Pinback button for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A pink pinback button for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Company. Throughout the button there is a black ink depiction of the silhouette of a dancer and text that reads [Ailey Lives!]. The exterior edge of the button has the manufacturer's information printed in black ink. The back of the button has a metal pin with a clasp.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1989
• Manufactured by: N.G. Slater Corporation, American, founded 1936
• Subject of: Alvin Ailey, American, 1931 - 1989
• Subject of: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American, founded 1958
• Type: buttons (information artifacts)
• Medium: ink on paper with metal and plastic
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 1 3/4 × 1 3/4 × 3/16 in. (4.4 × 4.4 × 0.5 cm)
• Place depicted: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Modern dance
• Object number: 2013.68.45
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of T. Rasul Murray
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.