This week, a group of 10 museum professionals from Brazil visited Washington, D.C., as part of the Department of State’s Afro-Connections program. This visit is a segment of a two-year exchange initiative aimed at enhancing collaboration and understanding between the United States and Brazil while promoting cultural institutions that highlight the history and culture of African-descendant communities.
During their visit, participants attended the launch event for a new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture titled "In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World." This exhibition delves into the histories and legacies of slavery, colonialism, and international freedom struggles. The Afro-Connections program is implemented by the museum alongside the Smithsonian’s Office of Global Affairs, in partnership with U.S. Mission Brazil and the Cultural Heritage Center within the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The program serves as an opportunity to uphold a mutual commitment to preserving both tangible and intangible cultural heritage across both countries' diverse societies. It aims to empower participants to create new institutions or enhance existing ones to better protect, curate, and exhibit Afro-Brazilian history and culture.
Afro-Connections was announced in May 2024 by Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie G. Bunch III along with U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Elizabeth Frawley Bagley at Brazil’s National Archive in Rio de Janeiro. The initiative forms part of the Cultural Heritage Center’s Heritage Exchange Initiatives, which aim to engage cultural heritage professionals globally on pressing heritage issues through exchange programs.
