. Artifacts included passport photos, tickets, family photographs, and letters. The exhibit's text displayed in three languages: English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. There were additional exhibition guides provided in Brazilian Portuguese, French, and the Ghanaian languages of Ga, Twi, Akan, and Ewe.
Coupled with the exhibit, the museum coordinated an extensive series of programs to engage various communities in the exploration of issues and traditions. These programs included creating newsletters and a photograph exhibit to keep the community up to date about the progression of the exhibit, working with performance groups, creating multi-institutional partnerships in order to develop more effective methods of collecting oral histories, and collaborating and modeling for the CFPCS African Immigrant Communities project.
Provenance:
Records of Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity Among Black Immigrants in Washington, D.C. Exhibition were created by the Anacostia Community Museum.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Immigrants -- United States -- Exhibitions Search this
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum Search this
Container:
Box 15, Folder 27
Type:
Archival materials
Text
Date:
1995
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Steven Newsome, the second director of the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum), and successor to John Kinard, discusses the purpose and impact of the museum, and how it has changed over time. He describes how the museum has aligned more with the Smithsonian Institution, and how it now serves an international audience, while remaining devoted to the local community. He describes the "call and response" relationship the museum has with the neighborhood, where, for example, if the community asks for guidance in researching genealogy, the museum will sponsor genealogy workshops. He describes the museum as having become more academically grounded and focused on more diverse audiences.
The interview was conducted on December 17, 1991. There is background static, but the interview can be heard clearly throughout.
Biographical / Historical:
Steven C. Newsome (1952-2012) attended Trinity College and Emory University. He served as the Chief for the Office of Cultural and Educational Services, Division of History and Cultural Program, Department of Housing and Community Development in Annapolis, Maryland, the director of the Banneker-Douglass Museum, and as the Executive Director of the Maryland Commission on Afro-American History and Culture, before becoming the director of the Anacostia Museum from 1990 to 2004. In this role, he oversaw a renovation of the museum facilities and raised $8.5 million to support it. He created an annual summer academy for children and launched a national collecting initiative for the museum through the exhibit Precious Memories. After retiring from the Anacostia Museum, he became Executive Director of Prince George's Arts and Humanities Council, and founding director of Prince George's County African American Museum and Cultural Center. He also served on many boards of cultural organizations in the Washington DC area, including the American Association of Museums, Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, and the Maryland Humanities Council, and also served a term as President of the Mid-Atlantic Museums Association.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, which includes approximately 100 interviews of residents and influential people of the Anacostia area of Washington, DC.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Genre/Form:
Oral histories (document genres)
Collection Citation:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Christopher Reynolds recalls the grand opening of Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum) in 1967, when he was a student in junior high school. He remembers the speeches John Kinard and S. Dillon Ripley gave that day, with the themes "this museum is your museum" and "if people don't go to the museum, we'll take the museum to the people." He recalls how he became involved in the museum as a volunteer, and how he helped to organize the Youth Advisory Council with John Kinard. He remembers working with neighborhood children in creative productions, like plays, and the zoo and general store at the museum. He talks about his close relationship with Zora Martin-Felton, and the influence she and John had on him during his teenage years. He recalls how the Carver Theater site was a galvanizing location for the community, that was easily accessible. He remembers how there was a vibrancy on the block when a new exhibit was opening, and how the museum provided educational opportunities for everyone in a non-threatening way. He expresses his sense that the museum changed when it relocated, that it became less accessible, and less of a focal point of activity for the neighborhood.
The interview was recorded on July 13, 1991 by Helene Fisher. The audio is clear throughout the recording with some minor background noise.
Exhibitions mentioned: This Thing Called Jazz, The Rat: Man's Invited Affliction.
Biographical / Historical:
Christopher Reynolds (1952-) graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. He trained as a professional dancer with Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, and Marcel Marceau. He went on to perform with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in the 1970s and 1980s, and with the Omega Liturgical Dance Group. He formed his own dance troupe in 1976, the Greg Reynolds Dance Quintet.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, which includes approximately 100 interviews of residents and influential people of the Anacostia area of Washington, DC.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Genre/Form:
Oral histories (document genres)
Collection Citation:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
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