The Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine has been accepted as a Smithsonian
Affiliate. This affiliation establishes a long-term partnership between the
museum and the Smithsonian Institution. There are currently 179 Smithsonian
Affiliates in 42 states, Puerto Rico and Panama. The Abbe Museum is Maine’s
first affiliate.
“Becoming a Smithsonian Affiliate will support exciting
collaborations between our organizations, while dramatically expanding the Abbe
Museum’s visibility in the market place and in Maine’s cultural community,”
says Abbe CEO, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko. “Collaborative projects are key to the
Abbe’s strategic direction. The Smithsonian is an incredible institution with
tremendous scope in reach and resources. We are thrilled to share those
resources with our community and members.”
The partnership will provide the Abbe Museum access to the
Smithsonian Institution’s many resources, including its 136 million object
collections, scholarships and educational opportunities for staff, traveling
exhibits and membership benefits. Additionally, the Abbe and the Smithsonian
will begin to pursue collaborations with one another, spreading the work of
both cultural institutions.
“The Abbe Museum,” noted Harold A. Closter, director of
Smithsonian Affiliations, “is well-recognized for its outstanding collections,
first-class exhibits, professional staff and commitment to education.
With a mission that so thoroughly matches the work of the Smithsonian, we are
honored to welcome the Abbe Museum into the family of Smithsonian Affiliates
and look forward to working with this impressive organization to help preserve
the rich heritage of Maine and share the inspiring stories of its people.”
Collaboration with the Smithsonian is something in which the
Abbe Museum already has experience. When Abbe’s downtown location opened, the
museum borrowed three collection items for the exhibit
Four Molly’s: Women of the Dawn
, guest curated by Bunny McBride.
On May 23rd, the Smithsonian traveling exhibit
IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives
in the Americas
will go on display in the Abbe where it will remain through
August 4
th
. The exhibit comes to the Abbe through the Smithsonian
Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), and explores the intersection
of American Indian and African American cultures. The exhibit shares historical
and contemporary stories of peoples and communities whose shared histories are
woven into the fabric of American identity, but whose presence has long been
invisible to many in the U.S.
IndiVisible
was developed by the National Museum of the American Indian with the
National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The Abbe has long enjoyed a relationship with the
Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), particularly
working together in the development of educational programming.
Finally, a current Abbe Board Member, member of the
Passamaquoddy tribe and renowned Native artist, David Moses Bridges, has worked
extensively with the Smithsonian Institution as a researcher, consultant and
educator. “I was very excited to learn of our relationship with the
Smithsonian,” says Moses Bridges. “I have always been impressed by the
Smithsonian’s commitment to include Native people as the caretakers and
interpreters of the collections they oversee. By recognizing the family
connection between objects and communities they have set a new standard of
museum relationship with indigenous people. The Affiliations program allows the
Abbe Museum and its visitors access to the greatest collection of Indigenous
art in the world. Anyone who has stepped inside the Smithsonian will understand
that the Abbe Museum’s new affiliation with the Smithsonian is surely something
to be excited about.”
Smithsonian Affiliations, established in 1996, is a national
outreach program that develops collaborative partnerships with museums and
educational and cultural organizations to share Smithsonian Institution
resources with citizens in their own communities. The program works with
Affiliates to enrich communities with Smithsonian scholars, public programs,
and professional development opportunities. Affiliate partner organizations
demonstrate excellence in their work and commitment to the Smithsonian emphasis
on heritage, preservation and education.
