Water Spirits in the Smithsonian Museums

Today I visited an exhibition on African water spirits at the National African Museum, part of the Smithosonian family of museums. I loved both the architecture of the museum, the ornamental outdoor gardens as well as the quality of the exhibition and the docents leading those exhibitions. It was a truly and deeply immersive four hours in the museums. Save of the museums in Paris like the Louve and the Rodin museum, for some reason museums never really moved me. I prefer performing arts to static visual arts. But at the Smithsonian today architecture, design, scale, color and harmony all came together in a beautiful way that stimulated as well as calmed the senses simultaneously. It reminded me alot of the Parisian museums where art is a holistic offering - where there are beautiful chairs in nooks and corners for one to sit and contemplate the art. There is a deep tranquility in the gardens and the many wooden benches and sculptures under the big shaded trees. I also visited the Arthur Sackler Museum and the Freerr Museum. What I really appreciated were the high ceilings, the beautiful lighting of the exhibitions and the supremely enthusiastic staff of the Smithosonian. They loved their museum and their enthusiasm was infectious.