‘Watching Oprah’: A Year Long Exhibition Opens At NMAAHC

To say The Oprah Winfrey Show was a big part of American culture in the years it was on air is an understatement. The mega successful talk show run for 25 years and became a global sensation, making Oprah Winfrey one of the most influential and wealthiest people in the world.

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is now debuting ‘Watching Oprah’, a year long exhibition dedicated to The Oprah Winfrey Show. The exhibition will have over 240 objects and artifacts in five sections. Some of the items have been in display since the museum’s opening in 2016, but the curators felt it was necessary to expand on it and dedicated an exclusive exhibition.

“These shows were an amazing snapshot of the issues that America faced- or in some cases, refused to face,” said Lonnie Bunch III, director of the NMAAHC.

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The various sections of the exhibition include the making of the show along with a re-created set,  Oprah’s favorite things, and some of Oprah’s clothing are also in display. Explaining why Oprah’s appeal has left a lasting legacy, Bunch said, “She knows her audience and cares about her audience. There’s a sense that she is never going through the motion.” 

The exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture will be on view until June 2019.