Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation

This groundbreaking exhibition explores the vibrant heritage, daily experience, and diverse political, professional and cultural contributions of Indian Americans in shaping the United States. From workers who built some of the first railroads in the West to the creator of Hotmail, Beyond Bollywood explores the history of sub-continental Indian immigration to America. Told through captivating images, music, visual art, and first-person narratives, Beyond Bollywood documents a history of discrimination, resistance, achievements and the lasting influence Indian Americans have had on the American experience.

• Tour begins January 2015
• Contact: Ed Liskey, 202.633.3142
  

I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story

Asian and Pacific Americans make up more than 5% of the U.S. population—over 17 million people—and those numbers are quickly growing. Their ancestral roots represent over 50% of the world, extending from East Asia to Southeast Asia, and from South Asia to the Pacific Islands and Polynesia.

In the first exhibition of its kind, the Smithsonian celebrates Asian Pacific American history across this multitude of incredibly diverse cultures, and explores how Asian Pacific Americans have shaped and been shaped by the course of our nation’s history. Rich with compelling, often surprising stories, the exhibition takes a sweeping look at this history, from the very first Asian immigrants centuries ago to the complex challenges facing Asian Pacific American communities today.

The exhibition was created by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and organized for travel by SITES. The exhibition is supported by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

• 30 free‐standing flexible graphics (47 x 87”) with text, photographs, art, and graphics; multimedia materials
• $1,500 for 12 weeks
• 300 running feet
• Limited Security
• Tour begins: Spring 2013
• Contact: Minnie Russell, 202.633.3160

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Jacob Lawrence Interprets Aesop’s Fables

“The Tortoise and the Hare”, “The Ant and the Grasshopper”, “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”— these are among the beloved morality tales attributed to the legendary 6th century BCE storyteller Aesop, who was thought to have been a freed slave of African heritage. Aesop’s Fables, featuring animal characters with human-like vices and virtues such as excessive pride, dishonesty, determination, and sympathy, have appealed to children and adults for generations. As a child, the noted American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) cherished these tales for their timeless lessons in personal responsibility.  As an adult in 1969, Lawrence paid tribute to these tales by creating a series of 23 lively ink drawings to reinterpret the tales for a contemporary audience.

Jacob Lawrence Interprets Aesop’s Fables will feature large-scale, contemporary pigment prints of these illustrations in addition to the fables themselves and the artist’s biographical information.

• 23 large-format (36 X 48”) pigment prints on watercolor paper
• Illustrated fable text panels, introduction and biographical panel
• $9,000 per 12-week booking period plus outgoing shipping
• Approximately 200 running feet
• Moderate Security 
• Tour begins: September 2014
• Contact Ed Liskey, 202.633.3142
  
  Learn more here

Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards

The exhibition showcases 48 award-winning images of wildlife and our natural world. From the intense stare of a stalking leopard to the balletic dance of roseate spoonbills, from a view into a manta’s mouth to the gentle caress of a mother orangutan’s hand, Nature’s Best Photography reveals the drama, mystery and humor of the natural world.

Selected from over 20,000 entries by photographers in 47 countries, the images reveal the life-and-death struggles that happen all around us and remind us of our similarities to our animal cousins.  The vibrant, large-scale photographs are organized by 15 categories including Animal Antics, Art in Nature, Endangered Species, Landscapes, Oceans, People in Nature and Power of Nature. The exhibition video features additional winning images, information about the Awards contest and rare footage of polar bear cubs in the wild.  Exhibition text includes species, location and technical photographic information and reveals just how the photographers captured their winning shot. 

• 48 large-format, color photographs (24 X 36” and 44 X 65”)
• Supplemental  video (on DVD)
• $8,600, 12-week slot plus shipping
• Approximately 250 running feet
• Moderate security
• Tour begins:  April 2014
• Contact: Ed Liskey, 202.633.3142
  
  Learn more here
  

Patios, Pools, and the Invention of the American Backyard

Americans love their back yards. Retreats for recreation, entertainment, dining, and relaxation, they combine the comfort and convenience of living rooms with the freedom of the open air. Patios, Pools, and the Invention of the American Back Yard, developed in collaboration with Smithsonian Gardens, will look at the transition from the front porch to the back yard patio, the rise of the do-it-yourself homeowner, and the use of “chemical warfare” to achieve the perfect lawn. It will explore the most popular mid-century garden styles and will look at the origins of contemporary trends like sustainable landscaping, grass alternatives, and eco-friendly gardening. Featuring rare, vintage photographs, along with pop-culture references and period advertisements, Patios... will be a fun stroll through America’s back yard.

• 6 free-standing units with reproductions of photographs, ads, designs and text
• Approximately 1,000 square feet
• Limited security
• Tour begins: September 2014
• Contact: Ed Liskey, 202.633.3142

Sweet and Sour: Chinese Food from Chinatown to Main Street

This a visually exciting, revealing look at the cuisine and cultural traditions brought to America by the earliest Chinese immigrants to America’s west coast, and the ensuing popularization of Chinese food all across the country, from tiny hamlets to major urban centers. The exhibition also reveals some of the intriguing things people might not know about Chinese food culture and its place in American history.

• Objects (including neon signs), photographs, ephemera, text and graphic panels
• Moderate security
• Tour begins: May 2014
• Contact: Minnie Russell, 202.633.3160

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What’s Up, Doc?  The Animation Art of Chuck Jones

A multi-sensory feast, What’s Up, Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones explores the artistic development and creative genius of this pioneer of animation art. The exhibition examines many of the most beloved cartoons, animated films and characters in entertainment history. From classic antagonists like Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, to the Academy Award-winning short film, "The Dot and the Line", to quirky cartoon characters like Marvin Martian, What’s Up, Doc? traces Chuck Jones’ lasting influence on film and television. Multiple videos, sketches, storyboards, photographs, and interactive elements offer insight into how Jones and his collaborators created cinematic magic. What’s Up, Doc? demonstrates the indelible mark that Chuck Jones made in the field of animation, the art of filmmaking, and the history of American comedy.

• Multiple film projections and videos, including all of Chuck Jones’ Oscar-nominated film shorts; original sketches; storyboards; animation cels and set designs; audio and background music for animation; photographs; interactive experiences
• Approximately 3,500 square feet
• $64,000 per 3-month slot including shipping
• High security
• Tour begins: July 2014
• Contact: Ed Liskey, 202.633.3142

Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise

In 1895, the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, Tulane University’s women’s coordinate college, established the Newcomb Pottery in New Orleans, and conceived it as part artist collective, part social experiment, and part business enterprise.

Today the remarkable, distinctive art objects that were created by Newcomb students continue to be critically acclaimed and highly sought-after. This brand new exhibition showcases a striking collection of Newcomb pottery, metalwork, bookbinding, and textiles with text that draws from new scholarship to explore the history of the Pottery and its importance as a social and artistic experiment.

• Approximately 175 objects including pottery, metalwork, jewelry and textiles
• Approximately 4,000 – 4,500 square feet
• $65,000, per 12-week booking period
• Tour begins: Fall 2014
• Contact: Minnie Russell, 202.633.3160

>> Read more . . .