Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum honored the winners of the 2026 National Design Awards alongside a distinguished group of Gala Honorees at the annual Smithsonian National Design Awards Gala in New York City on May 19, bringing together more than 300 leaders from the design, cultural, business and philanthropic communities for the museum’s premier fundraising event.

Established in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards recognize innovation and impact across 10 design disciplines and represent one of the nation’s highest honors in the field.

The evening opened with an awards ceremony recognizing this year’s winners:

• Robert Earl Paige (Design Visionary)
• Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman (Climate Action)
• Mattaforma (Emerging Designer)
• Frida Escobedo Studio (Architecture)
• Thought Matter (Communication Design)
• Laura Kurgan (Digital Design)
• Josh Tafoya (Fashion Design)
• Charlap Hyman & Herrero (Interior Design)
• Ten Eyck Landscape Architects (Landscape Architecture)
• Berea College Student Craft (Product Design)

Awards were presented by the museum’s Director, Maria Nicanor, the Awards jury chair, Aric Chen and a cohort of Gala Honorees, including Amy White of Adobe; Jenna Lyons; Tory Burch; Ben Watson of MillerKnoll; Joseph Specter of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation; and Kiera Fernandez of Target.

In her opening remarks, Nicanor said, “This year’s winners and honorees are extraordinary designers who are redefining their fields—whether through quiet and small gestures with incalculable power, to larger-than-life statements at the planetary scale. All of them are truth seekers, beauty makers, connectors who in their quest for excellence know not to sacrifice kindness, humanity or the resources available to us. Tonight, we celebrate them for expanding what’s possible, with curiosity and urgency.”

New this year, the Gala Honorees distinction recognizes individuals and organizations for their lasting contributions to the field of design.

The 2026 Gala Honorees included:

• Adobe, the multinational technology company
• Fashion designer Thom Browne
• Fashion designer Tory Burch
• Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co.
• Artist and designer Maya Lin
• Creative director Jenna Lyons
• Global design collective MillerKnoll
• Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott
• Entrepreneur and media personality Martha Stewart
• Retailer Target

Among the historic figures recognized were:

• Industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper, founder of Cooper Union
• Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park
• Architect Louis Sullivan, widely regarded as a pioneer of modern American architecture
• Textile and interior designer Candace Wheeler, a leader of the American Arts and Crafts movement
• Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most influential architects of the 20th century

The dinner program featured remarks from Maria Nicanor, Jon Iwata, chair of Cooper Hewitt’s Board of Trustees, special guest Joe Gebbia and Gala Honorees including Martha Stewart; Kiera Fernandez of Target; Tory Burch; Thom Browne; Amy White of Adobe; Maya Lin; and Christopher Young of Tiffany & Co.

A highlight of the evening was a special dessert presentation by artist Laila Gohar, who created an imaginative display of cakes inspired by iconic works from Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection. Presented on rolling trolleys and accompanied by musicians, the performance celebrated the creativity and playfulness at the heart of design.

Cooper Hewitt will also launch its new Director’s Talks, a public program series offering direct access to the ideas and practices of today’s leading designers. The monthly series begins with one‑on‑one conversations between Maria Nicanor and the 2026 winners. Spanning design disciplines and the 10 award categories, each talk offers an inside look at the innovation, practice and vision behind the work of this year’s winners. The first talk on May 21 features Design Visionary Award winner Robert Earl Paige, an artist, designer and educator whose work disregards boundaries between fine art, craft and design. Director’s Talks continue June 10 with Communication Design winner Thought Matter and Fashion Design winner Josh Tafoya on July 16.

The gala coincides with a milestone year for the museum, leading up to the opening of the major exhibition “Design Across Time: Exploring the Smithsonian’s Design Collection” on June 26. Spanning the museum’s first floor galleries, the multi-year installation will showcase the breadth and impact of design across centuries and expand public access to the national collection of design.

ABOUT THE 2026 NATIONAL DESIGN AWARDS

National Design Award winners are selected by a multidisciplinary jury of national and international design practitioners, educators and leaders. The 2026 National Design Awards jury was chaired by Aric Chen, director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation. The jury included Liz Danzico, vice president of design at Microsoft AI; Patricia Moore, president of MooreDesign Associates; Henk Ovink, executive director and founding commissioner for the Global Commission on the Economics of Water; Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology; and Thomas Woltz, senior principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects.

