smithsonian latino art collections - Smithsonian Latino Center

Department, University Library, University of Texas at El Paso. Other exhibitions in the Latino Virtual
Gallery were Antonio: 25 Years of Creative Collaboration in 2001 in collaboration with the National
Museum of American History and Hispanic Designers, Inc., Inside Out: Growing Old in the U.S. in May
2002 n collaboration with the University of Maryland followed by other exhibitions such as Tales of
Lienzos; Sabor: Salsa Music in the United States.
At mid-decade, the Smithsonian developed new Latino programs and new offices within the
National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History. At NMAH it
established the Program of Latino History and Culture to “present public programs that reflect the rich
and distinctive history of Latino communities and cultures in the United States,” 94 and at the NMNH it
established the Latino Program, “an initiative that aims to increase the presence and participation of
Latinos in the activities of the museum.” 95
Likewise, the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives underwent a name change in February
2006 to Smithsonian Latino Center with a new image and mission statement: ‘The Smithsonian Latino
Center is dedicated to ensuring that Hispanic contributions to art, science and the humanities are
recognized, understood and advanced through the development and support of public programs,
scholarly research, museum collections and educational opportunities at the Smithsonian Institution and
its affiliated organizations across the United States.” 96 This same year, the Latino Virtual Gallery and
electronic resources from the 1999-2003 Arts & Culture Program merged into a larger Project: The
Latino Virtual Museum, which exploits the latest immersive education technologies and web 3-D
platforms.
Inaugurated on March 19, 2009, the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum was developed by the
Smithsonian Latino Center, the Virtual Immersive Technologies and Arts for Learning Lab (VITAL Lab) at
Ohio University and Linden Laboratories with support of the Walt Disney Company as an avatar-based 3-
D virtual world in Second Life as well as on the web. The Latino Virtual Museum is seen by the center as
“more than just increasing access to the many people who may not ever make a trip to Washington,
D.C., the Latino Virtual Museum offers the Smithsonian Latino Center an effective outreach tool to
impact what is being taught in the classroom by offering quality Latino content…These are stories that
risk never being told and are now being offered via an engaged, global online community.” 97
The new decade promises to be as exciting as the previous one with new initiatives, new
programs, and new acquisitions. The appointment of E. Carmen Ramos as associate curator of Latino art
at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in October 2010 marked the beginning of a new period in the
history of the museum and its Latino collections. As of December 2011, Dr. Ramos has acquired works
by gift and purchase by artists Carlos Almaraz, Margarita Cabrera, Carmen Herrera, Delilah Montoya,
Raphael M. Ortiz, Paul Henry Ramirez, Sofie Rivera, Freddy Rodriguez, Emilio Sanchez, among others.
Plans for the exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art are well under way for
October 2013-March 2014. The exhibition “explores a key cornerstone in our national narrative—that
we are "a nation of immigrants"—by considering the varied contributions of Latino artists to American
art and culture from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Featuring more than seventy works
94 http://americanhistory.si.edu/events/programdetail.cfmnewskey=18
95 Diana Xochitl Munn, http://www.nmai.si.edu/chocolate/2010/participants.html
96 Smithsonian Latino Center, Fact Sheet, July 2006. Smithsonian Latino Center Archives.
97 Statement by Eduardo Diaz, director of the Smithsonian Latino Center. “Smithsonian Latino Center Inaugurates
the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum in Second Life” Smithsonian Institution, Press Release, March 17, 2009.
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