Overview
- Cooper Hewitt held the Smithsonian National Design Awards gala on May 19 in Lower Manhattan and brought together more than 300 leaders from design, business and philanthropy to present this year’s awards.
- The museum announced winners across ten disciplines including Robert Earl Paige (Design Visionary), Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman (Climate Action), Mattaforma (Emerging Designer) and Frida Escobedo Studio (Architecture).
- For the first time Cooper Hewitt named a cohort of Gala Honorees to recognize long‑term impact, a group that includes Adobe, Thom Browne, Tory Burch, Tiffany & Co., Maya Lin, Jenna Lyons, MillerKnoll, MacKenzie Scott, Martha Stewart and Target.
- Cooper Hewitt said the gala will feed new public programming with a Director’s Talks series beginning May 21 featuring Design Visionary winner Robert Earl Paige and a major exhibition opening on June 26 that draws on the museum’s collection.
- The event doubled as the museum’s flagship fundraiser and a platform to connect contemporary, socially engaged design practice to the Smithsonian’s collection and the nation’s 250th‑anniversary cultural framing.