Adults

NMAAHC adult programs are exceptional for providing immersive and experiential learning. These programs provide broad, intense, and respectful exchanges among presenters, the audience, and museum staff that expand, and refresh our overall knowledge about important figures or moments in African American history.

Among the formats we feature most often are film screenings, book discussions, concerts, and staged readings focused upon a range of subjects including history, sports, and religion. We have also produced programs based on African American fashion, culinary traditions, culture, comedy, dance and theater, as well as visual art and with great success.

Book Discussions

The goal of NMAAHC author and book discussion programs is to provide our audiences with opportunities for an expansive intellectual and cultural experience while reading for information and pleasure.

Discussion Series

On Art and History: this author discussion series will feature works of fiction and poetry that interpret significant events in American History.

Historically, Speaking: this will highlight bring into discourse a series of new and important biographies, autobiographies, and scholarly texts.

The Look, the Home, the Season: this series spotlights the latest books of premier African American interior and fashion designers, chefs, and gurus of personal style.

Expressive Culture, Lifestyle and Skill Building

Expressive Culture is defined as the way in which people articulate themselves creatively in dance, music, song, painting, sculpture, pottery, cloth, storytelling, verse, prose, drama, and comedy. NMAAHC audiences will take part in enriching and experiential activities for unlimited personal expression.

Discussion Series

Material Culture Lab: NMAAHC will engage scholars, artists, and craftsmen in a series of workshops to discuss and instruct audiences on current trends as well as the history and tradition of African American expressive culture within a number of different mediums among them: textiles, pottery and found objects.

At Home: Personal Style and the Decorative Arts: NMAAHC audiences will explore the museum’s growing collection of furniture and decorative artifacts, thorough programs that explore African American aesthetic.

The Look, the Home, the Season: NMAAHC presents a series of lectures and workshops featuring premier African American designers, and personal style gurus.

Typewriter Poetry Pop-up

Ars Poetica poets Akolade Coker, Anthony McPherson, Kearah-Armonie are awaiting your requests to write you a custom, one-of-a-kind poem on any theme that's meaningful to you. Get your poem now!

Film

NMAAHC will host regular screenings of collected titles and join with area film festivals to screen films and host discussions that will in the words of NMAAHC founding director, Lonnie G. Bunch “present a … nuanced, realistic and respectful depiction” of African American history and culture.

Film Series

The Lens Social Justice series will premier screenings, films from the museum's collections, and documentaries that focus on race, justice, and identity.

Through the African American Lens highlights vintage films from NMAAHC collections.

The Global Lens provides a view of the African descended world by presenting the most current and diverse and cinematic experiences.

Taking the Stage

NMAAHC will offer performance-based programs to highlight themes presented in exhibitions including resilience, determination, and ingenuity. The programs will feature the best in musical, comedic, dance, staged theatrical readings, and performance art.