Art Gallery
A Place for All People: Introducing the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Exhibit Dates: Friday, September 20, 2024 – Sunday, December 29, 2024
The Smithsonian Institution opened its newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, September 24, 2016. The celebration continues and reaches beyond Washington, D.C., to Littleton, Colorado, as the Littleton Museum presents “A Place for All People: Introducing the National Museum of African American History and Culture.” The commemorative poster exhibition will be on view September 20 through December 29, 2024.
Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), “A Place for All People” highlights key artifacts that tell the rich and diverse story of the African American experience. From the child-size shackles of a slave and the clothing worn by Carlotta Walls on her first day at Little Rock Central High School to Chuck Berry’s Gibson guitar, “Maybellene,” and the track shoes worn by Olympian Carl Lewis, the exhibition presents a living history that reflects challenge, triumph, faith, and hope.
The poster exhibition and related public programs are an opportunity for the Littleton Museum to showcase its work in sharing the many stories of African American and African diaspora people and their contributions to the local community and the American story.
About National Museum of African American History and Culture
The journey to establish this museum began a century ago with a call for a national memorial to honor the contributions of African American Civil War veterans. After decades of efforts by private citizens, organizations, and members of Congress, federal legislation was passed in 2003 to create the NMAAHC. Since then, thousands of artifacts have been collected to fill the inspiring new building that has risen on the National Mall. Through its exhibitions and programs, the museum provides a shared lens through which to view the nation’s history and the possibility for hope and healing. It is a place where all can gather to remember, reflect, and embrace America’s story: a place for all people. For more information, visit nmaahc.si.edu.
About SITES | Smithsonian Affiliation
The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service | Smithsonian Affiliations (SITES | Affiliations) is a critical national outreach unit at the Smithsonian Institution. For more than 70 years, SITES has been connecting Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science, and history. Smithsonian Affiliations establishes and maintains the Smithsonian's long-term partnerships with museums, educational organizations, and cultural institutions in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Panama. Together, SITES and Affiliations share the Smithsonian's vast resources with millions of people outside Washington, D.C. Visit sites.si.edu and affiliations.si.edu for more information.
Exhibit Events
Smithsonian Speaker Dr. Ariana Curtis: Thursday, October 17, 2024 (6 p.m.)
Lecture by Dr. Ariana Curtis of the Smithsonian Institution on Thursday, October 17 at 6:00 p.m. at the Littleton Museum.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; Lecture from 6 - 7 p.m.
This event is free and open to the public; an RSVP is required as seating is limited. Amply parking available in lot.
or call the Littleton Museum front desk at 303-795-3950
About the Speaker
Dr. Ariana A. Curtis is the first curator of Latinx Studies at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), where she leads research and collections that center Latinidad through an African American lens. She has also held leadership roles in major Smithsonian Institution initiatives including Reckoning with Our Racial Past and the American Women’s History Initiative. A seasoned public speaker, her TED talk about women and museum representation has over 3 million views. Curtis is a Fulbright scholar with a doctorate in anthropology. She is a founding member of the Black Latinas Know Collective, and board member of Duke University Libraries, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, DC Diaspora Arts Council, and the Museums Association of the Caribbean.
Running West
Exhibit Dates: Friday, January 31, 2025 – Saturday, April 19, 2025
This contemporary art exhibition by artist Chuck Brenton delves into the profound experience of navigating mountain landscapes while capturing the essence of memory and the visceral impact of nature. The works celebrate the euphoric flow-state achieved during trail running, where mind and body synchronize with sensory input from the environment, creating a harmonious blend of perception and experience.
The exhibition features a collection of polished and painted hybridized bronze works, ranging from two to five feet in height. Each piece echoes the fleeting glimpses of peripheral landscapes that are absorbed almost subconsciously.
Influenced by the color field painters of early childhood, Brenton embraces a minimalist yet powerful aesthetic, focusing on pure shape, vibrant color, and the introspective qualities of reflective surfaces. The dynamic interplay of fragmented forms and shapes evokes splintered memories and fleeting moments on the trails, while bold colors reflect the grandeur of the natural world. The simplicity and clarity of each piece invites viewers to find beauty in fundamental elements, transforming trail inspirations into a serene visual moment.
Embedded within his practice is Brenton's journey of training for and experiencing an ultramarathon in the Never Summer and Medicine Bow mountain ranges of Colorado and Wyoming. His work captures the endurance and perseverance required of such an effort.
The exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the interplay between the physical and emotional terrains we navigate, offering a contemplative space to consider the journeys that shape us, the memories that linger, and the new horizons we constantly seek.
The exhibition is on display at the Littleton Museum from January 31 until April 19, 2025.
About the Artist
Chuck Brenton (b. 1987, Des Moines, Iowa) is renowned for his distinctive sculptures inspired by mountain environments. Employing innovative techniques and vibrant colors, his work is an ode to the sublime connection with nature, where one feels both insignificant and profoundly connected within the vastness of the universe.
Graduating from Colorado State University, Brenton's multidisciplinary studies in Sculpture, Landscape Architecture, and Environmental Science inform his artistry. His technical expertise was honed at a fine art bronze foundry in Loveland, Colorado where he pioneered a distinctive color system for polished bronze, defining his unique fusion of painting and sculpture.
Brenton's work has been featured in many Colorado venues, including Artworks Center for Contemporary Art, the Arvada Center for the Arts, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, the Crested Butte Center for the Arts, and Lone Tree Arts Center. He has garnered multiple awards, earning recognition among curators and collectors along the Front Range.
Exhibit Events
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 5:30 p.m.
Join us on Thursday, January 30, at the Littleton Museum at 5:30 p.m. for the Opening Reception for Chuck Brenton: Running West.
No RSVP required. All ages welcome. Ample parking available in lot.