Carlos Tortolero, President and Founder of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, came to Chicago from Mexico as a small child. For many years he worked as a history teacher, counselor and administrator in the Chicago Public School System. In 1982, he and several friends started NMMA with just $900. Initially, the museum …
Wilhelmina Holladay, “Billie,” is the co-founder of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Billie and her husband Wallace began collecting art in the 1960s, at a time when scholars and art historians were beginning to take note of the underrepresentation of women and various ethnic groups in museum collections and major art exhibitions. …
Margaret Burroughs, a poet, visual artist, educator and arts organizer, grew up in Chicago and made a lasting contribution to that city’s arts and humanities community. Her reach, however, has extended far beyond Chicago’s borders. One of the founding members of the DuSable Museum of African-American History, Burroughs is ranked among the distinctive visionaries of …
Curious About Cuba: The Great Museums of Havana https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHOMK6Q_xXg&feature=youtu.be Narrated by Mariel Hemingway This GREAT MUSEUMS of the WORLD documentary shows a side of the island nation that we seldom hear about: Cuba’s art, history, and culture. Despite Cuba’s overwhelming economic and political challenges, museums in Havana abound; from rum and revolution, to cars and …
Who will be the winning bidder? John Lennon’s Gretsch 6120 guitar, which he used to record The Beatles “Paperback Writer,” is up for auction—for an estimated $1 million! While filming the upcoming documentary on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, GREAT MUSEUMS caught a glimpse of the same guitar while it was on loan …
High Line Section Three: Groundbreaking Ceremony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_An9WS-NUQOn a beautiful day in late September 2012, New York City officials and public and private donors joined with the Friends of the High Line to mark the groundbreaking of the last and final section of the park. Encompassing a vast area that stretches from the Hudson River to …
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And The Walls Came Tumblin’ Down https://youtu.be/YhIMlQLh5uM GREAT MUSEUMS is at work documenting the creation of the last museum to be built on our National Mall. Construction of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (SNMAAHC) began in 2012. The new museum is scheduled to open in 2015. In May 2013, GREAT …
Rock Hall Moment: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum’s Former Chief Curator Jim Henke tells GREAT MUSEUMS the whole story behind the acquisition of Lady Gaga’s notorious meat dress for the Women Who Rock Special Exhibit. #rockhall #rockhallmoments #greatmuseums
