Exhibitions

Newsroom of the Smithsonian

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

Two male figures in black coats stand in front of wall with colorful graffiti. — *Portrait of OSGEMEOS by Filipe Berndt.*

Hirshhorn Presents First US Museum Survey of Brazilian Graffiti Artists OSGEMEOS

Large-Scale Exhibition of Nearly 1,000 Artworks, Objects and Archival Materials Traces OSGEMEOS’ Creative Evolution, On View May 18, 2024–July 6, 2025

12.06.2023

Hirshhorn Museum Exhibitions

Square yellow button with two silhouettes facing each other and candles in between. — Pinback button celebrating the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
Credit: Collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

Kwanzaa and Holiday Specials Highlight December Programming at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

11.27.2023

African American Museum Exhibitions Public Programs

An organic, black piece of whale against a black background — A plate of baleen (left) and a plastic shard (right) found in the gut of the first Rice’s whale to be scientifically described.

Credit: James D. Tiller and Fred Cochard, Smithsonian.

Smithsonian To Host Symposium Focused on Endangered Rice’s Whale in Partnership With NOAA, Marine Mammal Commission

Museum Will Display Remains of the First Scientifically Described Rice’s Whale

11.09.2023

Natural History Museum Research News Exhibitions

Exterior of sand colored building with two domes and a large, multicolor sculpture.

Georges Adéagbo’s “Create to Free Yourselves” Opens Nov. 18 at National Museum of African Art

Mixed-media Installation Focuses on Relationship Between Life and Purpose

11.03.2023

African Art Museum Exhibitions

Black and white image of Asteroid Bennu — This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 PolyCam images collected Dec. 2, 2018, by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 kilometers). The image was obtained at a 50-degree phase angle between the spacecraft, asteroid and the sun, and in it, Bennu spans approximately 1,500 pixels in the camera’s field of view. Date taken: Dec. 2, 2018. Instrument used: OCAMS (PolyCam).

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona.

Smithsonian To Open First Public Display of Asteroid Bennu Sample Collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission

Arrival of Samples Is a Major Milestone in the Museum’s ‘Our Unique Planet’ Initiative

10.26.2023

Natural History Museum Exhibitions

"The Families Civil War" book cover — The museum hosts Holly A. Pinheiro Jr. for a book talk about his latest publication, *The Families’ Civil War: Black Soldiers and the Fight for Racial Justice*, Nov. 11.

Military and Culture Programs Take the Spotlight in November at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

10.24.2023

African American Museum Exhibitions Public Programs

Composite image of Lews photo and Vernon portrait

Smithsonian Adds Visionary Leaders Byron Lewis and Lillian Vernon to Landmark “American Enterprise” Exhibition

Business History Contributions To Be Highlighted in Exhibit’s Consumer Era Section

10.13.2023

American History Museum Exhibitions

Historic photo of the tunnel where the robbery of Train 13 took place — https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/tragedy-at-tunnel-13-exhibition/the-context

The holdup of Train 13 on October 11, 1923, took place in the Siskiyou Mountains just beneath treacherous Siskiyou Pass, where Tunnel 13 served as an integral connector on the Southern Pacific rail line for over 100 years. (Southern Oregon Historical Society 1977.117.14, #034468)

Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum Launches New Virtual Exhibition

Remembering the Tragedy at Tunnel 13 a Century Ago

10.04.2023

Postal Museum Exhibitions

Postage stamp honoring Hispanic Americans — © United States Postal Service

Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum Launches New Virtual Exhibition

Complete Collection of U.S. Postage Stamps Honoring Hispanic Heritage Now Online

09.28.2023

Postal Museum Exhibitions

Painting of man cutting hair on the sidewalk — Credit: “Anthony Cuts under the Williamsburg Bridge, Morning” by Alison Elizabeth Taylor, first prize winner of the

2022 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, marquetry hybrid (wood veneers, oil paint, acrylic paint, inkjet prints,

shellac, and sawdust on wood), 2020. Collection of the artist. Copyright Alison Elizabeth Taylor. Courtesy of

Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

National Portrait Gallery Announces Jurors and Call for Entries for Next Triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition

Selected Artworks Will Be Exhibited in Major Exhibition and Tour

09.27.2023

Portrait Gallery Exhibitions Public Programs

Simone Leigh, “Herm” (2023). Bronze, 98 x 30 x 28 inches (249 x 76 x 71 cm). Copyright Simone Leigh, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery.

