Anacostia Museum
Coordinates: 38°51′24″N 76°58′36″W / 38.8566°N 76.9767°W
| Anacostia Community Museum | |
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 Location within Washington, D.C.
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| Established | 1967 |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Type | African American History Museum |
| Website | Anacostia Museum |
The Anacostia Community Museum is a Smithsonian Institution museum in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States, opened in 1967. Its focus is the national history and culture of African Americans, for presentation to scholars and to all visitors—domestic and international.
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[edit] History
The Museum was established originally as the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum in the old Carver movie theater on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue in 1967. It was the brainchild of S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 1964 to 1984. Its first director was John Kinard, who led the museum from 1967 until his death in 1989.[1] Noted British archeologist and museologist Sir Kenneth Hudson said Kinard "developed the Anacostia Museum into one of the small number of museums of influence in the world."[2]
[edit] Vision
The Anacostia Museum and Center gives special priority to the collection, protection, and preservation of materials that reflect the history and traditions of families, organizations, individuals, and communities.
[edit] Focus
The Museum and Center renovated its facility recently to focus on the collection, storage and study of artifacts. There is now an on-line academy that facilitates the organization's commitment to identify, study, preserve, and collect African-American historical materials.
[edit] The Academy
The Academy consists of people offering their expertise and sharing their insights on different subjects within the field of material culture. Collectors, preservers, scholars, and educators conduct virtual lectures, workshops, and demonstrations for the Museum's on-line visitors' enjoyment and education. The information presented within the Academy is designed to be used with the database of artifacts in the museum's permanent collection to foster thought about what role material culture plays in the African American historical and cultural experience.
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Ripley, Dillon (1969). The Sacred Grove: Essays on Museums. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671203177.
