James E. Mayo (1936-1995 [1] ) was an American exhibition specialist. He held this role at the Anacostia Community Museum, where he also was co-director.
James E. Mayo (1936-1995 [1] ) was an American exhibition specialist. He held this role at the Anacostia Community Museum, where he also was co-director.
James Mayo was born and raised in Washington, D.C. After he graduated from Cardozo High School, [1] [2] he joined the workforce, starting his career, in 1959, [1] [2] at the National Museum of American History. He would marry, which would end in divorce. [2]
Upon joining the National Museum of American History, Mayo took on the role of exhibitions production supervisor. He would go on to also design exhibitions for Dumbarton Oaks and the City University of New York. He also ran the renovation of the Benjamin Brown French School and was chairman of the board at the Market 5 Gallery, both in Washington, D.C.. He co-founded the Erika Thimey Dance and Theater Company. [2] While at the Anacostia Community Museum, he worked on exhibitions such as Blacks in the Westward Movement and Black Women: Achievement Against the Odds, alongside Louise Daniel Hutchinson. He retired in September, 1994, as director emeritus. [2] His exhibition style was described as "elegant" in The Art Museum as Educator. [3]
James E. Mayo died on July 13, 1995, at George Washington University Hospital of lung cancer. [2] A scholarship named in his honor is awarded by the Erika Thimey Dance and Theater Company. [1]
The Smithsonian Institution, or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. It was originally organized as the United States National Museum, but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967.
The Anacostia Community Museum is a community museum in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is one of twenty museums under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution and was the first federally funded community museum in the United States. The museum, founded in 1967, was created with the intention to bring aspects of the Smithsonian museums, located on the National Mall, to the Anacostia neighborhood, with the hope that community members from the neighborhood would visit the main Smithsonian museums. It became federally funded in 1970 and focuses on the community in and around Anacostia in its exhibitions. This museum also houses a library.
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served as the company's music director from 1981 to 1992. The DTH is renowned for being both "the first Black classical ballet company", and "the first major ballet company to prioritize Black dancers".
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David C. Driskell was an American artist, scholar and curator; recognized for his work in establishing African-American Art as a distinct field of study. In his lifetime, Driskell was cited as one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of African-American Art. Driskell held the title of Distinguished University Professor of Art, Emeritus, at the University of Maryland, College Park.
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Keith Franklin Fowler is an American actor, director, producer, and educator. He is a professor emeritus of drama and former head of directing in the Drama Department of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts of the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and he is the former artistic director of two LORT/Equity theaters.
John Robert Edward Kinard was an American social activist, pastor, and museum director. He is best known as the director of the Anacostia Museum, a small community museum founded by the Smithsonian Institution in 1967. Kinard was the museum's first director, and remained in the post until his death. The Washington Post said Kinard was "a passionate believer in the idea that the well-being of black people depends on having a record of their past". Noted British archeologist and museologist Sir Kenneth Hudson said Kinard "developed the Anacostia Museum into one of the small number of museums of influence in the world."
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Portia James was an American curator and historian. A specialist in African-American material culture, she worked as the cultural resources manager of the Anacostia Community Museum.
Camille Giraud Akeju is American curator and educator. She is the former director of the Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, D.C.
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Edith T. Martin is an American artist and museum professional.
Amber Robles-Gordon is an American mixed media visual artist. She resides in Washington, DC and predominantly works with found objects and textiles to create assemblages, large-scale sculptures, installations and public artwork.
Erika Thimey was a German dancer and dance educator, based for most of her career in Washington, D.C.
Zora Martin-Felton was an American museum director and curator. She established the education department at the Anacostia Community Museum, which is a museum in the Smithsonian Institution and worked as Director of Education from 1967 to 1995.
Adolphus Ealey (1941–1992) was an American artist, curator, educator, writer, and entrepreneur. He was African-American and a noted Black art authority, and he was the longtime curator of the Barnett–Aden Collection of Black art.