Americas and Caribbean

The University of Westminster and the Smithsonian Institution share a historic commitment to widening public access to knowledge and culture. The University of Westminster, founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution (the first Polytechnic in the UK), has a rich history rooted in the philosophy of providing accessible and practical education to a diverse urban population. 

The Smithsonian Institution, founded in 1846, also embodies a philosophy centred on the diffusion of knowledge and the advancement of science and culture. Its founders, inspired by James Smithson's bequest, sought to create an institution "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." This vision underscores the Smithsonian's commitment to public access and education. 

In and after the late 1980s, these shared values and concerns produced a unique transatlantic dialogue between key Smithsonian institutions and the University of Westminster, in London. Taking shape through the Westminster-Smithsonian Colloquium, that dialogue has resulted in an extensive global programme of collaborative events and initiatives delivered in London and Washington DC. These include scholarly visits, public programmes, student and schools workshops, and research projects, all intended to foster and further the exchange of ideas between the Smithsonian, the University of Westminster, and other London educational and cultural institutions.

Areas of common interest core to the ongoing transnational relationship include invention and innovation, the social and cultural impact of science and technology, environmental issues, processes of globalisation, diversity and inclusion, social justice, history and identity, and education. More than 60 programmes, projects, and events have been delivered through the Smithsonian-Westminster partnership, including:

• 1988: ‘The Early History of Flight: Sir George Cayley to the Wright Brothers’. An exhibition to mark the 150th anniversary celebrations of the founding of Sir George Cayley’s Royal Polytechnic Institution at 309, Regent Street. Opened by the Duke of Kent, the exhibition was held at Regent Street, Westminster Hall (Houses of Parliament) and the RAF Museum, Hendon. The exhibition was researched and curated in association with the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum.
• 2000: A tripartite ‘Eco-Cities’ research and teaching and public engagement project between the Smithsonian, the University of Westminster, and Johns Hopkins University.
• 2003: ‘Nobel Conversations’, a celebration of the centenary of the Nobel Prize programme
• 2006: ‘Race, Museums and National Identity’, a public conversation at Regent Street between Dr Lonnie Bunch, Founding Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Mike Phillips, author and broadcaster, and Curator for Cross-Cultural Programmes, Tate Britain.
• 2015: A visit by the Mayor of London and delegates from London Universities, including a University of Westminster team, to New York and Washington. This incorporated visits to the National Museum of American History, the Lemelson Center, the National Air & Space Museum, and the offices of the future National Museum of African American History and Culture.
• 2017: University of Westminster students interns placed within Spark!Lab, Lemelson Centre in the National Museum of American history. Such visits continued annually with student placements and staff visits until the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the programme. 
• 2018-23: A visit to Washington DC by Westminster students and staff, led by Westminster’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global Engagement), as part of the Westminster Working Cultures educational initiative. Such visits have continued annually and have involved ongoing interaction with Smithsonian institutions and colleagues. 
• 2019: A visiting fellowship for Dr Lucy Bond at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, resulting in a co-organised panel at the 2020 Royal Anthropological Institute’s annual conference with Dr Aaron Bryant (NMAAHC). The panel was entitled "Reveal and Resist!: Race, the Environment, and Material Culture in the Anthropocene" and featured speakers from the Victoria and Albert Museum and King’s College London in addition to Bond and Bryant. 
• 2021-22: A Fulbright Smithsonian Scholar award to Dr Alison Eardley (University of Westminster School of Social Sciences), resulting in a 3-month research collaboration at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, with museum director Dr Melanie Adams.
• 2022-23: An NEH-AHRC funded research partnership, enabling Alison Eardley to work with the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and Access Smithsonian. The collaboration culminated in three symposiums held in the UK (University of Westminster, March 2023), the US (Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, April 2023), and online (June 2023).
• 2022-23: A coedited book project entitled ‘The Museum Accessibility Spectrum: Moving from Access to Inclusion’. Published by Routledge (expected 2024) and aimed at museum practitioners and researchers, the book is edited by Alison Eardley (University of Westminster) and Vanessa Jones (Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery), with a foreword by Beth Ziebarth (Head Diversity Officer of the Smithsonian and Director of Access Smithsonian).
• 2023-2024: AHRC 'Follow-on funding for Impact and Engagement' grant entitled ‘Developing W-ICAD as a means of enhancing equity, diversity and inclusion within museum digital audio interpretation’. The project team are Alison Eardley (PI), Vanessa Jones, Deborah Husbands (University of Westminster), and Hannah Thompson (Royal Holloway, University of London). Project partners include Access Smithsonian, the Science Museum Group, the Natural History Museum, the Imperial War Museum Duxford, and National Museums Liverpool. 

The University of Westminster has engaged closely with the following Smithsonian institutions over many years

• Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History
• National Air and Space Museum
• National Museum of African American History and Culture

and has forged new connections not only with these institutions but with the Anacostia Community Museum, with the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, 

and with Access Smithsonian. These existing and recent connections have scope to grow even further in the future. To enable a new era in the longstanding relationship between the University and the Smithsonian, Westminster recently received funding from the  Quintin Hogg Trust. The funding presents an exciting opportunity to expand the Smithsonian-Westminster partnership, building wider engagements based on shared institutional priorities. Identified in discussion with Smithsonian colleagues in 2022 and 2023, these include but are not limited to:

• The Digital Environment 
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Education
• Environmentalism and Sustainability
• Creativity, Innovation, and Identity

Projects supported by the funding may be research-based, but should include:

• A public engagement element;
• A student experience element

They may take a variety of forms, from ongoing, mutually beneficial interaction and learning to collaborative workshops and seminar and conference presentations, publication and public engagement activity, and the production of artefacts and resources born out of collaborative work and dialogue. It is anticipated that they will build on, sustain, and enhance existing work within Westminster and the Smithsonian.