ABOUT COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM

Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs, master’s program, publications and online resources inspire, educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education and research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the landmarked Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over 215,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup dating to about 1100 BC to contemporary 3D-printed objects and digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of design and its power to change the world.

For more information, visit www.cooperhewitt.org or follow @cooperhewitt on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

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Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum today announced the appointment of Michelle Millar Fisher, Ph.D. as Chief Curator, effective July 13. As Chief Curator, Fisher will define the creative vision and direction of content for Cooper Hewitt, lead the museum’s five curatorial departments and conservation team, and steward the permanent collection, composed of more than 215,000 objects. Fisher will succeed Matilda McQuaid, who will be retiring from Cooper Hewitt this spring after an impactful 24-year tenure at the museum.

“Michelle is a force in the design world,” said Maria Nicanor, Director of Cooper Hewitt. “Her arrival marks an exciting new chapter at Cooper Hewitt, one rooted in gratitude to Matilda McQuaid for her leadership and legacy over the past 24 years. From here on, Michelle’s committed curatorial approach and passion for making design accessible to all will energize the museum’s creative vision, propelling it into the future. We are truly excited to have someone with her experience, care and intellectual rigor join the team at Cooper Hewitt.”

“People are the engines and dreamers behind all good design,” Fisher said. “It is my strong desire to embrace this role by fostering the positive, innovative and humane approaches to both design and the workplace that I have been fortunate to thrive in. I am beyond lucky to join such a dedicated and smart team.”

Fisher comes to Cooper Hewitt from the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston where she currently serves as the Ronald C. and Anita L. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts. Her work at the MFA has focused on the intersections of people, power and the material world. Her most current work is dedicated to craft education, a project that will culminate in the book Craft Schools: A Traveler’s Guide, as well as a forthcoming exhibition, “Think With Your Hands: Learning Through Craft Schools.” At the MFA, she has also co-organized two large-scale permanent collection installations, led four iterations of the museum’s partnership exhibition series with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and led an ambitious contemporary craft acquisition program.

As part of an independent team, she also led “Designing Motherhood: Things That Make and Break Our Births,” a book, touring exhibition and series of programs. The project won a Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Award, a Graham Foundation Award and the 2025 Architectural Review Award for Research in Gender and Architecture.

Previously, Fisher served as the Louis C. Madeira IV Assistant Curator of European Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where she co-organized “Designs for Different Futures” in 2019. From 2014–2018, she was a curatorial assistant at the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where she was part of the curatorial teams for exhibitions such as “Items: Is Fashion Modern?” (2017), “Symbols and Icons” (2016), “Design and Data Visualization” (2015) and “Design and Violence” (2013), among others.

In 2011, she co-founded ArtHistoryTeachingResources.org, a widely used Kress Foundation-funded project. In 2019, she co-founded Art + Museum Transparency, home to the Salary Transparency Spreadsheet.

Fisher holds a Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy in art history from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and received a Master of Philosophy and doctorate in art history at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. She was part of the 2022 fellow cohort at the Center for Curatorial Leadership.

ABOUT COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM

Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs, master’s program, publications and online resources inspire, educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education and research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the landmarked Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over 215,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup dating to about 1100 BC to contemporary 3D-printed objects and digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of design and its power to change the world.

For more information, visit www.cooperhewitt.org or follow @cooperhewitt on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

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Kalina
Prospect High School
Cook County, IL

Student Design
Strong connections to oneself and community are essential for well-being, yet increasing dependence on technology has led to widespread digital overstimulation and social isolation. Offline Oasis responds by creating a space that encourages individuals to slow down and reconnect with themselves while also supporting meaningful interaction. Through sensory spaces, the design helps people unplug and reconnect. Its flexible, replicable structure allows it to be adapted nationwide, supporting healthier, more connected communities across the United States.

Design from the Community
Designed by Walter Kroeber, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library supports its community in countless ways. Its programs serve people of all ages, from children discovering creativity to immigrants seeking learning opportunities and seniors finding connection. The library acts as a second home, reflecting the community’s inclusivity and shared identity.

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Leehyun, Seoyoon, and Celine
The Taft School, Kent School, and Deerfield Academy
Litchfield County, CT; and Franklin County, MA

Student Design
Our “Undulating Landscape” replaces rigid linear desks with a multi-functional, organic environment for kindergarteners. Children naturally transition between recessed curves for quiet rest and elevated ridges that serve as intuitive surfaces for creative work. This fluid design rejects stiff postures, encouraging imaginative movement and sensory engagement. By prioritizing flexible, non-linear forms, it transforms classrooms into dynamic hubs for cognitive growth, offering a scalable model for healthier, more creative learning environments nationwide.

