4. As you expand your mind, decolonize it. Many artworks in the galleries explore race, gender, identity, and other issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusion. As artist Wendy Red Star is quoted as saying in the renowned Indigenous arts of North America galleries on level 3 of the Martin Building:
A lot of people will say, 'Well, that’s just Native history.' No, that’s everybody’s history who lives on this continent. It’s about decolonizing the way people are seeing things.
5. Vibe with surreal Latin American art on level 4 of the Martin Building. Works by Leonora Carrington, Pedro Friedeberg, Gunther Gerzso, Bridget Bate Tichenor, and others will blow your mind!
6. On the same floor, you can learn about ancient origin stories in the art of the ancient Americas galleries. For example, you can learn how ancient Andean communities believed in dualism—the understanding that the world is made up of complementary pairs. The Inca described the world as kay pacha, the here-now earth. They believed that humans lived on the edge between the sky and the earth and between the past and the future.
7. Contemplate matters of the spirit with Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic art on level 5 of the Martin Building. For example, you can see a Hayagriva mandala created at the DAM by three monks from Seraje Monastic University in southern India.
8. Enjoy the beauty. From the Monets and other Impressionist masterworks on level 2 of the Hamilton Building to the sweeping landscapes of the American west on level 7 of the Martin Building, the museum is filled with creations that will take your breath away.
9. Speaking of level 7, you can take in the views from the rooftop of the Martin Building. Also on this floor, you can see It’s Roundup Time in Heaven, in which a cowboy serenades squirrels in party hats while being blessed by the Great Acorn in the Sky. That’s right. Squirrels. In party hats. You’ll also be able to flip through a comic about legendary Black cowboy Nat Love and find many other cool and unexpected artworks in these galleries including a painting by Andy Warhol!
10. Awaken your own creativity. You'll find something interactive in almost every gallery. In the Creative Hub on level 1 of the Martin Building (developed in collaboration with Moe Gram and Frankie Toan), spin the experimentation wheel to play with colors, textures, and patterns, and shred the expectations that might get in the way of your creativity. Get hands on with artists in the Landscape Studio on level 1 of the Hamilton Building, and on the weekends visit with one of the artists demonstrating their process.
