National Gallery of Art's Video Strategy Brings Elizabeth Catlett Exhibition to Life

In March 2025, the National Gallery of Art (NGA) launched a traveling retrospective of Elizabeth Catlett in Washington, D.C., supported by a multi-platform video initiative. This project was showcased at the Museum Digital Summit 2026 by a team including Sarah Turner, Chad Lawrence, Adam Enatsky, Karla Carnewal Torallas, and Amelia Mylvaganam. It focused on an intergenerational story featuring Baltimore artist LaToya Hobbs, who crafted a linocut portrait of Naima Mora, Catlett's granddaughter, echoing Catlett's earlier teenage sculpture of Mora. The team documented Hobbs's two-month printmaking process through high-resolution time-lapse and a short film, filmed in various locations including Hobbs's studio in Baltimore and Catlett's workspace in Cuernavaca. Notable interviews included Ana Iturbe, Armando Huerta, Sylvia Tinoco, and Juan Mora, Catlett's son. The exhibition displayed the final print, Dahlias for Naima, along with the videos, which collectively garnered around 300,000 views, with significant engagement from Hobbs and Mora on their platforms. The NGA's previous Like a Great series featuring Antonio Canova achieved over three million views, highlighting the importance of collaboration and institutional partnerships with MICA in showcasing the artistic process.