10th Annual National Design Awards Celebration Includes Gala Ceremony, Free Public Programs and Special Exhibition
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will celebrate outstanding achievement in design this fall with its 10th annual National Design Awards program, which includes free museum admission to all visitors throughout National Design Week, sponsored by Target, Oct. 18-24; a gala dinner honoring the winners and finalists Oct. 22 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York; and a special exhibition commemorating winners honored during the first decade of the program.
First launched in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards were established to promote excellence and innovation in design. First Lady Michelle Obama serves as the Honorary Patron for this year’s National Design Awards.
Award winners are selected based on the level of excellence, innovation and public impact of their body of work. This year’s jury—a diverse group of former National Design Award winners convened by Cooper-Hewitt—reviewed the nominations and chose the following recipients: Bill Moggridge (Lifetime Achievement); Amory B. Lovins (Design Mind); Reynold Levy (Design Patron); Walker Art Center (Corporate and Institutional Achievement); SHoP Architects (Architecture Design); The New York Times Graphics Department (Communication Design); Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein Collection (Fashion Design); Perceptive Pixel Inc (Interaction Design); TsAO & McKOWN Architects (Interior Design); Hood Design (Landscape Design); and Boym Partners (Product Design).
“The future of this country is best served by the innovation and creativity that designers bring,” said John Maeda, chair of the 2009 National Design Awards jury and president of the Rhode Island School of Design. “This year’s winners and finalists affirm that good design positively impacts both our economy and our everyday lives.”
In addition to the juried awards, the museum gives the public an opportunity to nominate and vote for the People’s Design Award. From Sept. 21 through Oct. 20, the public can log onto www.cooperhewitt.org and express their views on what constitutes good design, whether an everyday object, a design classic or an architectural landmark. The Award winner will be announced Oct. 22 at the National Design Awards Gala.
National Design Week aims to promote a better understanding of the role that design plays in all aspects of daily life. A series of public programs celebrating design will be held, including the Teen Design Fair (Oct. 19), the Winners’ Panel (Oct. 20), and the Business of Design panel (Oct. 20). The museum will also provide a range of online educational resources to reach school teachers and their students nationally. Cooper-Hewitt’s Educator Resource Center (www.educatorresourcecenter.org) features more than 250 lesson plans aligned to national and state standards that demonstrate how the design process can enhance the teaching of all subjects and features discussion boards that provide a forum for educators to exchange ideas. In addition, the museum’s Web site now features the year-round “Design Across America” clickable map listing design-oriented events throughout the country.
A highlight of National Design Week will be the Awards ceremony and gala dinner. Held for the first time at Cipriani 42nd Street, the gala decor will be designed by David Stark. The chair of the gala is Richard Meier, and the vice chairs are Elizabeth and Lee Ainslie, Amita and Purnendu Chatterjee, Madeleine Rudin Johnson and W. Bruce Johnson, Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer, Lauren Zalaznick and Judy Francis Zankel.
In honor of the 10th anniversary of the Awards program, the museum will present the exhibition “Design USA: Contemporary Innovation,” which features the work of the more than 75 award winners for outstanding contemporary achievements in architecture, landscape design, interior design, product design, communication design, corporate design, interaction design and fashion. This is the first time that an exhibition has been devoted exclusively to the National Design Award winners. On view in the first-floor galleries from Oct. 16 through April 4, 2010, the opening coincides with National Design Week.
The National Design Awards and National Design Week are made possible by the generous sponsorship of Target.
About Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. Founded in 1897 by Amy, Eleanor, and Sarah Hewitt—granddaughters of industrialist Peter Cooper—as part of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the museum has been a branch of the Smithsonian since 1967. The museum presents compelling perspectives on the impact of design on daily life through active educational programs, exhibitions and publications.
About Target
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation serves guests at 1,719 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.
