Cooper-Hewitt Announces Fourth Annual National Design Week
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will host its fourth annual National Design Week from Oct. 18 through Oct. 24. The museum will offer free museum admission, sponsored by Target, along with a series of public programs and a range of online resources for students, teachers, design professionals and the general public to celebrate the important role that design plays in all aspects of daily life.
National Design Week is held in conjunction with Cooper-Hewitt's most visible public education program, the National Design Awards. Now in its tenth year, the Awards recognize the best in American design across a range of disciplines. The winners will be honored at an Oct. 22 gala at Cipriani in New York.
Public programs include:
Teen Design Fair, 4:00–7:00 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19
New York City high school students are invited to learn about careers in design. The Teen Design Fair brings leading designers working in the fields of fashion, industrial, multimedia, graphic design and architecture, to meet one-on-one with students. Design colleges from around the country will also be on hand to provide admissions and scholarship information. FREE. Held at the New York Times Center (242 West 41st Street, between 7th and 8th Avenue, New York)
The Business of Design, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20
Business leaders discuss how design impacts their overall strategy and affects their bottom line. Moderated by Daniel Pink. FREE. Held at the New York Times Center (242 West 41st Street, between 7th and 8th Avenue, New York)
Winners’ Panel, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20
National Design Award winners participate in a panel discussion about the state of contemporary design in America. FREE. Held at the New York Times Center (242 West 41st Street, between 7th and 8th Avenue, New York)
“Objectified,” film screenings at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 21
Featuring many of the designers in “Design USA,” “Objectified” is a feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. FREE. Held at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (2 East 91st Street, New York)
People’s Design Award, online voting Sept. 21–Oct. 20
Whether an everyday object, a design classic or an architectural landmark, Cooper-Hewitt invites the public to express their views on what constitutes good design as part of the 2009 National Design Awards program. Design enthusiasts can submit nominations, participate in a discussion board and select their favorite designs by logging into www.cooperhewitt.org.
The winner will be announced Oct. 22 at the National Design Awards Gala in New York City, which will be streamed live on Cooper-Hewitt's Web site at 10:00 p.m. EST. Marianne Cusato, designer of the Katrina Cottage, was selected as the first People's Design Award winner in 2006; TOMS Shoes, a company that gives a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold, won in 2007; and the Zõn Hearing Aid took home the award in 2008.
In preparation for National Design Week, Cooper-Hewitt will host an Educator Open House from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 25. The museum’s Education team will share information about the online Educator Resource Center, K-12 school field-trips, Design Directions programs for high school students and professional development opportunities. The online Educator Resource Center features design focused lesson plans and discussion boards for K-12 educators interested in incorporating design in their classrooms. The site now includes more than 250 lesson plans aligned to national standards for all grade levels and helps teachers of all subjects, including mathematics, science, language arts and history, as well as art, learn ways to promote innovation, critical thinking, visual literacy and problem-solving across the curriculum.
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.
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