Girlhood (It’s complicated)
Spanning a timeframe of more than 200 years and showcasing over 200 objects, this exhibition examines the ways American girls have spoken up, challenged expectations and been on the frontlines of change. Girlhood (It’s complicated) commemorates the anniversary of woman suffrage by exploring the concept of girlhood in the United States, but also how girls changed history in five areas: politics, education, work, health, and fashion. (Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History)
View the exhibition »
Image credit: Graphic courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.
Throughout 2021
Viewfinder: Women’s Film and Video
Join us on the first Thursday of each month to celebrate the breadth of women-made films and videos from across Smithsonian collections. These special screenings of rarely seen short-form treasures will be followed by live conversations between the artists or filmmakers and Smithsonian curators. Each screening will include time for audience questions and recordings of the event will be available for the remainder of each month.
View the list of screenings »
(courtesy Smithsonian Institution)
March 3
Virtual Women Filmmakers Festival: Lessons from Environmental Histories with Cecilia Vicuña
Join renowned Chilean American artist Cecilia Vicuña for a virtual conversation about her work that explores the deep histories, coastal traditions, and the ecology of her homeland of Chile. With Amalia Cordova, Latino curator for digital and emerging media at the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Saisha Grayson, time-based media curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
(courtesy Smithsonian Institution)
March 9
Searching for Suffrage at the Library of Congress: Kimberly Hamilin
Kimberly A. Hamlin discusses her new book on the life of Helen Hamilton Gardener, whose involvement in the struggle for women’s rights and suffrage culminated in the passage of the 19th Amendment and her appointment by President Wilson as the highest ranking female civil servant in the federal government. The author used materials within the women’s history, presidential, congressional and other collections of the Library of Congress in her research. Register for the event
(Courtesy Library of Congress)
March 18
Rediscovering Eleanor Roosevelt
Author David Michaelis’ “Eleanor” is the first major biography of America’s longest-serving first lady in 60 years. Much of its research was conducted in the Library’s Manuscript Division, including the papers of the NAACP and the National Women’s Trade League, as well as the personal papers of Kermit and Belle Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, second wife of President Wilson. This event will be premiered on Facebook and YouTube .
(Courtesy Library of Congress)
March 18
National Archives Comes Alive! Young Learners Program Meet Alice Paul
Suffragette Alice Paul is portrayed by Taylor Williams, an inspirational and talented actor with American Historical Theatre. Alice Paul, a supreme strategist, revitalized the woman suffrage movement in the early 20th century with her determination, resolve, and unique plan to convince the nation that women deserve the right to vote. A question-and-answer session with Alice Paul will follow the presentation.
View on the National Archives YouTube Channel
(Courtesy National Archives)