Press Room

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum today announced the appointment of Alan Dye to its board of trustees.

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum today, Feb. 8, announced the next Smithsonian Design Triennial, set to open in fall 2024, will be organized by Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, curator of contemporary design and Hintz Secretarial Scholar at Cooper Hewitt; Christina L. De León, associate curator of Latino design at Cooper Hewitt; and Michelle Joan Wilkinson, curator of architecture and design at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Focused on diverse contemporary perspectives on home, “Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial” marks the first time curators from two Smithsonian museums will collaborate on this flagship exhibition series.

This summer, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present the first monographic exhibition in more than 50 years on designer and weaver Dorothy Liebes (1897–1972). Among the most influential designers of the 20th century, Liebes shaped American tastes in areas from interiors and transportation to industrial design, fashion and film. On view July 7 through Feb. 4, 2024, “A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes” will feature more than 125 works, including textiles, textile samples, fashion, furniture, documents and photographs.

From the stop sign to the laugh-cry emoji, symbols play a critical and ubiquitous role in everyday life. A forthcoming exhibition at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, “Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols,” will examine the fascinating histories behind many of the symbols that instruct, protect, entertain, empower and connect people. Presented in the Design Process Galleries on the museum’s first floor, the exhibition will be on view May 13, 2023, through Sept. 2, 2024.

Furniture, metalwork, ceramics, drawings and photographs will transform the second floor of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum into early 20th century Paris in two parallel and complementary exhibitions, “Hector Guimard: How Paris Got Its Curves,” opening Nov. 18, and “Deconstructing Power: W. E. B. Du Bois at the 1900 World’s Fair,” opening Dec. 9.

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum today announced the 23rd class of National Design Award winners, honored for design innovation and impact in nine categories. Established in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards bring national recognition to the ways in which design enriches everyday life. Winners are selected by a multidisciplinary jury of practitioners, educators and leaders from a wide range of design fields.