Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Empresses of China's Forbidden City, 1644-1912

The lives of the Qing dynasty empresses offer a compelling tale of opulence and influence as told in this first-ever, in-depth exhibition of the subject.

March 30, 2019 – June 23, 2019

Asian Art Museum Sackler Gallery

Tracing American Journeys

Explore the changing face of the nation through the personal stories and objects of a number of entrepreneurs in business, medicine, and technology who came to the U.S. in the last 50 years from around the world.

May 12, 2017 – June 10, 2019

American History Museum

In Memoriam: I. M. Pei

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and legacy of acclaimed architect I.M. Pei with a photograph by Armenian Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh.

May 17, 2019 – June 5, 2019

Portrait Gallery

Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture

This exhibition explores the era that shaped Oprah Winfrey’s life and early career in TV, her talk show that dominated daytime TV for 25 years, and the ways in which she has influenced American popular culture.

June 8, 2018 – June 2, 2019

African American History and Culture Museum

Gen. John J. Pershing and World War I, 1917-1918

By recreating Pershing’s war office, this display gives the visitor a sense of America’s global reach and influence in World War I and reveals how the U.S. fit into a reshaped global community.

April 6, 2017 – May 27, 2019

American History Museum

One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey

One Year: 1968 looks back at an extraordinarily important and memorable time in American history.

June 29, 2018 – May 19, 2019

Portrait Gallery

Represent: Hip-Hop Photography

Inspired by the four elements of hip-hop—DJ’s, MCs, breakdancers and graffiti—Represent showcases photographs from the Eyejammie Hip Hop Photography Collection.

March 5, 2018 – May 5, 2019

African American History and Culture Museum

The Case of Luisa Moreno

The display features objects representing Moreno’s work as a civil rights activist and labor organizer with union pins as well as her shawl and a pamphlet to rally national attention and halt Moreno’s deportation.

July 20, 2018 – April 30, 2019

American History Museum

Uniformed Women in the Great War

Selection of World War I uniforms on display highlighting the varied roles of uniformed women that allowed them to express their patriotism.

April 6, 2017 – April 28, 2019

American History Museum

Circle of Dance

Learn how music and dance continue to bind American Indian communities to all living things, to the earth, to the spirit world, and—when people have deep ancestral claims to their dances—to the past.

October 6, 2012 – April 14, 2019

American Indian Museum New York

Tablescapes: Designs for Dining

Three distinct table settings from different time periods illuminate how design transforms the ritual of communal dining in response to cultural and social changes.

October 5, 2018 – April 14, 2019

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Henrietta Lacks

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life of Henrietta Lacks with the installation of a 2017 portrait by Kadir Nelson.

May 15, 2018 – March 31, 2019

Portrait Gallery

Emily Howland Photography Album

The Emily Howland photography album containing a previously unknown portrait of abolitionist and Underground Railroad-conductor Harriet Tubman is on view.

March 25, 2019 – March 31, 2019

African American History and Culture Museum

The REDress Project

The installation of empty red dresses centers on the issue of missing or murdered indigenous women.

March 1, 2019 – March 31, 2019

American Indian Museum DC

Let's Get It Right: Work Incentive Posters of the 1920s

Explore how employers encouraged their workforce. The display features 16 posters from the early 20th century with images and sayings designed to influence attitudes, reduce conflict, and increase efficiency.

July 27, 2018 – March 24, 2019

American History Museum

Trailblazing: 100 Years of Our National Parks

Featuring original postage stamp art from the United States Postal Service and artifacts loaned by the National Park Service, the exhibition explores the myriad—and sometimes surprising—ways that mail moves to, through and from our national parks.

June 9, 2016 – March 3, 2019

Postal Museum

Alexander Hamilton: Soldier, Secretary, Icon

Explore the extraordinary life of Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) through original mail sent and signed by him in his role as the first Secretary of the Treasury and through portraits of him and his contemporaries on stamps.

May 25, 2018 – March 3, 2019

Postal Museum

Advertising War

Poster imagery presented gives glimpses of the war front, illustrates participation on the home front, reveals the new roles of women, demonstrates new technologies, shows the breadth of military service, and depicts America’s allies and enemies at that time.

April 6, 2017 – February 10, 2019

American History Museum

City of Hope: Resurrection City and the 1968 Poor People's Campaign

City of Hope commemorates the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s daring vision to end poverty in the United States.

December 15, 2017 – February 3, 2019

American History Museum

No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man

The exhibition brings the maker culture of Burning Man alive hrough artworks, room-sized installations, jewelry, costumes, and ephemera that will transport visitors to the gathering’s famed desert location, the “playa.”

March 30, 2018 – January 21, 2019

Renwick Gallery

UnSeen: Our Past in a New Light, Ken Gonzales-Day and Titus Kaphar

The exhibition highlights the work of two leading contemporary artists who grapple with the under- and misrepresentation of certain minorities in portraiture and American history.

March 23, 2018 – January 6, 2019

Portrait Gallery

Your Community, Your Story: Celebrating Five Decades of the Anacostia Community Museum, 1967-2017

Your Community, Your Story highlights some of the museum’s signature projects and demonstrates how ACM’s work helps us understand city life and strengthen community bonds.

September 15, 2017 – January 6, 2019

Anacostia Community Museum