Art and Museums

More than simply documenting styles and trends, Gender Bending Fashion also explores how the garments on view can speak broadly to societal shifts across the past century, including changing gender roles; ongoing efforts toward LGBTQIA+ rights and racial equality; and the rise of social media as a powerful tool for self-expression. Throughout the galleries, individual stories of designers and wearers — many of them celebrities, performers and fashion influencers — emerge, touching on issues of gender identity and expression, sexuality, race, class, pop culture, activism, social justice and more. more »

Ferida Wolff writes: "So much is happening in the world today that a simple gift of nature like this is much appreciated. The delicate pink flowers remind me of how life flutters on, how it shifts from beautiful to decimated and hopefully back again to a space that offers us a chance to take a deep breath, to experience joy and to share our awareness of life's flowering with those around us." more »

The practice goes back to the earliest days of print in the fifteenth century. Artists, printers, booksellers, consumers, and readers all applied color to originally black-and-white images. Before Gutenberg’s innovation of the moveable-type press, both woodblock and engraved prints, single sheets with printed images, were popular in Germany and parts of Central Europe. They were used in various ways, and many people did what we might do with them — hung them on the walls of their home. more »

The Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, “Because of Her Story,” strives to be the nation’s most comprehensive undertaking to document, research, collect, display and share the compelling story of women in America. Launched in 2018, the initiative will greatly increase the Smithsonian’s research and programming related to women in the US, past and present. With a digital-first mission and focus, the initiative uses technology to amplify a diversity of women’s voices — not in one gallery or museum, but throughout the Smithsonian’s many museums, research centers, cultural heritage affiliates and wherever people are online — reaching millions of people in Washington, DC, across the nation and around the world. More information about the initiative is available at womenshistory.si.edu. The public can join the conversation on social media at #BecauseOfHerStory. more »