IN CELEBRATION OF COOPER HEWITT’S 50th ANNIVERSARY

Every Wednesday, join us in the historic Carnegie Library for At the Hearth, a drop-in program held from 5:00-6:00 p.m. during the museum’s Pay What You Wish hour. Hosted by Cooper Hewitt curators, educators, conservators, and librarians, come sit by the fireplace for intimate conversations and fresh perspectives from makers, designers, thinkers, and writers deeply engaged in design.

During this At the Hearth, celebrate the museum’s 50th anniversary in the Carnegie Mansion with a look at a piece of our history. Drop in to take a closer view of designer Helena Hernmarck’s extraordinary tapestry titled Carnegie’s Dream and meet Susan Brown, Cooper Hewitt’s Associate Curator of Textiles, and Mae Colburn, a weaver and writer who works closely with Hernmarck. A warm welcome will be provided by Alexandra Hodkowski, Curator of Public Programs, and Michelle Millar Fisher, Chief Curator.

Held in Cooper Hewitt’s collection, the Carnegie’s Dream tapestry is part of the Embellishments Series, which Cooper Hewitt commissioned in 1978. The series prompted 150 painters, graphic artists, designers, and public personalities to make fanciful, colorful, and sometimes amusing modifications of a line drawing of the south facade of the Carnegie Mansion, home of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design, Museum.

HOSTs

Susan Brown is Associate Curator and Acting Head of Textiles at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, where she oversees a collection of more than 26,000 textiles produced over 2,300 years. She has curated or co-curated numerous exhibitions for Cooper Hewitt, including Extreme Textiles: Designing for High Performance (2005), Fashioning Felt (2009), Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay (2011), Scraps: Fashion, Textiles and Creative Reuse (2016), Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color (2018), Contemporary Muslim Fashions (2020), Suzie Zuzek for Lilly Pulitzer: The Prints that Made the Fashion Brand (2021), A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes (2023), Made In America: The Industrial Photography of Christopher Payne (2025), and Design Across Time: Exploring the Smithsonian’s Design Collection (2026). In addition to catalogues for those exhibitions, she has contributed to numerous other publications, including Alexander Girard: A Designer’s Universe and Ruth Adler Schnee: Modern Designs for Living. She has taught in the Masters’ Program in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies offered jointly by the museum and Parsons/The New School for Design, and lectures regularly for the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.

Mae Colburn is a weaver and writer and lead author of Helena Hernmarck’s in-progress catalogue raisonné. She has presented about Hernmarck’s tapestries at Yale University and the College Art Association Conference, and collaborated with the Catalogue Raisonné Scholars Association to organize a roundtable discussion on tapestry artists’ archives. Colburn’s writing, which focuses on textiles in art and fashion, has appeared in the long-running journal, Fashion Projects, and in catalogs for exhibitions at BRIC Arts Media and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. “Mesmerizing” was how Vogue described her Wool Skirts archive, which made its public debut at SUDESTADA in Brooklyn in October 2025. Photo by Evelyn Freja.

Accessibility & What to Expect:

Format: Visitors will have the chance to view the tapestry which will be on display on a table. The program offers standing room and chairs for those who would like to sit.
About the space: This program will take place in Cooper Hewitt’s Carnegie Library on the First floor of the museum. It is fully wheelchair accessible. There is an accessible restroom on the Ground floor. There is an accessible restroom on the Ground floor. Read more about accessibility at Cooper Hewitt.
Accommodations: For general questions, or if we can provide additional accessibility services or accommodations to support your participation in this program, please email us at CHEducation@si.edu. Please make your accommodation request as far in advance as possible—preferably at least one week before the program date when possible.