Exhibitions

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

Rendering of exhibition space with a crowd of people looking at airplanes

A preivew of the Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air gallery, part of the museum's transformation. 

National Air and Space Museum Receives $10 Million Gift From Kislak Family Foundation
New “Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air” Gallery Anticipated To Open in 2025
02.24.2021
Air and Space Museum Exhibitions
Smithsonian Arts and Industries building with garden in front

Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building by Roy Blunt

Smithsonian To Debut Groundbreaking ‘FUTURES’ Exhibition for Its 175th Anniversary
Historic Arts and Industries Building To Reopen for First Time in Nearly Two Decades With Smithsonian’s First Large-Scale Exploration of the Future
02.23.2021
Arts and Industries Exhibitions
Duke Ellington in profile leaning over a piano

Duke Ellington composing at the piano, 1928. Valentino Sarra, Duke Ellington Collection. Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum Presents Outdoor Exhibition on Revolutionary African American Men
02.01.2021
Traveling Exhibition Service Anacostia Community Museum Exhibitions
Man in baseball uniform stands above a group of young children whose backs are to the viewer

Roberto Clemente working off-season with kids in Carolina, Puerto Rico, 1962. Courtesy of The Clemente Museum.

New Traveling Exhibition Explores the History of Latinos and Baseball
National Tour Starts Jan. 23 at the Castle Museum in Saginaw, Mich.
01.21.2021
Traveling Exhibition Service Exhibitions
Red and pink RIFA poster
"¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now" Unites Historic Civil Rights-Era Prints With Works by Contemporary Graphic Artists
Features More Than 100 Artworks From the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Leading Latinx Collection
11.17.2020
American Art Museum Exhibitions
woman at a desk with group of men standing behind her.

Tillie Lewis and brokers, 1945

Courtesy of Haggin Museum

Even Though the Room Is Full, They Are “The Only One in the Room”
Eight Women Achievers Across Three Centuries Featured in Smithsonian Exhibit
11.13.2020
American History Museum Exhibitions
Astronaut Victor Glover

NASA photo

Smithsonian Collaborates With NASA Astronaut Victor Glover
Two Museums Will Help Tell Story of Glover’s Historic First Trip to the ISS
11.12.2020
Air and Space Museum Exhibitions Education News
Bright red sculpture "Marker"

Marker by Rania Hassan, courtesy of Golden Triangle BID

Smithsonian and Golden Triangle Expand Women’s History Initiative Into the Streets of Washington, D.C.
10.28.2020
Exhibitions
Kobe Bryant Jersey

Collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, gift of Kobe Bryant

Honoring Kobe Bryant: Bryant’s Lakers Jersey Is Now on Display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture
10.19.2020
African American Museum Exhibitions
Anthony Rendon's YMCA baseball card (young boy posing with bat)

National Museum of American History

Opening Day for “¡Pleibol!” To Coincide With MLB 2021 Season
New Book, Exhibition Will Explore Baseball’s Impact Through Artifacts, Stories and Photos
10.08.2020
American History Museum Exhibitions
Installation view of sculpture by Lauren Fensterstock

Lauren Fensterstock

Smithsonian American Art Museum Explores the Relationship Between Art and Nature in a New Exhibition at Its Renwick Gallery
“Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020” Opens Oct. 16
10.08.2020
Renwick Gallery Exhibitions
Girlhood Exhibition

"Girlhood (It's Complicated)" Exhibition

“Girlhood (It’s Complicated)” Opens at National Museum of American History
Museum Amplifies Role of Girls in History During 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage
10.02.2020
American History Museum Exhibitions
animated image of previous winners
National Portrait Gallery Announces Call for Entries for Sixth Triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition
Selected Artworks Will Be Exhibited in Major Exhibition and Tour
10.01.2020
Portrait Gallery Exhibitions
Composite photo of three video stills
Hirshhorn Museum Has Announced First Online Exhibition “In the Beginning: Media Art and History” Oct. 1
Hirshhorn Continues Its Commitment to New Media and Video Art Since 2005 Launch of Black Box
09.29.2020
Hirshhorn Museum Exhibitions
Black and white photo of Eleanor Roosevelt

“Eleanor Roosevelt” by Yousuf Karsh, gelatin silver print, 1944. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Gift of Estrellita Karsh, in memory of Yousuf Karsh. Copyright: Estate of Yousuf Karsh.

