The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum has opened "Making Home," the seventh installment of its Triennial, featuring 25 newly commissioned projects that explore the concept of home through memory, construction, and rupture. Co-curated by Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, Christina L. De León, and Michelle Joan Wilkinson, the exhibition is organized across three themes—Going Home, Seeking Home, and Building Home—and marks the first partnership between Cooper Hewitt and another Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The show is on view through August 10.
This exhibition matters because it expands the discourse around design beyond functionality and price point, emphasizing narrative, symbolism, and cultural meaning. By addressing home as a critical framework, it presents a deeply cross-cultural vision of American life, challenging the narrow focus of the current design boom on collectible objects. The inclusion of works like Joe Baker's land acknowledgment installation also highlights the importance of indigenous perspectives and historical memory in contemporary design.