Exhibitions

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

Gold ornament on a stand

The “Echenique Disc,” a pre-Inka gold ornament recognized as the symbol of the city of Cusco. Photo: National Museum of the American Indian

National Museum of the American Indian and the Government of the Republic of Peru Sign a Memorandum of Understanding To Return the “Echenique Disc” to Peru
Indigenous Populations Centered Around the Sacred Valley of Cusco Support the Return
06.15.2021
American Indian Museum Exhibitions
Collage of portraits and artwork
Smithsonian “FUTURES” To Unveil Five New Commissions by Leading Contemporary Artists
Visitors Can See Alternate Future Worlds as Imagined by Beatriz Cortez, Nettrice Gaskins, Soo Sunny Park, Devan Shimoyama, and Tamiko Thiel and /p in Their Smithsonian Debuts
06.15.2021
Arts and Industries Exhibitions
Hallway leading into a museum exhibit

Picturing Women Inventors is presented in both English and Spanish. © Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center Spotlights Women Inventors in New Bilingual Display and Poster Show
Exhibition Reflects the Central Tenet of the Lemelson Center: Everyone Is Inventive
05.25.2021
American History Museum Exhibitions
Painting resembling identification card

“Resident Alien” by Hung Liu, oil on canvas, 1988. Collection of the San Jose Museum of Art; gift of the Lipman Family Foundation. Copyright Hung Liu.

National Portrait Gallery Presents “Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands”
Chinese-born American Artist’s First Retrospective of Portraiture To Be on View Aug. 27– May 30, 2022
05.25.2021
Portrait Gallery Exhibitions
Building exterior
National Museum of American History Reopens to the Public May 21
New Artifacts On View Include Bob Ross Objects and “Crazy Rich Asians” Gown Spotlight on Women’s History Exhibitions: “Girlhood (It’s Complicated)” and “Picturing Women Inventors”
05.21.2021
American History Museum Exhibitions
Painting of a woman with arms crossed

Angel Rodríguez-Díaz, ‘The Protagonist of an Endless Story,” 1993, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible in part by the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1996.19. Copyright 1993, Angel Rodriguez-Diaz

Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces a Nationally Touring Exhibition Re-Examining the American West Through Modern and Contemporary Art
“Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea” Opens in Boise, Idaho, July 31
05.20.2021
American Art Museum Exhibitions
Rendering of museum exhibit

Rendering of “Exploring the Planets Gallery” exhibition.

National Air and Space Museum Receives $10 Million Gift From Kenneth C. Griffin
New “Exploring the Planets Gallery” Anticipated To Open Next Year
05.18.2021
Air and Space Museum Exhibitions
Graphic with images of portrait paintings and text: "The Obama Portraits Tour"

Credit information: (L) “Barack Obama” by Kehinde Wiley, 2018, oil on canvas, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright 2018 Kehinde Wiley; (R) “Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama” (detail) by Amy Sherald, 2018, oil on linen, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. 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.

Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Prepares for “The Obama Portraits Tour”
View Michelle Obama’s Likeness by Amy Sherald in Washington, D.C., Through May 23 With Free, Timed-Entry Passes
05.18.2021
Portrait Gallery Exhibitions
Woman wearing safety gear, headdress, and sash stands in a dirt field with cars in background.

Miss Navajo Nation Distributing Food. Ganado, Arizona, Navajo Nation, Oct. 2, 2020. Photo © Navajo Times, 2020.

National Museum of the American Indian’s “Developing Stories: Native Photographers in the Field” To Feature Work of Photojournalist Donovan Quintero
05.13.2021
American Indian Museum Exhibitions
Baby panda walks on tree branch

Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji will be on view for the first time starting May 21. Credit: Roshan Patel, Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

What’s New at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Giant Panda Viewing Details
Free Timed-Entry Passes Available Beginning May 14
05.11.2021
National Zoo Exhibitions
Rendering of building interior with people standing around a lit sculpture

"me + you" in the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building, rendering, Courtesy Reddymade.

Smithsonian Announces New Interactive Installation by Acclaimed Artist Suchi Reddy as Centerpiece of “FUTURES”
‘Emotional AI’ Sculpture Blends Physics, Neuroscience and Data Technology With the Human Voice
05.07.2021
Arts and Industries Exhibitions
Fictional Star Wars spaceship floating in space

This X-wing Starfighter appeared in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and is on long-term loan from Lucasfilm. It will go on display in 2022 in the museum's flagship building on the National Mall.

Credit: Lucasfilm

National Air and Space Museum Welcomes Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter
Now on View in Restoration Hangar After Traveling From a Galaxy Far, Far Away
05.04.2021
Air and Space Museum Exhibitions New Acquisitions
Two people carrying children look at sculpture in a museum

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum; Photo by Albert Ting.

Smithsonian American Art Museum Reopens May 14
Critically Acclaimed Exhibitions Shuttered Due to the Global Pandemic Now Extended to Summer
04.23.2021
American Art Museum Renwick Gallery Exhibitions
Rendering of exhibit with technology

“The Co-Lab” in the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, rendering courtesy Autodesk Inc. “Elevate ultimate mobility vehicle model” image courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group.

Smithsonian FUTURES Teams With Autodesk To Debut Future of Human–A.I. Design
New A.I.-Designed Museum Experience Invites Visitors To Co-create Their Ideal Future City
04.21.2021
Arts and Industries Exhibitions
Outdoor sign display with text "What is food justice?"

The outdoor “Food for the People: Eating and Activism in Greater Washington” exhibition on the front plaza of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. Photo Credit: Samir Meghelli

Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum Presents Outdoor Exhibition on D.C. Region’s Food Justice Issues
04.19.2021
Anacostia Community Museum Exhibitions
White tags hang from branches of tree

Yoko Ono, “Wish Tree for Washington, DC,” 2007. Installed at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Photo by Jazmine Johnson.

Hirshhorn Presents Yoko Ono’s “Wish Tree for Washington, DC” for the First Time in a Virtual Activation on Instagram With #WishTreeDC, April 15–30
Open Invitation to the World Begins With Artists, April 15
04.15.2021
Hirshhorn Museum Exhibitions Public Programs
The bias inside us. Smithsonian.

“The Bias Inside Us” is a community engagement project from the Smithsonian about the psychology of implicit bias, the impact of this bias and what people can do about it. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

Smithsonian Community Engagement Project on Implicit Bias Launches Tour at the Science Museum of Minnesota
03.02.2021
Traveling Exhibition Service Exhibitions
Hyperloop pod outside at sundown
Smithsonian “FUTURES” To Host Public Debut of Virgin Hyperloop’s Milestone ‘Pegasus’ Pod
XP-2 Prototype Carried World’s First Hyperloop Passengers in Historic Late 2020 Test Run
03.02.2021
Arts and Industries 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

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