smithsonian latino art collections - Smithsonian Latino Center

objectives as follows “the Center provides access to enrichment programs using the Smithsonian
collections, exhibitions and programs as a venue for cross-cultural understanding, community dialogue
and development. The Center promotes on-going research in the field of Latino studies and culture, and
provides national audiences with educational exhibitions public programs, and online and electronic
resources. The Center reaches put to the vast Latino community of the United States by building
dialogue and relationships between Smithsonian Institution and civic, social and cultural organizations,
and colleges and universities. The Center works with government agencies, corporations, and
foundations to foster the development of programming to highlight the rich Latino cultural heritage.” 88
During the Regents Board meeting of January 25, 1999, in anticipation to the motion to create
an Advisory Board, Secretary Heyman through Provost O’Connor reminded “that the purpose of the
Center is to enhance the capacity to present throughout all Smithsonian museums the contributions to
American culture and heritage that have been made by the Latino population. The Secretary
emphasized that the Center will operate through existing museums as an alternative to the
establishment of its own museum.” 89 During the meeting the Smithsonian Board of Regents approved
the creation of the National Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives, “to provide
advice, support, and expertise to the Secretary and Provost, to the Smithsonian Board of Regents and to
the Director of the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives; to help build the financial base of the
Center by identifying and securing private funds; and to advocate the Center’s purpose and programs
nationally and to build broad support for the Center’s mission” 90
In 1999 the Center underwent a series of strategic planning exercises to organize itself under
three major sections: Latino music and historical traditions; Latino arts and culture; and Latino research,
outreach and educational resources as well as to administer the Latino Initiatives Pool, an annual
Congressional appropriation of about one million dollars whose disbursement is made through an
internal grant competition for Smithsonian units to develop Latino-focused programs, exhibitions,
research and collections management. The central role of the Latino Initiatives Pool has been amply
demonstrated in the publication/report Hispanic Heritage at the Smithsonian: A Decade of Latino
Initiatives (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2006) which documented more than 90 initiatives
undertaken during the fiscal years of 1995-2005 with over $12.4 million dollars distributed to fund
projects such as exhibitions, public programs, research and publications. 91
The lack of a physical exhibition space, led the Center to harness new media and technology to
create an online presence through the Internet to disseminate information and a virtual space for webbased
exhibitions. The Latino Virtual Gallery (LVG) was unveiled on June 9, 2000 “as an electronic
environment where viewers may explore and discover Latino contributions to the arts, culture, history
and the humanities.” 92 As Magdalena Mieri and Melissa Carrillo stated, “creating an exhibition in
cyberspace was more than a creative solution to the problem of lack of exhibition space. It was also a
way to combine the experience of visiting a museum with a new medium.” 93 The inaugural exhibition
Revealing Personal Identity: The Indigenous Vision of Manuel Carrillo, was curated by Melissa Carrillo
who conceptualized it and designed it in partnership with the C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections
88 Refugio I. Rochin, “The Smithsonian Institution and the Politics of Cultural Representation: the Case of U.S.
Latinos.” Paper delivered at the Building Diversity in the University and the Community, Fifth Annual Conference,
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, October 27, 2000. Online at: http://works.bepress.com/refugio_rochin/7/
89 Regents’ Minutes, January 25, 1999, p. 18. Smithsonian Latino Center Archives.
90 Regents’ Minutes, January 25, 1999, p. 18-20. Smithsonian Latino Center Archives.
91 Smithsonian Latino Center. Hispanic Heritage at the Smithsonian: A Decade of Latino Initiatives. Washington, DC:
Smithsonian Institution, 2006, p. 10.
92 Latino Virtual Gallery brochure, 2001-2002. Smithsonian Latino Center Archives.
93 Angela Cervetti, “Exhibition Spotlight: Latino Initiatives Opens Virtural Gallery.” The Torch, A Monthly Newspaper
for Smithsonian Institution Staff, No. 01-01 January 2001.
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