NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
NARA. Constitution Ave between 7th and 9th Streets NW.
The National Archives is home to the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights – which, collectively, are known as the Charters of Freedom. These documents are housed in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC located at Constitution Avenue (between 7th and 9th Streets, NW). This tour will include a presentation of NARA records that include originals or facsimiles of documents, photographs, maps, drawings, film or audio clips, allowing you to see the raw materials of our history. Rita Cacas, Archives Specialist, will lead the tour and arrange for a variety of APA-related documents to be on display, including emphasis on the Philippine Archives Collections that contributed to her book, “Images in America: Filipinos in Washington, DC” written with Juanita Tamayo Lott. Also to be included are documents related to Chinese Exclusion Acts. She will also discuss best practices for use of NARA documents for research purposes.
Scheduled for 3:00pm - 5:00pm Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
LIMIT: 20 people
Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History
14th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W. Washington, DC
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History has more than 3 million artifacts in its collection. The Museum collection ranges from the original Star-Spangled Banner and Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, to Dizzy Gillespie’s angled trumpet and Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz.” Our collections form a fascinating mosaic of American life and comprise the single greatest collection of American History. Noriko Sanefuji will lead the presentation of highlights of the Asian Pacific American collection in the museum’s holdings. She will focus on current and upcoming APA related projects.
Scheduled for 3:00pm - 5:00pm Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
Meet: Information Desk -1st floor (near Constitution Avenue entrance)
LIMIT: 50 people
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Asian Reading Room LJ 150
Thomas Jefferson Building
101 Independence Ave., SE
The Asian American Pacific c Islander Collection was inaugurated in 2008. APA holdings consisting of monographs, sound recordings, films, prints and photographs are scattered in various divisions of the Library; however the primary holdings, manuscripts and documentation on various communities in America are housed in the Asian Division. The largest collection of primary documentation involving Chinese on the East Coast is the Betty Lee Sung Collection. The only edition of the history of the F.F. Fraternity, a social organization begun in Harvard’s Trinity College can be found in the APA Collection. Other notable collections include the 4,000 reconstructed files of Boat People refugees stranded in the Philippines and in Hong Kong, the Carlos Bulosan Archive, the James Miho Papers and Conceptual Diaries, the Jade Snow Wong Collection, The Roy Morales Collection, the Lia Chang Theater Photo Portfolio, the APA Playwright Series, and a recent collection: the Asian Adoptee Archive. For more information, contact Remé Grefalda at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or go to
http://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/aapi/index.html.
Scheduled for 3:00pm - 5:00pm Thursday, April 12, 2012.
LIMIT: 40 people
White House Tours*
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC
The White House is the official residence of the President of the United States, recognized worldwide as a symbol of the prestige of the presidency. Built between 1792 and 1800, the sprawling 132-room mansion has been used as a home by every President since John Adams. The East Wing of the White House principally serves as offices for the First Lady and her staff. The First Family’s quarters, located on the second and third floor of the historic White House, provide them with privacy and comfort away from the public spotlight. The West Wing is home to the President’s office and those of his top staff.
The tour provided to AAAS participants will be a self-guided tour of the East Wing.
Scheduled for 9:30am Friday, April 13, 2012.
*All participants will be required to provide information for security clearance.
Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of Encounter
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Eight and F Streets, NW, Washington, DC
A collaboration between the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific c American Program, Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of Encounter, is the Smithsonian’s first major showcase of contemporary Asian American portraiture. Through the groundbreaking work of seven talented artists from across the country and around the world, this exhibition offers provocative renditions of the Asian American experience. The artists featured are CYJO, New York; Hye Yeon Nam, Atlanta and New York; Shizu Saldamando, Los Angeles; Roger Shimomura, Lawrence, KS; Satomi Shirai, New York; Tam Tran, Memphis, TN; and Zhang Chun Hong, Lawrence, KS. This group of artists demonstrates, in microcosm, the nuances inherent to the Asian American experience. Their portraits of encounter offer representations against and beyond the stereotypes that have long obscured the complexity of being Asian in America.
Curators from the National Portrait Gallery will lead the tour at 12 noon. Please meet at the information desk by the Eight and F Streets entrance. The symposium Asian American Portraits Encounter Between Image andWord will follow the tour at 1:00 p.m. For more information on the exhibition and symposium, visit www.apa.si.edu.
Scheduled for 12:00pm-1:00pm Saturday, April 14, 2012.