Opening late 2021
Get Ready
For its 175th anniversary, the Smithsonian is looking forward.
What do you think of when you think of the future? FUTURES is the first building-wide exploration of the future on the National Mall, spanning 32,000 square feet. Opening in late 2021 and on view until Summer 2022, FUTURES is your guide to a vast array of interactives, artworks, technologies, and ideas that are glimpses into humanity’s next chapter. You are, after all, only the latest in a long line of future makers.
Smell a molecule. Clean your clothes in a wetland. Meditate with an AI robot. Travel through space and time. Watch water being harvested from air. Become an emoji. The FUTURES is yours to decide, debate, delight. We invite you to dream big, and imagine not just one future, but many possible futures on the horizon—playful, sustainable, inclusive.
In moments of great change, we dare to be hopeful. How will you create the future you want to live in?
Opening Late 2021
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175th Anniversary Celebration
For 175 years and beyond, the Smithsonian has explored the origins of the universe, the sustainability of life on the planet, the full diversity of American history, and human creativity. The Smithsonian is an engine of the future.
Smithsonian at 175
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Exterior Installation
Cross the threshold to the future at AIB’s entrance as you step through contemporary artist Soo Sunny Park’s Expanded Present, an ethereal portal of iridescent material designed to inspire and delight.
A Shimmering New Gateway from Soo Sunny Park
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Exhibition Posters
Digital artist Nettrice Gaskins used algorithms and machine learning, including A.I. neural network Deep Dream, to create 11 portraits of futurists featured in the exhibition.
Portraits from a Neural Network
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New!
What do we dream of? Award-winning filmmakers answer this question by showcasing stories of hope and resilience from everyday people making a difference across the country. This new series of commissioned documentary shorts is brought to life thanks to Co-Chairs LL COOL J and Kevin Bright along with nationally acclaimed nonprofit The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture.
"Futures We Dream" Documentary Series
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New + Cool
New!
Five leading contemporary artists create AIB-specific works for their Smithsonian debuts. Beatriz Cortez, Nettrice Gaskins, Soo Sunny Park, Devan Shimoyama, and Tamiko Thiel and/p work in such diverse media as augmented reality, A.I., found objects, and industrial materials. You won’t want to miss these stunning portals into possible worlds on the horizon.
Five Contemporary Artists Imagine Future Worlds
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The future of art
What if an artwork could respond to your voice? me + you from globally renowned artist and architect Suchi Reddy will invite visitors to speak their future vision as an AI algorithm translates meaning, tone, and sentiment into a unique mandala of color and light. Human wisdom and intelligent technology will be woven together to create a constantly evolving visualization of collective futures in the sculpture’s central totem. This groundbreaking public artwork marks Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) first-ever major contemporary art commission.
Read more about amazon web services
The future of design
What if future cities were created by everyone who lives within them? Bring your creativity and sense of play to co-design sustainable and inclusive communities in real time alongside an artificial intelligence (AI) design partner at “The Co-Lab.” This first-of-its-kind collaborative design experience, developed with Autodesk, will allow you to develop new ideas, faster, in a way that solves huge design problems.
Read more about hyperloop
The future of travel
Be among the first to marvel at Virgin Hyperloop’s Pegasus pod, which made history in November 2020 when its first passengers completed a successful trial run. With speeds of up to 800 miles per hour, hyperloop travel will be the fastest means of land-based travel yet. Distances that once took months to travel, and now take hours, will require just minutes. Buckle up!
read more about hyperloopFounding Futurists
DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN
JOHN & ADRIENNE MARS
JACQUELINE B. MARS
Major Sponsors
KEVIN S. BRIGHT & CLAUDIA W. BRIGHT
ROBERT KOGOD
Supporting Sponsors
JOHN BROCK III
SUZANNE NORA JOHNSON & DAVID JOHNSON FOUNDATION
Contributing Sponsors
WENDY DAYTON
CHARLIE & NANCY HOGAN
Additional special and in-kind gifts provided by:
ACCESS SMITHSONIAN
JOSH & SARAH EASTRIGHT
KUKA
DR. JORGE G. PUENTE & DR. PATRICIA MATOS-PUENTE
IVAN SELIN
BOB AND JOAN CATELL
SAMEER GANDHI
JESSIE KELLEY
RESEMBLE
THE SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN & THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL BOARD
VIN DI BONA
GOODBY SILVERSTEIN & PARTNERS
MARVEL STUDIOS
MARTY RODGERS
FUTURES RECEIVED FEDERAL SUPPORT FROM THE ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN INITIATIVES POOL, ADMINISTERED BY THE SMITHSONIAN ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN CENTER