Exhibitions

Newsroom of the Smithsonian

View news releases below or see all of our publicly released upcoming exhibitions.

Group of orange, women statues in a open field along with two real humans

Courtesy of IF/THEN 

Smithsonian Launches New ‘Women’s Futures Month’ With National Mall Debut of 120 Statues Celebrating Women in STEM
Smithsonian Partners With IF/THEN To Display the Largest Collection of Statues of Women Ever Assembled
02.11.2022
Exhibitions
Graphic with illustration of US map and the text "Obama Portraits tour extended"

Image courtesy Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The National Portrait Gallery is grateful to the generous donors who made these commissions possible and proudly recognizes them at npg.si.edu/obamaportraitstour. Support for the national tour has been generously provided by Bank of America.

National Portrait Gallery Announces an Extension of “The Obama Portraits Tour” Featuring Acclaimed Portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald
Multi-City Tour Extended to San Francisco and Boston Through October
02.09.2022
Portrait Gallery Exhibitions
four girls in flight suitsr
National Air and Space Museum Extends Its Popular Virginia S.H.E. Can STEM Camps in Arkansas
Free Aviation-Focused Camp Aims To Engage Underrepresented Communities
02.02.2022
Air and Space Museum Exhibitions
Silhouette of woman painting against a backdrop of orchid illustrations
“Orchids: Hidden Stories of Groundbreaking Women” Opens Jan. 29
01.27.2022
Smithsonian Gardens American Women's History Museum Exhibitions
Sculpture of a raven

Preston Singletary (American Tlingit, born 1963). White Raven (Dleit Yéil), 2018. Blown, hot-sculpted, and sand-carved glass; steel stand. 19 1/4 × 9 × 14 in. (48.9 × 22.9 × 35.6 cm). Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Russell Johnson, courtesy of Museum of Glass 

“Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight” To Open at the National Museum of the American Indian Jan. 28
Exhibition From the Museum of Glass Features Work by Acclaimed Tlingit American Artist
01.26.2022
American Indian Museum Exhibitions
Colorful spheres with polka-dots in a mirrored room

Yayoi Kusama, “Infinity Mirrored Room—My Heart Is Dancing into the Universe,” 2018. Wood and glass mirrored room with paper lanterns, 119 5/8 x 245 1/8 x 245 1/8 in. (304 x 622.4 x 622.4 cm). Courtesy Ota Fine Arts and Victoria Miro, London/Venice. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Purchased jointly by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (Joseph H. Hirshhorn Purchase Fund, 2020), and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, with funds from the George B. and Jenny R. Mathews Fund, by exchange.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and Albright-Knox Art Gallery Jointly Acquire Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrored Room—My Heart Is Dancing into the Universe”
01.20.2022
Hirshhorn Museum Exhibitions New Acquisitions
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Original “I Have a Dream” Speech on Display at National Museum of African American History and Culture
Museum Open to the Public Monday, Jan. 17, in Observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
01.13.2022
African American Museum Exhibitions
Portrait of a woman in a ball gown

Iké Udé, b. 1964, Lagos, Nigeria, Genevieve Nnaji, 2014–16, Image: 91.4 x 101.6 cm (36 x 40 in.), Framed: 111.8 x 121.9 x 5.7 cm (44 x 48 x 2 1/4 in.), Pigment on satin rag paper, Collection of the artist.

“Iké Udé: Nollywood Portraits” Opens Feb. 5 at National Museum of African Art
Exhibition Explores African Beauty Through Portraits of Nollywood Celebrities
01.12.2022
African Art Museum Exhibitions
Three people stand in front of light sculpture

A family in front of artwork Me + You at FUTURES Remixed Family Day opening weekend. Image by Mariah Miranda.