National Portrait Gallery Presents Major Exhibition “Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States”
09.29.2020
Portrait Gallery Exhibitions
Cover of Green Book 1940
New Smithsonian Exhibition Explores “The Green Book”
Opens Oct. 3 at Historic “Green Book” Site, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis
09.23.2020
Traveling Exhibition Service Exhibitions
Humboldt Portrait

Friedrich Georg Weitsch, Portrait of Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), 1806, oil on canvas, 49 5/8 x 36 3/8 in., Staatliche Museenzu Berlin, Nationalgalerie, photo: bpk Bildagentur/Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany/KlausGoeken Art Resource, NY

Smithsonian American Art Museum Extends Critically Acclaimed Exhibition “Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature and Culture” Through Jan. 3, 2021
Exhibition Was Shuttered When the Museum Closed as a Public Health Precaution Due to COVID-19
09.14.2020
American Art Museum Exhibitions
Church, Natural Bridge

Frederic Edwin Church. “The Natural Bridge, Virginia,” 1852, oil on canvas, 28 x 23 in. The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, gift of Thomas Fortune Ryan.

“Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature and Culture” Explores Renowned Naturalist’s Impact on American Identity
Smithsonian American Art Museum Is the Sole Venue for the Landmark Exhibition
09.14.2020
American Art Museum Exhibitions
Close up of hands holding rope

Credit: “Birthright” by Maren Hassinger, video, color, sound, (12:12 mins), 2005. Edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs. Courtesy of Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC.

National Portrait Gallery Has Announced “Birthright” by Maren Hassinger
A Commission of the Portrait Gallery’s “IDENTIFY” Series Dedicated to Performance Art
09.09.2020
Portrait Gallery Exhibitions
shrouded planes at Udvar-Hazy hangar

National Air and Space Museum

National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center Announces Roof-Reconstruction Project
06.26.2020
Air and Space Museum Exhibitions Administrative News
Video still of Martin Luther King with Getty Images superimposed

Courtesy of Arthur Jafa and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/ Rome

Artist Arthur Jafa’s Renowned “Love is the Message, The Message is Death” To Be Streamed Continuously Online for the First Time, June 26–28
Co-Presented by the Hirshhorn Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
06.24.2020
American Art Museum Hirshhorn Museum Exhibitions Public Programs
New born ferrets

Vicki Lake, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Six Newborn Black-Footed Ferret Kits Can Be Viewed on New Webcam
The Kits Were Born May 10 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
05.15.2020
Conservation Biology Institute Exhibitions
Portrait of man in red head scarf and black shirt saying Muerto Rico
National Portrait Gallery Announces Artist ADÁL as Winner of “The Outwin 2019” People’s Choice Award
More Than 17,000 Votes Cast, Setting Triennial’s Record
04.30.2020
Portrait Gallery Exhibitions Public Programs
image of open pit mine

Title: “American Mine”
Artist: David Maisel​
Credit information: © David Maisel/ Courtesy of Edwynn Houk Gallery.

“American Mine” features open pit mines on the Carlin Trend, the most prolific gold mining district in the Western Hemisphere. Mines from this region are the source of devastating mercury emissions, released when ore is heated during the process of gold extraction.

Natural History Exhibition Enlists Artists To Reflect on Humanity’s Growing, Pervasive Role on Earth
Art Exhibition Is First-of-Its-Kind at National Museum of Natural History
03.06.2020
Natural History Museum Exhibitions

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