Hirshhorn Museum Presents “Simone Leigh,” First Museum Survey Exhibition Dedicated to the Artist on Its National Tour

Installation Will Debut Three New Sculpture Alongside Artworks From Leigh’s U.S. Representation at 2022 Venice Biennale; On View Nov. 3–March 3, 2024

09.26.2023

Hirshhorn Museum Exhibitions

Portrait of Julie Packard by Hope Gangloff — Credit: Julie Packard by Hope Gangloff, acrylic on canvas, 2019. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; funded by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Board of Trustees. Copyright Hope Gangloff.

National Portrait Gallery Presents “Forces of Nature: Voices That Shaped Environmentalism”

On View Oct. 20–Sept. 2, 2024

09.21.2023

Portrait Gallery Exhibitions

Graphic banner promoting the Philanthropy INitiative

Smithsonian Examines Philanthropy at a Symposium and in an Exhibit

National Museum of American History Hosts “Power of Giving” Symposium on Philanthropy’s Role in Social Justice and Adds New Stories to “Giving in America” Exhibit

09.18.2023

American History Museum Exhibitions Public Programs

Smithsonian American Art Museum Releases 10 New Digital Comics Exploring the Lives of Women Artists Represented in Its Collection

“Drawn to Art” Engages a Broader Audience With the Stories of Trailblazing Artists Such as Miriam Schapiro, Laura Aguilar, Wendy Red Star and Consuelo Jimenez Underwood

09.14.2023

American Art Museum Exhibitions

Latina woman in jeans holding microphone for interview with NYC Police nearby

Latinas Make Breaking News in Smithsonian Spanish-Language TV Exhibition

“¡De última hora! Latinas Report Breaking News” Opens Sept. 15

09.12.2023

American History Museum Exhibitions

Impressionist watercolor by James McNeill Whistler: "Flower market: Dieppe," — “Flower Market: Dieppe,” James McNeill Whistler, 1880s, Watercolor on paper, H x W: 12.8 x 21 cm (5 1/16 x 8 1/4 in), Credit: James McNeill Whistler/Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.: Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1907.171a-b

National Museum of Asian Art Presents “Whistler: Streetscapes, Urban Change”

Exhibition Highlights the Artist’s Engagement With Social and Economic Change Through a Stunning Array of Artworks, Several on View for the First Time

08.30.2023

Asian Art Museum Exhibitions

Painting "Queen" featuring flowers, fruit, cosmetics, various small objects — Audrey Flack, *Queen*, 1976, acrylic on canvas, 80 × 80 in. (203.2 × 203.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Louis K. and Susan P. Meisel, 2022.11.5

Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Reinstalled Modern and Contemporary Galleries Display Expanded View of Artists’ Voices in the United States

“American Voices and Visions: Modern and Contemporary Art” Inaugurates First Phase of a Comprehensive Reinstallation of Collection Since 2006

08.29.2023

American Art Museum Exhibitions

Ikeda Koson, Edo period, Japan, six-panel screens — One of a pair of six-panel screens: Maple leaves on a stream (front); mountain views (reverse), Ikeda Koson, Edo period, 1856-1858, Japan, Screens (six-panel), Ink and color on gilded paper; ink on paper, H x W (image, each screen): 66.3 × 343.2 cm (65 1/2 × 135 1/8 in) Credit: Ikeda Koson/Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.: Purchase—Harold P. Stern Memorial Fund and funds provided by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries in appreciation of James W. Lintott and his exemplary service to the galleries as chair of the Board of Trustees (2011-2015), F2014.7.1-2

Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art Celebrates Its Centennial With an Exhibition at Kyoto’s Oldest Zen Temple

Project Is a Partnership With Canon Inc. and Kyoto Culture Association

08.17.2023

Asian Art Museum Exhibitions

National Museum of African American History and Culture Recognizes the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington

08.16.2023

African American Museum Exhibitions

Cover of comic-style catalog book for Heroes exhiition — As part of the museum’s longstanding commitment to and collaboration with institutions of higher learning on the continent, more than 100 copies of the *Heroes* catalog will be donated to universities and art institutions across Africa.

National Museum of African Art Releases “Heroes” Publication

Donation to African Libraries and Universities; First Collection Book To Debut Museum’s Fully Integrated Approach

08.11.2023

African Art Museum Exhibitions

Black and white negative still image of people standing randomly in group — “Belated Bonsal,” Park Chan-kyong, 2019, HD film, 5.1 channel sound, 55 min, Credit: Copyright Park Chan-kyong /
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korean KCH9852-HDR

National Museum of Asian Art Presents “Park Chan-kyong: Gathering”

Exhibition Is First Solo Presentation of the Korean Artist’s Work in a Major US Institution and Inaugurates the Museum’s New Modern and Contemporary Galleries

08.07.2023

Asian Art Museum Exhibitions