We are excited to announce a major project the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, is starting: In support of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, we will be digitizing and describing 14 collections created by women photographers in Africa!

All of the women photographers were trailblazers in their respective fields and professions – art, anthropology, architecture, art history, geography, photojournalism, travel – and used photography as a tool for documentation, ethnographic field research, or ‘salvage photography’ to produce fleeting glimpses of what were perceived as rapidly ‘vanishing’ cultures and ways of life.

These women exercised different cultural and social sensitivities when it came to photographing indigenous peoples in local and domestic settings. Learn more about the project at SI.com

May 15
@ 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Participants under 16 must be accompanied by an adult
First come, first served

Discover the incredible diversity and richness of Africa’s textiles and symbols. Then, select a symbol to create a pattern for your one-of-a-kind design. You can even add a favorite keepsake to our creation.

This workshop is presented as part of the museum’s series of Workshop Wednesdays. Every first and third Wednesday of the month, stop by the museum for drop-in classes from trained teachers. Stay for as long as you like to complete your masterpiece. All skill levels and ages welcome; participants under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Workshops are on a first-come, first-served basis.

June 5
1:30–3:30 p.m.

Learn about the art of the ancient kingdom of Benin, and how its artists used a stylized African eye motif throughout their sculpture. Then, break the down the shapes of this traditional design element to create your own contemporary abstract work of art!

This workshop is presented as part of the museum’s series of Workshop Wednesdays. Every first Wednesday of the month, stop by the museum for drop-in classes from trained teachers. Stay for as little or as long as you like to complete your masterpiece. All skill levels and ages welcome; participants under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. No registration is required, but please remember that these events are first-come, first-served. Visit here for a full list of upcoming workshops.

Free and open to the public.