Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

HIV and AIDS Thirty Years Ago

Learn about early responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

June 3, 2011 – January 8, 2012

American History Museum

Bon Appetit! Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian

Step into the culinary world of Julia Child, America's favorite chef!

August 19, 2002 – January 8, 2012

American History Museum

The Bright Beneath: The Luminous Art of Shih Chieh Huang

Artist Shih Chieh Huang's creations, inspired by bioluminescent marine organisms, evoke a sense of wonder and curiosity as they "float" in the darkness of the gallery.

September 3, 2011 – January 8, 2012

Natural History Museum

Conversations with the Earth: Indigenous Voices on Climate Change

Have a look at Indigenous science and gain a Native perspective on global climate change through photographs, video, and audio clips.

July 22, 2011 – January 2, 2012

American Indian Museum DC

Made in Chicago: The Koffler Collection

See 26 works of art dating from 1960 to 1980.

August 12, 2011 – January 2, 2012

American Art Museum

ColorForms

On view are artworks from the Hirshhorn's collection, dating from the postwar era to the present, that explore the ways in which color has been an essential tool for artists, regardless of medium.

March 11, 2010 – January 2, 2012

Hirshhorn Museum

IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas

Explore the cultural integration and diffusion of African American and American Indian people through this collection of twenty banners.

July 4, 2011 – January 2, 2012

American Indian Museum DC

The Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace

On view is the Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace, featuring a bow motif with nine extremely rare blue diamonds totalling 5.32 carats and 251 additional diamonds

September 27, 2010 – December 31, 2011

Natural History Museum

Words Cannot Express: Death in the Archives

See how the art world responds to the death of one of their own—from letters of condolence and drafts of eulogies to firsthand accounts of artists’ funerals and expressions of personal loss.

October 31, 2011 – December 31, 2011

Archives of American Art

Black Box: Nira Pereg

See Nira Pereg's video 67 Bows that was inspired by a visit to the Karlsruhe Zoo in Germany and features a flock of flamingos.

August 22, 2011 – December 4, 2011

Hirshhorn Museum

For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights

This exhibition is the first to reveal the historic role of visual images in shaping, influencing, and transforming the fight for civil rights in the United States.

June 10, 2011 – November 27, 2011

American History Museum

Brave New World

View artist Theo Eshetu's Brave New World II, a compelling video installation that examines the theme of travel.

August 9, 2010 – November 27, 2011

African Art Museum

Taking Shape: Ceramics in Southeast Asia

Explore the migration of pots from their makers to their users in this exhibition of approximately 200 diverse and visually striking ceramic vessels from Southeast Asia.

April 1, 2007 – November 27, 2011

Asian Art Museum Sackler Gallery

Invention at Play

This exhibition focuses on the similarities between the ways children and adults play and the creative skills and processes used by inventors.

November 21, 2008 – November 27, 2011

American History Museum

Exercise Your Mynd

See BK Adams's imaginary landscapes that draw upon his surroundings, using exuberant color, toys, and objects scavenged from everyday life.

August 22, 2011 – November 27, 2011

Anacostia Community Museum

Science in American Life

This exhibition examines the interaction between science and society from 1876 to the present.

April 27, 1994 – November 27, 2011

American History Museum

Discovering Rastafari!

This exhibition moves beyond the popular Jamaican music known as reggae to explore the origins and practice of the Rastafari religion.

November 2, 2007 – November 16, 2011

Natural History Museum

Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt Preview

Preview of the museum's largest exhibition of ancient Egyptian mummies and artifacts. Full exhibition opened Nov. 17, 2011.

April 5, 2011 – November 16, 2011

Natural History Museum

Recent Acquisitions

This exhibition of some 35 objects that have recently been added to the museum's collection spans centuries of American history and culture.

November 19, 2010 – November 13, 2011

Portrait Gallery

In his video Beirut, multimedia artist Hale Tenger filmed the facade of the St. George Hotel -- the site of the assassination of Rafik Hariri, former prime minister of Lebanon -- during its renovation.

July 30, 2011 – November 6, 2011

Asian Art Museum Sackler Gallery

Archiving the History of an Epidemic: HIV and AIDS, 1985-2009

Archival materials reveal how individuals and society were affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

June 3, 2011 – November 1, 2011

American History Museum

Have You Heard the One about...? Phyllis Diller's Gag File

See how actress and stand-up comic Phyllis Diller kept track of her trove of 50,000 jokes.

August 12, 2011 – October 30, 2011

American History Museum

Directions: Grazia Toderi

Using computer animation to manipulate her images, Italian artist Grazia Toderi creates video projections that are like frescoes of light.

April 21, 2011 – October 23, 2011

Hirshhorn Museum

NASA / ART: 50 Years of Exploration

Art commissioned by the NASA Art Program communicates the accomplishments, setbacks, and sheer excitement of space exploration over the past five decades.

May 28, 2011 – October 10, 2011

Air and Space Museum

American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music

Experience the true flavor, or "sabor," of Latin music in the United States and the influence Latin music genres have had on American popular music.

July 11, 2011 – October 9, 2011

Ripley Center