Es Devlin is an artist and stage designer whose multidisciplinary work spans theater, opera, sculpture, dance, arena concerts, and installations. Devlin’s art brings people together—whether in an intimate theatrical setting or a vast stadium venue—to form what she calls temporary societies, united through the experiences she creates. Join Devlin and contemporary design curator Andrea Lipps as they discuss how together they developed Devlin’s first monographic exhibition, An Atlas of Es Devlin, for Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum alongside its accompanying publication, published with Thames & Hudson.
Join us as we go behind the scenes with the firm nARCHITECTS, winner of the 2023 National Design Award for Architecture. nARCHITECTS was founded by Eric Bunge and Mimi Hoang in 1999, with the goal of addressing urgent issues through socially engaging architecture. The firm works for the public good, maximizing the mutual positive impact between communities, buildings, public spaces, and their environment.
What does it look like when disabled people are viewed not as edge cases or afterthoughts in the design process, but as the default users? What happens when, instead of flattening disability into an indistinguishable group of “all abilities,” we understand and design for the unique and varied experiences of disabled people? How can we prioritize, honor, and celebrate disability in our design practice? Join our panelists in conversation to answer these questions about designing FOR and WITH disability.
How has communication design evolved over the course of two centuries? Join 2023 National Design Award Winners—Seymour Chwast, Design Visionary; Arem Duplessis, Communication Design; and Beatriz Lozano, Emerging Designer—in a conversation about how changes in communication design have shaped their work, as well as where they see the future of the field. Conversation moderated by Ellen Lupton, Curator Emerita, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Introduce the child in your life to beloved retro toys. Take a whirl with a Spirograph, add to an urban neighborhood made of Legos, and design a new outfit with fashion plates. Contribute your creative designs to our community wall. Fun for the whole family!
Winner of the 2023 National Design Award for Landscape Architecture, Kongjian Yu is a globally recognized landscape designer, founder of Turenscape, and a founder of Peking University College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Several of Yu’s core ideas for nature-based climate adaptations, including the sponge city concept, have been implemented nationwide in China. In this illustrated talk, Yu will discuss his work and how his landscape architecture methods and ideas can help mitigate climate events such as flash floods, superstorms, and tidal surges.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is housed in the former home of industrial magnate Andrew Carnegie. The 64-room mansion, built from 1899 to 1902, is an impressive testament to the desire of Carnegie and his wife, Louise Whitfield Carnegie, to build a spacious, comfortable, and light-filled home in which to raise their daughter, Margaret. The mansion, designed in the Georgian style with Beaux Arts accents, was groundbreaking in its uptown location, technological features, and steel-frame construction. Join us on this tour exploring the Carnegie Mansion, its history, and highlights of the art and design still found within.
Thinking about a creative career and wondering where to start? Join us for the Design Career Fair at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum! This annual event welcomes high school students to speak with National Design Award winners, guest designers, and colleges on the many pathways toward design. Designers from every discipline, including fashion, architecture, product design, graphic design, UX, and more, will be available to discuss everything from mentorship and college to the future of the field.
In conjunction with the current exhibition A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, please join a contemporary textile designer and weaver who is equally acclaimed for her experimental approach to materials: Suzanne Tick. In an illustrated conversation with Susan Brown, Cooper Hewitt’s Acting Head of Textiles and co-curator of the exhibition, the program will consider Tick's designs, how she has helped build sustainability into the contract textile industry, and how her handweaving practice intersects with her commercial designs.
