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On Friday, take a tour of “Changing America,” an exhibition that tells the story of America’s push towards racial equality from the Emancipation Proclamation to the Civil Rights Movement. Photo by Cocoabiscuit, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons

Friday, May 3: Exhibition Tour: Changing America

This year is a big one for celebrating civil rights; 2013 marks both the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, in which Martin Luther King, Jr. told the nation he had a dream of equality. Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, and the March on Washington, 1963 celebrates both momentous events with related historical objects, including the pens Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson used to sign the Emancipation Proclamation and Civil Rights Act, respectively. Today, stop by the exhibition for a tour that explains the various objects’ significance. Free. 2 p.m. African American History Museum.

Saturday, May 4: I Want the Wide American Earth Family Festival

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! To kick off the month’s celebration of Asian Pacific American culture, as well as to show off its new exhibit I Want the Wide American Earth, the American History Museum has organized arts, crafts and a scavenger hunt today, along with an afternoon of storytelling and spoken word performances. Guests include local writers Wendy Wan-Long Shang (The Great Wall of Lucy), Eugenia Kim (The Calligrapher’s Daughter) and Scott Seligman (The First Chinese American: The Remarkable Life of Wong Chin Foo) and spoken word extraordinaire Regie Cabico. Free. 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. American History Museum.

Sunday, May 5: Childen’s Day

Keep the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month festivities going! Today, the American Art Museum celebrates Children’s Day, a traditional Korean holiday for kids, with arts and activities inspired by Nam June Paik (1932-2006), an avant-garde musician and installation and video artist whose work is on display in the museum. Kids can play with interactive TV and robot games and go on a scavenger hunt (in case you missed yesterday’s!). Free. 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. American Art Museum.

Also, check out our Visitors Guide App. Get the most out of your trip to Washington, D.C. and the National Mall with this selection of custom-built tours, based on your available time and passions. From the editors of Smithsonian magazine, the app is packed with handy navigational tools, maps, museum floor plans and museum information including ‘Greatest Hits’ for each Smithsonian museum.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.

This little guy needs a name. Can you help? Photo by Mindy Babitz

UPDATE: The results are in. The Zoo’s new adorable sloth bear is now officially named Hank, a combination of his parents’ names—Hana and Francois. Voted most favorite on the Zoo’s Facebook page, winning 830 votes, the name Hank beat out the other two options Ravi (615 votes) and Bandar (219).

Born on December 19, 2012 and busy bonding with his mom ever since, the Zoo’s sloth bear cub is need of a name. The Zoo opened up its Facebook poll to fans May 1 to allow everyone to weigh in before noon on May 3. So, does the little cutie look like a Ravi, a Bandar or a Hank? You decide.

Because the cub was born in December just before the winter solstice, maybe Ravi, which means sun in the Hindi language, fits the furry creature. Or perhaps his adventurous spirit and mad climbing skills have earned him the name Bandar, the Hindi word for monkey. Or, in the tradition of Brangelina and Bennifer, perhaps a combo-name to honor his parents Hana and Francois is in order, hence, Hank.

We offer up these photos to help you make your selection.

What’s in a name, wonders this nameless cub. Photo by Barb Statas

What about Fluffy McFluffster? Photo by Mindy Babitz

If we name him after a monkey, will his mom get confused? Photo by Mindy Babitz

What’s your vote? Photo by Jen Zoon

He even eats cute. Photo by Jen Zoon

View of Xu Bing’s Phoneix models in transit. Photo by John Tsantes

When you go to the museum for a show, what you see is the final product: a painting, a photograph, an installation. But now at the Sackler, you can see the process behind the product in the new exhibit “Nine Deaths, Two Births: Xu Bing’s Phoenix Project.” The exhibit explores the two-year effort to complete Chinese contemporary artist Xu Bing’s “Phoenix Project” and offers a look into the ways both creation and destruction can be part of the artistic process.

Now on view at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the final product, two giant phoenix sculptures, were originally commissioned in 2008 and intended for a building in the heart of Beijing’s central business district. But after delays for the Olympics, a global financial crisis and funding issues, the installation found different sponsors and a new home. At 12 tons and nearly 100 feet in length, the sculptures need lots of space. Mass MoCA had the room and desire to display it and the Sackler decided to offer its companion exhibit having worked with Xu in 2001 for his show “Word Play,” when it also acquired the iconic  ”Monkeys Grasping For the Moon” sculpture.

A gold and pearl hair ornament shows the long tradition of the phoenix motif in Chinese culture. China, Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Sackler

The phoenixes reference the traditional Chinese motif but rendered from construction site materials, take on a new and modern meaning in the saga of China’s economic development. “My two phoenixes are quite different,” says Xu. While traditional lacquers, paintings and even hair ornaments from China (some of which are on view as part of the exhibition) draw on the mythical bird as a symbol of wealth, nobility and peace, Xu’s industrial installation is in tension with these qualities.

When Xu went to the site where his sculptures were originally going to be and saw the construction of the new building in Beijing, he says he came in contact with the conditions of the workers there. He saw before him the face of Chinese development–its soaring architectural business buildings–and the hands–the laborers who did not seem to reap the benefits of the country’s boom. “The contrast was the inspiration,” he says.

Because of the scale of his project, he had to rely on the same labor. He relied on their know-how and expertise when designing and modifying his work. He also spoke with engineers and architects to help design the massive birds.

Preparatory ink drawing of Xu Bing’s Phoenix Project. Xu Bing, courtesy of the Sackler

Preparatory drawing of Xu Bing’s Phoenix Project. Xu Bing, courtesy of the Sackler

But, in the lead up the Olympics, he, along with everyone else engaged in construction, was ordered to stop. The government wanted to ensure pristine air quality for the international games so as not to draw any criticism. It’s an irony not lost on Xu, who included official government notices in the exhibit at the Sackler. After the financial crisis, he then had to find alternative funding and ended up turning to Taiwanese-based businessman, Barry Lam, founder of Quanta Computer.