Design from the Community
Steelcase’s desks define our community’s industrial identity, yet they create conflict in my sibling’s kindergarten. While these rigid forms deserve preservation as historical artifacts, their linear stiffness remains fundamentally at odds with the flexible, organic environment required for a child’s natural development and creative play.

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Sol
Orange County School of the Arts
Orange County, CA

Student Design
Urban runoff affects all Southern Californians, especially people in Santa Ana. This Portable Biofilter Planter captures pollutants before they reach sewers. Inspired by the Zanja Madre’s visible water management, it utilizes river stones and native plants to slow floods at curbs and parking lots. By slowing floodwaters on-site, it protects homes and streets. This decentralized system can be scaled nationwide, replacing hidden drainage with beautiful flowers and community-specific design on the side.

Design from the Community
The Zanja Madre is a colonial-era, gravity-fed irrigation system that diverted river water to the pueblo, transforming arid valleys into an agricultural powerhouse. It was a visible, open part of daily life that forced the community to interact, fostering a shared identity rooted in communal stewardship.

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Junaid
Independence High School
Williamson County, TN

Student Design
As someone with special needs, therapeutic horseback riding has fostered inclusion, healing, and growth for individuals like me in communities across our nation. Standard stirrups are often inadequate for riders who require enhanced support and safety. This patent-pending specialized stirrup, featuring a heel rest with adjustable size and angle, promotes participation by supporting riders with limited mobility, while its hook-and-groove joint releases under lateral pressure to prevent a rider from being dragged if they fall.

Design from the Community
The equestrian stirrup embodies centuries of history, innovation, and the partnership between humans and horses, anchoring a diverse equestrian community of ranchers, athletes, recreational riders, and therapeutic programs. By providing riders with balance, control, and stability—advancing agriculture, frontier expansion, transportation, and cavalry—the stirrup helped forge a strong and resilient nation.

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SPEAKERS

Nu Goteh is a designer, strategist, and educator who envisions design as a tool for communities to reclaim their futures. As founder and principal of Room for Magic and co-founder, managing partner, and creative director of Deem Journal, Goteh is at the forefront of an emerging generation of designers who integrate design, culture, art, community, and social practice. Through Deem’s global platform, which has expanded beyond the print journal to include experiential activations and digital content, Goteh works to create a more inclusive future by examining design as a process instead of as output. His community-centric studio practice, Room for Magic, brings together marketing, storytelling, creative direction, and human-centered design for clients such as the Art for Justice Fund, the Ford Foundation, the World Peace Foundation, the National Memorial for the Underground Railroad, and the Urban Civil Rights Museum, as well as for brands like Jordan and Headspace. Influenced by his Liberian heritage and passion for counterculture, Goteh is a global voice for design as a social practice. Salome Asega is the New Museum’s Deputy Director of Strategy and Innovation, overseeing NEW INC, the museum’s cultural incubator for creative practitioners working across art, design, and technology. Asega is also an artist, researcher, and educator working between participatory design and emerging technologies. Prior to joining NEW INC in 2021, Asega was the inaugural New Media Art Research Fellow for Creativity and Free Expression at the Ford Foundation, where she supported artists and organizations in the new media arts ecosystem. She is also a cofounder of POWRPLNT, a digital art collaboratory based in Brooklyn that offers free and sliding-scale workshops run by established media artists. Since 2015, Asega has been teaching studio and design methodology courses in the MFA Design and Technology program at Parsons School of Design.

Salome Asega is the New Museum’s Deputy Director of Strategy and Innovation, overseeing NEW INC, the museum’s cultural incubator for creative practitioners working across art, design, and technology. Asega is also an artist, researcher, and educator working between participatory design and emerging technologies. Prior to joining NEW INC in 2021, Asega was the inaugural New Media Art Research Fellow for Creativity and Free Expression at the Ford Foundation, where she supported artists and organizations in the new media arts ecosystem. She is also a cofounder of POWRPLNT, a digital art collaboratory based in Brooklyn that offers free and sliding-scale workshops run by established media artists. Since 2015, Asega has been teaching studio and design methodology courses in the MFA Design and Technology program at Parsons School of Design.

