Opening Remarks by Smithsonian’s Acting Provost and Under Secretary for Museums and Research, Richard Kurin, and Cooper Hewitt’s Director, Caroline Baumann. Gala held in honor of the 2016 National Design Award winners. The National Design Awards were conceived by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum to honor lasting achievement in American design. The Awards are bestowed...

Richard Kurin, Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture at the Smithsonian will moderate a discussion with Atim Oton, co-founder of the Black Design News Network, and Amy Wilentz, author and journalist, about the design implications and opportunities arising from disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Among the efforts discussed are the "Haiti Cultural Recovery Project,"...