Exhibitions

Mother III (detail) by Yun Suknam, (2013 version), 1993

Breakthrough Korean Feminist Artist Yun Suknam in Her First U.S. Museum Exhibition

With an assemblage portrait of her mother as the focal piece, the artist’s work is surrounded by the works of those who inspired her

The Panda Cams had to be turned off during the shutdown and so for the past month, the crown jewel of the National Zoo has been hidden from the public.

Smithsonian Staffers Scramble to Make Up Time Lost During Government Shutdown

Workers are back, the museums are open, the pandas are well, but officials say the ramifications of the shutdown are far from over

The Key Marco Cat was unearthed at Marco Island off Florida’s southwestern shore in the late 19th century.

This Hand-Carved Panther Statuette Embodies a Lost Civilization’s Harmony With Nature

Calusa Indians harnessed the bounty of Florida’s estuaries with respect and grace

Beneath the Space Window at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where a seven-gram sample of moon rock is incorporated into the design, a sold-out crowd gathered this week for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8.

NASA Won’t Be Going ‘Back’ to the Moon—It Wants to Go Beyond It

At a 50th-anniversary event for Apollo 8, NASA’s Jim Bridenstine envisioned the moon’s potential for future space exploration

The Smithsonian's popular National Museum of African and American History and Culture announced a new ticketing plan. It's free, and sometimes you won't need a ticket, but it's complicated.

Tips for Getting Tickets to NMAAHC and When They Are Not Necessary

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture announces no-ticket days and afternoons

A new exhibition featuring rare books from the Smithsonian Libraries examines the complex history and evolution of big game hunting.

The Complicated History of the Human and Elephant Relationship

With the new exhibition, “Game Change,” Smithsonian Libraries delves into 150 years of hunting and conservation

Alice Neel Self-Portrait by Alice Neel, 1980

History's Selfies: Looking at Artists Looking at Themselves

National Portrait Gallery closes out 50-year anniversary celebration after widening the view to include more women, diverse backgrounds and emerging media

Of Gods and Heroes by Jeffrey Veregge, 2018 (detail featuring Colleen Wing and Misty Knight)

This Artist Reenvisioned Marvel Superheroes in a Traditional Native American Style

Jeffrey Veregge uses formline, more typical of paintings and totem poles, to create a heroic mural

Thanksgiving tells the story of a landmark moment of coexistence, multiculturalism and even neighborliness (above: The First Thanksgiving, 1621, Jean Leon G. Ferris) when Native Americans taught Pilgrims to farm, and shared a meal with them after a successful harvest in 1621.

How an Unremarkable 'Brunch in the Forest' Turned Into the Thanksgiving We Know

A new Sidedoor podcast dives into the holiday's origins

The centerpiece is a cast of the reconstructed remains of Prognathodon kianda, which make up the most complete skeleton of this species found to date.

Prehistoric Angolan “Sea Monsters” Take Up Residence at the Natural History Museum

The new fossil exhibition spotlights the majestic marine predators that swept into the South Atlantic shortly after it formed

In the five generations since the treaty was signed and broken, the Sioux Nations have steadily lost reservation lands to white development.

In 1868, Two Nations Made a Treaty, the U.S. Broke It and Plains Indian Tribes are Still Seeking Justice

The American Indian Museum puts the 150-year-old Fort Laramie Treaty on view in its "Nation to Nation" exhibition

Pulse Tank by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, 2008

This Art Show Is Taking the Literal Pulse of America

Artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer uses biometrics to make breathtaking spectacle

With elaborate coiffures and scarves and ceremonial garb, all the way down to beautifully designed sandals and the tinkling of gold bracelets, Senegalese women usefashion for sociopolitical and economic ends as well as celebrating their own history.

In Senegal, Female Empowerment, Prestige and Wealth Is Measured in Glittering Gold

The African Art Museum's new exhibition delves into a tradition that is both ravishingly beautiful and hauntingly fraught

The dozen or so cameras watching the musicians sent live video from the performance to a rack of computers, which used off-the-shelf artificial intelligence algorithms to create the eerie visuals.

The Musical Performance "Sight Machine" Reveals What Artificial Intelligence Is "Thinking" About Us

Like artist Trevor Paglen's other work, the show asked viewers to reexamine the human relationship to technology

Bull Moose, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA by Isaac Spotts (Youth Photographer of the Year): "Cautiously, I slid into the water to be eye-level with them."

Peer Through the Lens of the World's Best Nature Photographers

Sixty images, including the winners, from the 23rd annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice Awards go on view

Simmon: A Private Landscape (#1), by Hosoe Eikoh, 1971

How Japanese Artists Responded to the Transformation of Their Nation

Two new exhibitions at the Freer|Sackler vividly illustrate Japan's arrival to the modern age

Untitled (Wash Day: Scrubbing the Clothes) by Clementine Hunter, ca. 1965

Self-Taught Artist Clementine Hunter Painted the Bold Hues of Southern Life

On view at NMAAHC, Hunter’s colorful artworks depict work in the field, church on Sundays, and laundry on the line

“I knew we had the work cut out for us,” says Richard Barden, the Preservation Services manager. “When you really start looking at the slippers, you see how many different materials they are."

The Return of Dorothy’s Iconic Ruby Slippers, Now Newly Preserved for the Ages

The unprecedented conservation of the <i>Wizard of Oz</i> shoes involved more than 200 hours, and a call from the FBI

Traylor's works (above: Man with Yoke, detail) are drawing fans worldwide for their exuberant modern composition and design.

Bill Traylor Depicted His Brutal Lifetime With Vibrant Art

A new Smithsonian show, seven years in the making, takes a deep dive into the life of a self-taught artist and former slave

Artist rendering of the National Mall entrance following the seven-year renovation

What’s Open and What’s Not During the National Air and Space Museum’s Seven-Year Renovation

Visitors might be inconvenienced, but the much-loved Washington, D.C. museum is undergoing a massive revitalization

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