Smithsonian Associates Online Programs

While surrealism originated in Paris in the 1920s, it had enormous international impact. Art historian Michele Greet follows the spread of surrealism to Latin America with a special focus on exhibitions such as the surrealist exhibition in Lima, Peru, in 1935 and the International Surrealist Exhibition held in Mexico City in 1940. The work of female artists in the movement, including Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, and Remedios Varo, is also covered. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The 16th century is one of the most fascinating periods of English history, and its vibrant center was the great city of London. During the Tudor dynasty the city on the Thames was filled with the bustling daily life of common people living in a rapidly changing city and world. Historian Cheryl White examines the panorama of ordinary life in London at the birth of early-modern England.

Throughout the centuries composers have been drawn to the perfect simplicity of shorter musical forms—from preludes, bagatelles, and overtures to art songs, impromptus, and nocturnes. But creating these exquisite musical jewels is a demanding art. Pianist and scholar Rachel Franklin shows how it’s done using miniature marvels by Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Bartok, Brahms, Faure, Webern, Debussy, and others.

Learn the camera controls, composition, and lighting considerations to achieve artful images of items such as brickwork, apartment or office buzzers, call boxes, and vintage signage. Working knowledge of your camera is required, along with willingness to see the mundane as magnificent.

Plant-based eating has evolved over centuries, creating a base of beloved recipes from around the globe. Food editor and writer Joe Yonan has spent years reporting on and making plant-based dishes, and his new book, Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking, spotlights vegan food as a unique cuisine worthy of mastery. In conversation with chef and food writer Hetty Lui McKinnon, he discusses the richness of global vegan cuisine and serves up tips for flavorful staples, weeknight meals, and celebratory feasts in your own kitchen.

Filmmaker Céline Cousteau recounts the making of her documentary Tribes on the Edge, which examines the human and ecological threats faced by the Indigenous peoples of the Javari Valley reservation, located along Brazil’s Amazon border with Peru. She examines those aggressive forces—from deforestation to health crises, illegal mining to the dismantling of protections of land and human rights—and why the struggle for survival that played out in the Amazon has implications that reach across the globe.

From Indonesia to Iceland, hundreds of islands across the globe were formed by once so-called submarine volcanoes. Submarine volcanoes are exactly what they sound like: volcanoes located beneath the ocean’s surface, which behave differently than terrestrial ones. Dive deep with volcanologist Samuel Mitchell as he explains what is known about these volcanoes and why we should be both curious and cautious about them.

In celebration of its 50th-anniversary, the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has installed a major survey of artwork made during a transformative period characterized by new currents in science and philosophy, ever-increasing mechanization, and dramatic social change. “Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960” captures shifting cultural landscapes. Marina Isgro, associate curator, offers insights into the exhibition, which comprises rotating artworks in the museum’s permanent collection by 117 artists made during 100 turbulent and energetic years. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Barbara Kingsolver’s Pulitzer Prize–winning Demon Copperhead is an adaptation of the beloved 19th-century novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Joseph Luzzi, professor of literature at Bard College, shows how Kingsolver updated the concerns of David Copperfield to deal with issues of contemporary American life such as the opioid crisis, rural poverty, and the schisms in an increasingly divided country. He also compares style, character creation, and plot development in the two books.

In this workshop, beginners are introduced to surface freestyle hand embroidery. In this style, the stitches are applied freely, disregarding the weave or structure of the ground cloth. Students learn how to select and prepare fabric using a simple design, ready their hoop, and begin stitching.