New Americans Museum Inc

A CATALYST FOR CELEBRATION OF AMERICA'S PAST AND PROMISE, THE MUSEUM PROVIDES INSPIRING EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS TO HONOR OUR DIVERSE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCES.

THE 2023 PROGRAM YEAR BEGAN WITH THE GALLERIES PREP AND INSTALLATION OF THE TRAVELLING EXHIBITION UNA STORIA SEGRETA [ITALIAN AMERICAN INTERNMENT] AND THE LOCAL VOICES OF RESILIENCE OF IMMIGRANT ITALIAN AMERICANS EXHIBIT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CONVIVIO SAN DIEGO AND THE LITTLE ITALY ASSOCIATION AS WELL AS THE ITALIAN HERITAGE ORGANIZATION IN THE BAY AREA. THE LARGE SCALE EXHIBITION INCLUDED OVER 40 EXHIBIT PANELS ON LOAN FROM THE ITALIAN HERITAGE ORG ALONGSIDE EPHEMERA, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER OBJECTS ON LOAN. IN ADDITION A SECOND COMPLEMENTARY EXHIBITION AND TESTIMONIES OF LOCAL ITALIAN AMERICAN FAMILIES IMPACTED BY WWII INTERNMENT AND INTOLERANCE WERE ADDED TO THE NAM ARCHIVE. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WE THEN CONTINUED BY ORGANIZING AND PRESENTING A SERIES OF EVENTS AND EDUCATIONAL PUBLIC PROGRAMMING CURATED BY NAM AND CONVIVIO STAFF. THESE INCLUDED THE AWARD WINNING FILM ITALIAN INTERNMENT ALONG WITH THE TWO MAJOR EXHIBITS THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FREE OF CHARGE AND VARIOUS TOURS AND DOCENT TALKS WITH OVER 3000 VISITORS. THESE EFFORTS WERE FOR CELEBRATING AND BRINGING ATTENTION TO ITALIAN AMERICAN INTERNMENT EXPERIENCES DURING WWII IN SAN DIEGO AND THE UNITED STATES AS A LESS KNOWN INCIDENT SIMILAR TO THE JAPANESE INTERNMENT THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE US DURING WWII. THIS WAS AMPLIFIED BEYOND OUR SPACES AS A MUSEUM BEYOND WALLS EFFORT INTO THE LITTLE ITALY COMMUNITY ADDING TO THEIR PUBLIC PROGRAMS ALONG INDIA STREET. THE COUNTERPART EXHIBITION FEATURED SEVERAL PROMINENT SAN DIEGO ITALIAN FAMILIES SUCH AS THE NAVARRA, BUSSALACHI, PECORARO, AND MANY OTHERS WHO LOANED ARTIFACTS, IMAGES AND OBJECTS FOR AN INSTALLATION IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY OF LOCAL ITALIAN FAMILIES IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY. NAM ALSO CURATED AND HOSTED THE 9TH ANNUAL DAY OF THE DEAD COMMUNITY SITE SPECIFIC INSTALLATION AT THE MUSEUM, CURATED BY PROFESSOR JOSE GUADALUPE FLORES FEATURING OVER 30 STUDENT VOLUNTEERS AND ORIGINAL ARTWORK, FLOERS AND ELEMENTS FOR THE LARGE SCALE ALTAR. THIS WAS COMPLEMENTED BY PUBLIC TALKS, AND SCHOOL VISIT EVENTS FOCUSING ON TRADITIONS AND CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS DURING THE MONTHS OF OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER. NAM CONCLUDED ITS EDUCATIONAL AND ARTISTISTIC PROGRAMMING WITH A PREVIEW OF THE 2024 BEYOND THE ELEMENTS UPCOMING EXHIBIT SEASON CURATED BY MARIO LOPEZ. THESE INCLUDED EVENTS, PERFORMANCES AND TALKS ONSITE WITH PLANNING TALK BACKS WITH LOCAL STUDENTS IN THE GALLERIES AND FOR NAM AUDIENCES. WE CLOSED THE YEAR WITH OUR LEARNING COLLABORATIVE LOANING SPACES TO COMMUNITY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS (INCLUDING THE FILIPINO CINEMA SOCIETY, NEMETH NARRATIVES, PRICE FELLOWS STUDENT CONFERENCE AND OTHER COMMNUITY MEETINGS). THESE WERE FOCUSED ON DELIVERING WORKSHOPS ON STORYTELLING, FILM SKILLS AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. IN ADDITION, THE MUSEUM HELD VARIOUS PARTNER PLANNING MEETINGS IN PREPARATION FOR THE BEYOND THE ELEMENTS & THE HISTORY OF SD IMMIGRANT HIPHOP PIONEERS LARGE SCALE ISNTALLATIONS AND EXHIBITS PLANNED FOR 2024.