Press Room

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.

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.

The Interaction Lab at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum has announced the launch of seven prototypes commissioned under the Activating Smithsonian Open Access program. The selected teams each received $10,000 to create new digital interactions and innovative tools that enable play and discovery with 2D and 3D digitized assets from the Smithsonian’s Open Access collections. The teams retain ownership of the intellectual property developed from the program.

Jon Gray will guest curate the next exhibition in Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s acclaimed “Selects” series. As cofounder of the creative collective and cooking advocacy group Ghetto Gastro, Gray works at the intersection of food, culture and the Bronx experience. Celebrated for his collaborative spirit, Gray extends his creative vision to projects ranging from...

“Fashion, Culture, Futures: African American Ingenuity, Activism, and Storytelling” is a two-part symposium co-organized by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Presented virtually Thursday, June 17, and Thursday, Oct. 21, both programs will bring together academics, designers, critics, models, artists, activists and others to share new perspectives on the relationship between fashion and the African American experience.

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...