Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will reopen its doors to the public Thursday, June 10, with member preview days Sunday, June 6, and Monday, June 7. All visitors will enjoy free admission, made possible by support from the museum’s board of trustees, through Oct. 31.
The museum will reopen with timed-entry ticketing and new health-and-safety procedures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A full list of the Smithsonian’s health-and-safety measures can be found at www.si.edu/visit.
Cooper Hewitt will be open Thursday through Monday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The SHOP, Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden and Tarallucci e Vino cafe will remain closed until further notice. All entry to the museum will be via the main entrance at 2 East 91st St. For more information about Cooper Hewitt’s reopening plans or to reserve timed-entry tickets, please visit www.cooperhewitt.org.
“We are delighted to welcome back visitors to Cooper Hewitt, as New York City’s renewal and revival continues,” said Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar, interim director of the museum. “The museum is deeply grateful to everyone on the board of trustees for their unparalleled leadership and support in making free admission possible. Thanks to their generosity, Cooper Hewitt’s doors are open for everyone to experience the power of design, including the much-anticipated ‘Willi Smith: Street Couture’ and the groundbreaking ‘Contemporary Muslim Fashions’ exhibitions.”
EXHIBITIONS
Cooper Hewitt also today announced the extension of two major exhibitions. “Willi Smith: Street Couture,” which briefly opened to the public March 13, 2020, before the museum’s temporary closure began, will be extended through Oct. 24. It is the first exhibition to acknowledge late designer Willi Smith’s role as a fashion visionary and creative catalyst. “Contemporary Muslim Fashions,” organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, explores the rise of the modest fashion industry and will now be on view through July 11.
Cooper Hewitt will present a series of new exhibitions on the second floor, including “Suzie Zuzek for Lilly Pulitzer: The Prints That Made the Fashion Brand,” which will celebrate the prolific textile designer Suzie Zuzek and reveal her contribution to the iconic Pulitzer style between 1962 and 1985 (on view June 10 through Jan. 2, 2022). “The Modernist French Garden: Designs by the Vera Brothers” will show over 20 of the brothers’ striking Art Deco drawings for gardens, which paired a modern geometric order with elements of prized 17th-century landscape traditions (on view June 10 through Jan. 2, 2022).
This summer, the museum will present “Jon Gray of Ghetto Gastro Selects,” the 19th installation in the exhibition series that invites designers, artists, architects and public figures to explore and interpret Cooper Hewitt’s collection of more than 215,000 objects. The exhibition will be on view from July 1 to Feb. 13, 2022, in the Nancy and Edwin Marks Gallery.
INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE
To ensure the health and safety of visitors and staff, digital touch screens and hands-on interactive galleries, including the Immersion Room and Process Lab, will remain closed. The Pen, which Cooper Hewitt launched in 2015 as part of a pioneering interactive visitor experience supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, will be out of circulation.
PROGRAMMING
As a precautionary measure, all on-site docent-led public tours and events are suspended until further notice. Cooper Hewitt has increased its digital offerings and virtual programs for all ages and skill levels, including the growing Smithsonian Learning Lab collection, which provides teaching tools for educators and caregivers; the Design at Home video series, which creates opportunities to engage in hands-on design activities; the Willi Smith Community Archive, powered by Cargo, continues to expand with new recollections and images contributed by friends and collaborators of the late fashion designer; and the Collections Search Engine, which has been enhanced so that users anywhere can explore Cooper Hewitt’s collection of over 215,000 design objects spanning 30 centuries. For the 2020–2021 school year, Cooper Hewitt offered free virtual Design Field Trips for K–12 students across the country and partnered with various community organizations to distribute educational resources that do not require an internet connection, such as the Design at Home Activity Book. This summer, Cooper Hewitt will present the Design Camp at Home program, offered free of charge for children ages 7 to 13.
SUPPORTERS
Free admission to Cooper Hewitt is made possible by generous support from the board of trustees.
“Willi Smith: Street Couture” is made possible by principal support from Target. Major support is provided by Gucci. Additional support is provided by the Ehrenkranz Fund and Edward and Helen Hintz. Funding is also provided by The Coby Foundation, Ltd., the Esme Usdan Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Keith Haring Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the Cooper Hewitt Master’s Program Fund.
“Contemporary Muslim Fashions” is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The Cooper Hewitt presentation of “Contemporary Muslim Fashions” is made possible by support from the August Heckscher Exhibition Fund. Additional support is provided by the Barbara and Morton Mandel Design Gallery Endowment Fund and Edward and Helen Hintz. Funding is also provided by the Cooper Hewitt Master’s Program Fund.
“Jon Gray of Ghetto Gastro Selects” is made possible with support from Crystal and Chris Sacca and the Marks Family Foundation Endowment Fund.
Design Field Trips are made possible with major support from Siegel Family Endowment. Generous support is also provided by The Hirsch Family Foundation. Additional funding is provided by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Design Camp at Home is made possible with major support from Siegel Family Endowment. Generous support is also provided by The Hirsch Family Foundation. Additional funding is provided by Great Circle Foundation and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
ABOUT COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM
Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs, master’s program, publications and online resources inspire, educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education and research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the historic, landmark Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over 215,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup dating to about 1100 BC to contemporary 3D-printed objects and digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of design and its power to change the world. Cooper Hewitt knits digital into experiences to enhance ideas, extend reach beyond museum walls and enable greater access, personalization, experimentation and connection.
For more information, visit www.cooperhewitt.org or follow @cooperhewitt on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
#
Note to media: Film crews and reporters must contact the museum’s press office to arrange on-site access.