Press Room

Members of the press can view information for museum news and events and access the press release archive.
Press materials, including high-resolution images for publication, are available through the password-protected Press Images and Resource Gallery.
Ashley Tickle
Director of Communications & Marketing
Laurie Bohlk
Associate Director of Communications & Marketing
Contact information for media only:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Department of Communications & Marketing
2 East 91st Street
New York, NY 10128-0669
Telephone: 212-849-8420
Email: CooperHewittPress@si.edu
February 15, 2022
Nigerian British designer Duro Olowu will guest curate the 20th installment in Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s “Selects” exhibition series, which invites designers, writers and cultural figures to explore and interpret objects in the museum’s permanent collection. On view March 18 to Aug. 28, Olowu’s exhibition highlights the theme of pattern and repetition throughout the collection, demonstrating how designers, artists and makers have relied on pattern to express ideas, preserve heritage, capture attention and construct objects and environments.
February 8, 2022
Maria Nicanor, executive director of the Rice Design Alliance (RDA) at Rice University’s School of Architecture in Houston, has been named the director of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, effective March 21. An architecture and design curator and historian, Nicanor has an established career in museum and curatorial work and brings a rich background in architecture and design to the role.
November 9, 2021
This December, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present “Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemics,” an exhibition examining design’s role in times of crisis. Organized during the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, the exhibition will feature the work of communities and individuals who came together to aid each other, push for change and create new spaces, objects and services. Architectural case studies and historical narratives will appear alongside creative responses to current pandemics.
October 28, 2021
This fall, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present Mud Frontier: Architecture at the Borderlands, a feature-length documentary about Studio Rael San Fratello’s work to connect contemporary technology with the legacy of pottery making and adobe architecture in the Southwest United States. The 60-minute film will be made available to the public to watch free of charge during its premiere Nov. 17 at the virtual Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF). A virtual panel discussion and Q&A session with the filmmakers and studio founders will be held immediately following the premiere, co-hosted by Cooper Hewitt, ADFF and Smithsonian Affiliations.
September 1, 2021
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum today announced the winners of the 2021 National Design Awards. The 22nd class of winners were honored for design innovation and impact in nine categories. In October, National Design Month programming will highlight the work of the winners and celebrate the power of design in the everyday world.
August 11, 2021
This September, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present the largest-ever exhibition of works by E. McKnight Kauffer (American, 1890–1954), a pioneer of commercial art—the profession known today as graphic design. On view Sept. 10 through April 10, 2022, “Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer” will feature some 200 objects to examine the designer’s impact and legacy across media.
Featured Image: Installation view of "How Posters Work." Photo by Matt Flynn.