Jul
08

2020/2021 Excellence in Exhibitions Award

Submissions are being accepted through Dec. 31, 2021

Submissions for the 2020/2021 Smithsonian Excellence in Exhibitions Award are being accepted through December 31, 2021. This awards program, inaugurated in 2017, recognizes outstanding work in the field of exhibitions and acknowledges the dedication and creativity of exhibition staff throughout the Smithsonian.

With all of our museums now open or beginning the reopening process this summer, it’s time to again celebrate achievements in exhibition excellence! Because o​f the pandemic, we will combine exhibitions that were on view from 2020 and 2021 into one awards program. Also, due to the pandemic, we aren’t able to offer a cash award as we have in years past. The awards committee will make sure that award winners receive wide recognition, both internally and externally.

Exhibitions do not need to open in 2020 or 2021, but just be open to the public during that time period. Please plan to submit an application to recognize exhibit excellence at your unit. We will announce and celebrate winners in Spring 2022.

If the exhibition you would like to nominate is short-term, please consider creating a video walkthrough of the experience. Judging will likely be a mixture of in-person and via photo/video documentation. Guidelines and application forms are available on the Award tab at exhibits.si.edu. You can also find the application at the SharePoint site below.

https://collab.si.edu/sites/SI/ExhAward/Pages/default.aspx

Previous Winners

The 2019 Smithsonian Award for Exhibition Excellence was awarded to the National Museum of Natural History for Deep Time.

Two fossil dinosaurs posed in combat
In its time, Tyrannosaurus was the largest meat eater in western North America. It feasted on dinosaurs large and small, including plant eaters like the Triceratops. Few—if any—animals could take down a healthy, adult Tyrannosaurus. As the apex predator, the “tyrant king” affected the entire community. Each meal Tyrannosaurus killed or scavenged helped keep populations of some species in check and provided leftovers for others. In its new pose devouring a Triceratops, the Nation’s T. rex will be the centerpiece of the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time, a 31,000-square-foot dinosaur and fossil hall that opened June 2019. (Smithsonian Institution)

The 2019 Special Achievement Award went to two projects: Smithsonian Gardens for Habitat and The National Museum of African Art for Heroes: Principles of African Greatness. 

Seating area among planters
Habitat of Flight exhibit (outside National Air and Space Museum) Image courtesy of Smithsonian Gardens

This program is coordinated by Smithsonian Exhibits and PEEPS (Promoting Excellence among Exhibit Professionals at the Smithsonian). For questions about this program, please email ExhibitAward@si.edu.

For further information on this message, contact Julia Garcia, National Museum of American History, x3-3696  (VoIP) or 202-633-3696  (non-VoIP), garciaj@si.edu 

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Posted: 8 July 2021
About the Author:

Alex di Giovanni is primarily responsible for "other duties as assigned" in the Office of Communications and External Affairs. She has been with the Smithsonian since 2006 and plans to be interred in the Smithson crypt.