With video gaming inescapably in the mainstream even more these days, they’re finally being recognized for their artistic merit on a few key fronts. From March 16 to September 30, 2012, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will host The Art of Video Games which will be comprised of a large selection of game artwork and along with a number of playable games. In addition, a number of other game-related events such as as panel discussions, concerts featuring music from game soundtracks and more are in the works. In addition, the show plans to hit the road and head into other US cities after September (see that link above for more details). I do wish t was headed into NYC rather than Yonkers, though. Nothing against the town, mind you (it’s quite lovely up there, last time I checked), but the Big Apple NEEDS to see that killing off every single one of its video game arcades was a terrible idea…

A complete list of what’s in the exhibit can be found HERE. You can also sign up to get more info about the show or other Smithsonian event using that link above or by going HERE. Kids, now you can drag your parents in and get them hooked all in the name of education. Given some of the titles chosen, I can see a lot of folks coming away with a new found respect for the medium…