"When the verdict was announced in the trial of Derek Chauvin, my thoughts turned to the families of George Floyd, of Breonna Taylor, of Adam Toledo, of Emmett Till, of so many taken through the years. I hope the outcome of this trial helps those most affected find some measure of peace and justice. Even if it does, it will not address the larger problem of preventing deaths like Mr. Floyd’s in the first place. So many families feel the anguish of losing loved ones to senseless violence, especially when perpetrated by the very people charged with protecting them." –Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch
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Featured Exhibition
Pushing the Envelope: Mail Art from the Archives of American Art
Mail art (alternatively called “correspondence art” or “postal art”) emerged as a form of artistic practice in which an international network of participants use the mail to make art and share it with others regarding culture and communications, creatively sidestepping the art market and, in many instances, eluding government censors.
Collections on View
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Organized by Curator of Manuscripts Mary Savig, the exhibition revisits a 1977 exhibition at Los Angeles’ Woman’s Building, a feminist art school, gallery, and community space founded by Judy Chicago, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, and Arlene Raven in 1971. The Archives, which holds the Woman’s Building papers in its collections, will reconsider this exhibition by showing responses from the 1977 show alongside new submissions by both original participating artists as well as a new generation of diverse artists. Approximately 75 works will be on view.What is Feminist Art? is now on view at the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in Washington, D.C.
News
Apr. 27, 2021
The Archives of American Art is pleased to invite applications from postsecondary teachers to participate in a series of two professional development workshops, held virtually in August and September 2021, focused on teaching the history of American art with primary sources.
Jan. 29, 2021
The Archives of American Art Journal is planning a special issue showcasing new approaches to oral archives. We invite proposals for manuscripts that ask: What distinguishes oral evidence from other kinds of primary sources? What critical tools do scholars need to interpret that kind of evidence in innovative ways? How have scholars relied on oral narratives to construct histories of American art, and what have been the benefits or limitations of doing so?
On the Blog
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May 5, 2021New Collections: Pandemic Oral History Project
Oral Historian Ben Gillespie details the Archive's Pandemic Oral History Project, conducted during the summer of 2020. The following essay was originally published in the Spring 2021 issue (vol. 60, no. 1) of the Archives of American Art Journal.