The S. Dillon Ripley Center, better known simply as the Ripley Center, is one of the buildings of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and 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 ...

series of

museums A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

located in the National Mall in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The above-ground portion is only a small

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

, and it descends into a larger underground portion. The Ripley Center houses the International Gallery, The Smithsonian Associates, and the offices of the Smithsonian Contributing Membership. It contains a conference center, an art gallery, and meeting/class rooms as well as exhibition space. It connects underground to the

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery is an art museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., focusing on Asian art. The Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art together form the National Museum of Asian Art in the United States. Th ...

, the

National Museum of African Art The National Museum of African Art is the Smithsonian Institution's African art museum, located on the National Mall of the United States capital. Its collections include 9,000 works of traditional and contemporary African art from both Sub-S ...

, and the Freer Gallery of Art. Ripley Center interior

The Smithsonian Associates was formed in 1992 from combining the Resident Associates Program with the Smithsonian National Associate Program. The Smithsonian Associates was established as the cultural, educational, and membership division of the

. These membership and educational programs include the Young Benefactors, Smithsonian Sleepovers, Resident Associates Program, Discovery Theatre, Regional Events, and the Art Collectors Program. The Art Collectors Program is devoted to the creation and appreciation of contemporary American limited-edition art and to creating a context for collecting and a forum for artists to discuss their work. The Program sells Smithsonian-commissioned contemporary fine art prints and posters by acclaimed American artists like Sam Gilliam and April Gornik. Its limited-edition prints are numbered and signed and come with a Certificate of Authenticity from the Smithsonian.http://www.ArtCollectorsProgram.org The Art Collectors Program

References

External links

* Art museums and galleries in Washington, D.C. National Mall Smithsonian Institution Southwest Federal Center {{Smithsonian-stub