Experimental Gallery Records from the Exhibit Casitas

From his arrival at the Smithsonian in 1984, Secretary Robert McCormick Adams felt the Institution needed to challenge visitors to wrestle with societal ills of the 1980s, including persistent inequality and prejudice. Secretary Adams felt that the "Smithsonian must strive for sensitivity to the conditions, needs and aspirations of the multiple and growing audiences it has an obligation to reach." To accomplish this, he developed the concept of an “experimental gallery” with shorter exhibit durations, a low-tech approach, and a maverick ethos. After 18 months of preparation, on February 1, 1991, the 7000-square-foot Experimental Gallery opened in the Arts & Industries Building on the National Mall. Its inaugural exhibits included Casitas: An Urban Cultural Alternative. From 1991–1994, the Experimental Gallery put on eighteen exhibitions including interactive exhibits in the physical and natural sciences, and multicultural exhibitions in the arts and humanities. Through these exhibits, visitors had more intimate access to museum objects; experienced opportunities for informal, self-directed learning; found organized areas for family and inter-generational and inter-cultural learning; and participated in a setting wherein new and sometimes disturbing ideas could challenge their beliefs and emotions. The experimental museum space continues today at the Arts and Industries Building, as it has played host to a variety of innovative programs since the fall of 2015.

Learn more about this exhibit in this collection.