New in January at Smithsonian “FUTURES,” An AI To Write Hilarious New Year’s Resolutions
Plus, Visitors Can Honor MLK Day at a “FUTURES We Dream” Weekend for All Ages, Imagine New Monuments With the Monument Lab, Dive Into Water Solutions and More
12.15.2021
Arts and Industries Exhibitions Public Programs
Floral textile with portrait of well-dressed man
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art Will Present an Exhibition on Textiles and Paintings From 17th-Century Iran in Celebration of Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture
“Fashioning an Empire: Safavid Textiles from the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha” Will be on View Dec. 18 Through May 15, 2022
12.14.2021
Asian Art Museum Exhibitions
Abstract painting by Oscar Howe
Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota, 1915–1983), Fighting Bucks, 1967. Casein on paper, 20 1/4 x 26 15/16 in. NMAI 27/0217 
Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota, 1915–1983), Fighting Bucks, 1967.

Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota, 

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Laptop displaying text about the Searchable Museum
National Museum of African American History and Culture Launches New “Searchable Museum” Digital Initiative
Searchable Museum To Share the Museum Beyond Its Walls on the National Mall
11.18.2021
African American Museum Exhibitions Education News
Painting of Ben Franlin in a wooded area
Benjamin Franklin’s Pioneering Electrical Work Influenced Today’s Technology
New Smithsonian Display Explores Facets of Franklin’s Legacy
11.16.2021
American History Museum Exhibitions
Illustration of digital artwork
Smithsonian “FUTURES” To Host Holo-Capsule Portal To Leave Holographic Messages for Citizens of the Future
“Hi, How R U ?” by Artist Collective Circus Family Will Also Connect Museumgoers in Real Time to a Paired Portal in Doha, Qatar
11.15.2021
Arts and Industries Exhibitions
Screenshot of main characters from film "Eternals"

Courtesy Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios’ Eternals Costumes To Debut at Smithsonian’s “FUTURES” Nov. 20
Museum Display Will Offer First Look at Behind-the-Scenes Creative Vision Exploring How Film Helps Imagine the Future
11.12.2021
Arts and Industries Exhibitions Public Programs
Portraits of two people

Photos: Charlotte Valve and Mask, 2020, Cristian Fracassi and Alessandro Romaioli, Isinnova; Zero-waste Scrub Set, 2020, Danielle Elsener.

“Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemics” Exhibition To Open in December at Cooper Hewitt
11.09.2021
Cooper Hewitt Exhibitions
Protest Banner
1620 Display at National Museum of American History Asks “Where Do We Begin?”
Objects Challenge Preconceptions of Mayflower Landing and Nation’s Founding Events
11.04.2021
American History Museum Exhibitions
Monkey holds cell phone while sitting in water
Marsel van Oosten/Unforgettable Behavior
Facebook update Marsel van Oosten, The Netherlands 2014

Facebook update Marsel van Oosten, The Netherlands 2014

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Close up of two bugs
Klaus Tamm/Unforgettable Behavior
Sizing up, Klaus Tamm, Germany, 2012

Sizing up
Klaus Tamm, Germany
2012

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Gorilla holds two small gorilla babies
Diana Rebman/Unforgettable Behavior
Twin hope, Diana Rebman, USA, 2013

Twin hope
Diana Rebman, USA
2013

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Beaver swimming underwater
Louis-Marie Préau /Unforgettable Behavior
Beavering, Louis-Marie Préau, France, 2011

Beavering
Louis-Marie Préau, France
2011

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Ant carrying leaf
Bence Máté /Unforgettable Behavior
Ant rider, Bence Máté, Hungary, 2011

Ant rider
Bence Máté, Hungary
2011

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bird carries paperclip to nest
Tim Laman/Unforgettable Behavior
The paper clip suitor, Tim Laman, USA, 2011
The paper clip suitor Tim Laman, USA 2011
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Small flock of flamingoes
Todd Gustafon/Unforgettable Behavior
The dance stand, Todd Gustafon, USA, 2006

The dance stand
Todd Gustafon, USA
2006

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