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Ish
Liberty High School
Collin County, TX

Student Design
EcoFlow addresses menstrual waste polluting Frisco’s waterways and landfills, impacting our community’s environment. This biodegradable tampon applicator is made from compressed seaweed bioplastic with a water-based lubricant coating. The ribbed grip and rounded tip maintain familiar handling while decomposing in 6-7 days after flushing, versus 500 years for plastic. Paired with organic cotton, it eliminates plastic waste, and EcoFlow adapts existing dispensers with sustainable alternatives, offering nationwide scalability for 100+ million daily tampon users.

Design from the Community
This basket contains free menstrual products in Frisco ISD school bathrooms, providing tampons and pads to students. It represents our community’s commitment to health equity and dignity, ensuring no student misses class due to a lack of access. However, the plastic applicators create environmental waste in local waterways and landfills.

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—For the 2026 Smithsonian National Design Awards, honorees including Tiffany & Co., Martha Stewart, Adobe, Target, Tory Burch and Thom Browne highlight the enduring impact of American design as the nation marks its 250th anniversary—

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum today announced a new distinction to be introduced at this year’s Smithsonian National Design Awards Gala: a group of Gala Honorees recognized for their lasting contributions to the field of design. The honorees will be celebrated alongside the winners of the 2026 National Design Awards at the annual awards gala Tuesday, May 19 in New York City.

Coinciding with the United States’ 250th anniversary, the 2026 Gala Honorees selected by Cooper Hewitt include both contemporary leaders and historic figures whose work has shaped American design across disciplines and generations.

Contemporary Gala Honorees include Adobe, the multinational technology company; fashion designer Thom Browne; fashion designer Tory Burch; luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co.; artist and designer Maya Lin; creative director Jenna Lyons; global design collective MillerKnoll; philanthropist MacKenzie Scott; entrepreneur and media personality Martha Stewart; and retailer Target.

Historic figures being recognized include industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper, founder of Cooper Union; landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park; architect Louis Sullivan, widely regarded as a pioneer of modern American architecture; textile and interior designer Candace Wheeler, a leader of the American Arts and Crafts movement; and architect Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most influential architects of the 20th century.

The 2026 Smithsonian National Design Awards Gala will feature a festive black-tie evening with an awards ceremony, cocktails and a seated dinner celebrating the winners of the National Design Awards and the Gala Honorees.

“American design has been shaped by remarkable individuals and institutions whose ideas continue to influence the way we experience the world,” said Maria Nicanor, director of Cooper Hewitt. “In the year of the United States’ 250th anniversary, we are proud to recognize both contemporary leaders and historic figures whose work has left a lasting mark on the field. It is a privilege to celebrate their impact alongside the extraordinary winners of the 2026 National Design Awards.”

Established in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards celebrate excellence and leadership in design across 10 disciplines, including architecture, fashion, product design, landscape architecture, interior design, climate action, communication design and digital design, as well as an emerging designer and a design visionary award. These categories emphasize the power of design to improve the world and the designers leading the charge at the forefront of their fields.

The 2026 National Design Award winners are:

• Robert Earl Paige, Design Visionary
• Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman, Climate Action
• Mattaforma, Emerging Designer
• Frida Escobedo Studio, Architecture
• Thought Matter, Communication Design
• Laura Kurgan, Digital Design
• Josh Tafoya, Fashion Design
• Charlap Hyman & Herrero, Interior Design
• Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Landscape Architecture
• Berea College Student Craft, Product Design

The 2026 National Design Award winners were selected by an external jury of design leaders and practitioners. Nominations are open to all and jurors join from diverse locations to review submissions, resulting in a final selection of 10 category awardees. The 2026 National Design Awards jury was chaired by Aric Chen, director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation. The jury included Liz Danzico, vice president of design at Microsoft AI; Patricia Moore, president of MooreDesign Associates; Henk Ovink, executive director and founding commissioner for the Global Commission on the Economics of Water; Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology; and Thomas Woltz, senior principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects.

The gala is Cooper Hewitt’s signature annual fundraising event, supporting the museum’s exhibitions, educational initiatives, public programs and stewardship of the Smithsonian’s national design collection of more than 215,000 objects. Proceeds also support 2026 exhibitions including “Made in America: The Industrial Photography of Christopher Payne” and “Design Across Time,” a landmark presentation of the museum’s permanent collection opening this summer.

ABOUT COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM

Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs, master’s program, publications and online resources inspire, educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education and research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the landmarked Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over 215,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup dating to about 1100 BC to contemporary 3D-printed objects and digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of design and its power to change the world.

For more information, visit www.cooperhewitt.org or follow @cooperhewitt on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

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