When a new administration takes over the presidency, the first family has the right to make some decorative changes to the White House, including changes to the art that hangs on the walls. The White House is an accredited museum, with a committee of curators that work to select, obtain and pay for new pieces of art. Part of a White House curator's job is to make decisions about how to make a collection that best represents the United States and its history. Listen to learn more about the history of the art collection in the White House and how the curation works today.
Story Length: 5:18
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January 18, 2017
4:51
For people who are visually impaired, many of the experiences sighted people take for granted aren’t available, such as going to an art museum. Now, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. are offering special tours to help blind and visually impaired visitors “see” the art. This story takes you on a tour with this unique group of visitors.
Read MoreMay 13, 2015
5:47
The Great Migration was a period of African American migration from the Jim Crow South to the North from 1915 to the 1970s. People left their rural southern lives behind in the hope that there would be more opportunity and equality in northern cities like New York City, Chicago and Detroit. Artist Jacob Lawrence was raised in New York City but he was the child of two Southern migrants. Lawrence saw the Great Migration first hand and vividly painted the stages of migration, from boarding trains to finding racism in the North. Listen to learn more about this period in history and how it is represented in art and music from the era.
Read MoreNovember 19, 2014
5:28
For many, Henry David Thoreau is best know for his 1854 experiment in simplicity, living in the woods of Massachusetts on Walden Pond. The resulting book 'Walden, or Life in the Woods,' has connected generations of readers to Thoreau's vision of self-reliance, closeness to nature, and transcendentalism. An art museum located near Walden Pond has launched a show, Walden Revisited, with works inspired by and responding to Thoreau’s work.
Read MoreOctober 14, 2014
3:40
The Secret Service has been under scrutiny this month for high profile failures to protect President Obama and the First Family. First there was the successful attempt of fence jumper Omar Gonzalez to enter the White House with a knife. Then an armed man was found on an elevator with the president. Now there are calls for the Secret Service to tighten up its efforts to keep the President safe. Listen to this public radio story to learn more about these lapses and what can be done to strengthen the Secret Service.
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