Past Exhibitions

American Indian Museum DC

Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight

Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight features works from internationally acclaimed artist Preston Singletary (Tlingit American, 1963), and tells the story of Raven, the creator of the world and giver of the stars, moon, and sun.

January 28, 2022 – January 29, 2023

I Dream a World: Selections from Brian Lanker’s Portraits of Remarkable Black Women: Part I

This exhibition features more than 25 photographs by Brian Lanker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer.

July 8, 2022 – January 29, 2023

Portrait Gallery

Mr. Pergolesi's Curious Things: Ornament in 18th-Century Britain

Brilliantly hued watercolors from Cooper Hewitt’s collection highlight Michel Angel Pergolesi’s skill in transforming ancient relics into lighthearted decorative motifs.

October 1, 2022 – January 29, 2023

More Doctors Smoke Camels: A Close Reading of Historical Advertising

Contemporary audiences will learn how advertisers from the 1920s to the 1960s worked to promote cigarettes in the face of the health problems they caused.

April 5, 2019 – January 29, 2023

American History Museum

Living in Two Times: Photography by Bahman Jalali and Rana Javadi

Noted for their sharp documentary images and haunting photomontage works, the artists are among the most influential figures in the development of late twentieth-century photography in Iran.

August 6, 2022 – January 8, 2023

Girlhood (It's Complicated)

Through its rich collections and new acquisitions, the museum explores how girls have been on the front lines of social and cultural change.

October 9, 2020 – January 2, 2023

American History Museum

¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues: En los barrios y las grandes ligas

This exhibit features the historic role baseball has played as a social and cultural force within Latino communities across the nation.

July 2, 2021 – January 2, 2023

American History Museum

I Am... Contemporary Women Artists of Africa

Taking its name from a 1970’s feminist anthem, I Am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa draws upon a selection of artworks by women artists from the museum's permanent collection.

June 20, 2019 – December 31, 2022

African Art Museum

Building America's National Collection: 175 Years of Collecting

See selected objects representing all of the museums that offer a tantalizing sample of the breadth and depth of the Smithsonian's vast collections.

May 8, 2005 – December 14, 2022

Smithsonian Castle

Genome: Unlocking Life's Code

With engaging interactives, 3D models, custom animation and videos of real-life stories, this exhibition examines the benefits and the challenges that genomics presents to modern society.

October 21, 2021 – November 28, 2022

Once Upon a Roof: Vanished Korean Architecture

One special type of ornamented roof tile is the focus of this exhibition.Called chimi in Korea, these impressive features crowned both ends of the main roof ridge of prominent buildings.

May 21, 2022 – October 30, 2022

Recent Acquisitions: Gifts from the Corcoran Gallery of Art

This exhibition presents more than 25 gifted works, including portraits of cultural figures Louis Armstrong, Katharine Graham, and Frida Kahlo; presidents James Madison and Zachary Taylor; and the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Joseph Henry.

October 9, 2020 – October 23, 2022

Portrait Gallery

Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt: Designing a Modern Museum

This exhibition—through archival photography and documents, personal drawings and correspondence, news clippings and ephemera—chronicles the colorful lives and contributions of the dynamic sisters.

February 4, 2022 – October 23, 2022

Documenting Diversity: How Anthropologists Record Human Life

Examine the ways anthropologists have recorded and shared their field observations using the technologies of their time.

June 18, 2021 – October 18, 2022

Nicolas Party: Draw the Curtain

The exterior of the Hirshhorn’s iconic cylindrical building is the site of internationally renowned Swiss artist Nicolas Party’s newest artwork.

September 18, 2021 – October 17, 2022

Hirshhorn Museum

Unforgettable Behavior: Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Unforgettable Behavior brings together exceptional images recognized in past years of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is owned and run by the Natural History Museum, London.

November 3, 2021 – September 30, 2022

Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World

Outbreak invites visitors to join epidemiologists, veterinarians, public health workers, and citizens of all ages and origins as they rush to identify and contain infectious disease outbreaks.

May 18, 2018 – September 30, 2022

Nature by Design: Botanical Expressions

Botanical Expressions focuses on key figures—Christopher Dresser, Emile Gallé, William Morris, and Louis Comfort Tiffany—whose knowledge of the natural sciences and personal practices of gardening enriched their creative output as designers.

December 7, 2019 – September 25, 2022

African American History and Culture Museum

Represent: Hip-Hop Photography

Inspired by the four elements of hip-hop—DJ’s, MCs, breakdancers and graffiti—Represent showcases photographs from the Eyejammie Hip Hop Photography Collection alongside other images from the museum’s photography collection.

May 6, 2022 – September 25, 2022

Foreign Exchange: 18th-Century Design on the Move

Drawing from the permanent collection, this exhibition explores the unprecedented circulation of labor, skills, aesthetics, and luxury goods across international borders in the 18th century.

January 28, 2022 – September 25, 2022

Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia's Sacred Mountain

Revealing Krishna transports visitors to a sacred mountain in the floodplains of southern Cambodia.

April 30, 2022 – September 18, 2022