Past Exhibitions

Asian Art Museum, West Building

In the Shadow of an Apocalypse: Buddhist Art in Japan

Whether painted or sculpted, Buddhist works reassured believers with visions of compassionate protectors and fierce guardians.

October 14, 2017 – October 28, 2018

The Beginnings of Buddhism in Japan: Buddhist Art in Japan

The two objects in this exhibition exemplify the birth of Buddhism in Japan. In 552, the Korean kingdom of Baekje sent the Japanese court sacred texts (sutras) and a gilt bronze sculpture, thought to be similar to the one on view.

October 14, 2017 – October 28, 2018

Asian Art Museum, West Building

The Senses: Design Beyond Vision

Featuring inclusive interactive installations created in collaboration with contemporary designers and products that enhance life for all, including those with sensory disabilities.

April 13, 2018 – October 28, 2018

Tino Sehgal: This You

The Hirshhorn features a work by acclaimed contemporary artist Tino Sehgal. This You features a solo female singer who connects with visitors to produce intimate and memorable experiences.

September 1, 2018 – October 14, 2018

The Message: New Media Works

Five contemporary film and video installations resonate with the voices of music, film, and pop culture.

November 18, 2017 – September 30, 2018

Dazzling Diversity

What is the most diverse group of animals on the planet? Insects! They constitute more than two-thirds of all described animal species—and there are more waiting to be discovered!

August 8, 2017 – September 30, 2018

Natural History Museum

Celebrate: Leonard Bernstein's 100th Birthday

The National Portrait Gallery recognizes the the 100th birthday of the late American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist, Leonard Bernstein by displaying a portrait of Bernstein.

August 23, 2018 – September 23, 2018

Georg Baselitz: Six Decades

Georg Baselitz is the first major US retrospective in more than twenty years of one of Germany’s greatest living artists, marking the artist’s 80th birthday.

June 21, 2018 – September 16, 2018

Tony Lewis: Anthology 2014-2016

This installation of thirty-four original collage-poems by the Chicago-based artist Tony Lewis is being exhibited at the Hirshhorn for the first time in its entirety.

March 6, 2018 – September 16, 2018

Cultivating America's Gardens

Highlights early horticulture publications using books and objects from Libraries and Gardens collections of the Smithsonian.

May 4, 2017 – September 16, 2018

American History Museum

Bob Greenberg Selects

Selections by Bob Greenberg, founder, chairman, and CEO of R/GA, a 2003 National Design Award winner for Communication Design, and a pioneer in the advertising and communications industry.

February 23, 2018 – September 9, 2018

In Memoriam: Senator John S. McCain III

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and legacy of late Senator and former presidential nominee John S. McCain III with a photograph by the British-born photographer Steve Pyke.

August 27, 2018 – September 9, 2018

In Her Words: Women's Duty and Service in World War I

Through the letters and artifacts of four women, visitors can explore unique, personal perspectives on life, duty, and service during the war.

February 2, 2018 – September 5, 2018

Postal Museum

T is for Television

This exhibition features treasured objects from children’s television.

November 27, 2017 – September 4, 2018

American History Museum

Access + Ability

The exhibition features more than 70 works, from adaptive clothing and eating implements that assist with daily routines to apps and “smart” technologies that aid in social interactions and navigating the environment.

December 15, 2017 – September 3, 2018

World on the Horizon: Swahili Arts Across the Indian Ocean

World on the Horizon explores Swahili arts as objects of mobility, outcomes of encounter, and as products of trade and imperialism.

May 9, 2018 – September 3, 2018

African Art Museum

22nd Annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards

Selected from more than 26,000 submitted entries, see 60 extraordinary images that capture the beauty and diversity of the natural world.

October 24, 2017 – September 3, 2018

Natural History Museum

The Sweat of Their Face: Portraying American Workers

The Sweat of Their Face combines art and social history with representations of American laborers across genres and centuries of art.

November 3, 2017 – September 3, 2018

Wish Tree for Washington, D.C.

A summer favorite, Ono’s interactive artwork invites visitors to tie handwritten wishes to branches of a living Japanese dogwood tree.

June 23, 2018 – September 3, 2018

Hear, See, Play: Designing with Sound

An interactive exploration of how designers use and create sounds to enhance the user experience and give objects human-like personalities.

October 13, 2017 – August 26, 2018

In Memoriam: Aretha Franklin

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life of acclaimed singer and musician Aretha Franklin.

August 17, 2018 – August 22, 2018

Does the body rule the mind, or does the mind rule the body?

This is the first exhibition in the museum’s history to focus on live performance art, presenting new and recent works by leading performance artists who mix avant-garde gesture with popular culture, expressed through the rigor and dynamism of contemporary dance.

June 21, 2018 – August 12, 2018