Citing the many ups and downs of the artistic process, curator Carol Huh says, “What we’ve tried to do here for the first time is really show the process.” Sketches, clay models, computer-generated renderings as well as a special documentary about the works comprise the exhibit. The title, nine deaths and two births, refers to the many challenges he faced and the two children born to his staff during the process, a symbol of the phoenix-like quality of artistic creation.

On view at Mass MoCA until November, the phoenixes will head next to New York City’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

“Nine Deaths, Two Births: Xu Bing’s Phoenix Project” is on view through September 1, 2013.

Kota Ezawa recreates famous moments in history and pop culture with basic animation software. He is visiting the Hirshhorn on Thursday to talk about his art. Photo by Independent Curators International, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons

Tuesday, April 30: Did an Emperor Kick-Start the Renaissance?

Most of the art of Emperor Frederick II’s court was destroyed after his death, but there is evidence that the Roman ruler, who directed his artists to recreate the splendor of ancient Rome, sparked the Renaissance during his reign in the 13th century. This evening, art historian Louisa Woodville, a teacher at George Mason University, juxtaposes the surviving works of Frederick’s court with those of the proto-Renaissance to make the case for the emperor’s influence. Tickets $25, with member discounts. 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Ripley Center.

Wednesday, May 1: Hands-On Family Craft Activities

Most Wednesdays and Saturdays this Summer, the American Indian Museum is offering a hands-on experience of Native culture. Stop by the museum this afternoon to learn how to make a Native craft that you can take home with you. Free. 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Wednesday and Saturdays through August. American Indian Museum.

Thursday, May 2: Meet Artist Kota Ezawa

Japanese-German artist Kota Ezawa recreates famous moments in television, film and art history with rudimentary digital drawing and animation software. Frame by frame, he has covered the Kennedy assassination and O.J. Simposon’s trial to clips from popular movies. This evening, the artist discusses the method behind his approach with a talk on “A History of ‘Poor Animation.’ ” Free. 7 p.m. Hirshhorn Museum.

Also, check out our Visitors Guide App. Get the most out of your trip to Washington, D.C. and the National Mall with this selection of custom-built tours, based on your available time and passions. From the editors of Smithsonian magazine, the app is packed with handy navigational tools, maps, museum floor plans and museum information including ‘Greatest Hits’ for each Smithsonian museum.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.

Leah Evans titled this work “Soil Survey.” All images courtesy of the artist

Though she doesn’t consciously start with a place in mind, Leah Evans says her textile wall hangings often end up becoming their own kind of geography. Taking the aesthetic of soil surveys, agricultural plots and maritime maps, Evans creates colorful abstractions of familiar forms, some of which are up for sale at the annual Smithsonian Craft Show through April 28. These zoomed out views offer serene meditations. Evans also takes the close-view in her work, echoing microscopic imaging. The two perspectives, from landscapes to cells, share a certain symmetry. At its core, our world is built up of color and line. To create her works, Evans uses a Kenmore sewing machine, chalk, needles, rulers, compass, staple gun, and scissors, as well as synthetic dyeing, needle-felting and hand printing.

“Lost Boat” by Leah Evans.

A somewhat fantastical but true tale informs this piece, titled “Lost Boat.” While visiting the Steamboat Arabia Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Evans learned about the strange fate of the pre-Civil War steamboat, the Arabia. Lost for 132 years after sinking in the Missouri River, the boat was finally found far about a half-mile inland. Over the years, the river’s course had meandered from its previous location. (The Army Corps. of Engineers has since “set” the river so it can’t wander as it once did.) Evans included an outline of the boat in the upper right corner. She says, “I used pieced materials to show fields and top stitched binding to show present and past outlines of the river, including the current “set” boundary to explore how humans both shape their environment and are shaped by it.”

“Green Satellite” by Leah Evans.

The patchwork look of this work, “Green Satellite,” is borrowed from satellite imagery of irrigated farmland. Evans used repurposed fabrics, including upholstery and vintage kimonos for a unique palette.

“Crossing Over” by Leah Evans.

Unlike many of her pieces, this work is an actual map of a specific location: Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Evans says it was inspired by J.R. Moehringer’s Pulitzer-Prize winning article, “Crossing Over,” which includes the passage:

It won’t look all that dramatic, just a new ferry taking a 63-year-old great-grandmother and her cousins across a Coca-Cola-colored river. But in this damp cellar of the Deep South, where the river has separated blacks and whites for 180 years, where even the living and the dead are less divided than the black and white towns camped on opposite shores, a new ferry will be like the river itself: more than it looks.

The area’s history lies in a community of freed slaves who managed to make a thriving life for themselves despite marginalization. They also created a legacy of master quiltmakers. Evans says, “The pieced sections of land reference the strip quilting of the women and property divisions common to the South. . . .The place names are those of existing cemeteries and the dotted lines represent the passage between the graves and the river.”

“Cranberry Farm” by Leah Evans.

The pink stain of this piece, “Cranberry Farm,” references the fruit that inspired it. Evans’ home state of Wisconsin also hosts many cranberry farms and even the Cranberry Highway which drives right through the heart of cranberry country.

Evans says people often ask her about the places she represents. But most aren’t based on anywhere in particular. ”For me they are intimate explorations of map language and imagined landscapes. Through my research and experience, I have decided that maps create more questions than they answer.”

The Smithsonian Craftshow is on view April 25-28, 2013 at the National Building Museum and all of the proceeds benefit the Smithsonian Institution.