Inside the Cooper Hewitt's star-studded National Design Awards gala

Amid a White House pressure campaign to quell diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, and restore ‘truth and sanity’ to US history, the Smithsonian Institution is quietly clapping back.

Last week, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. restored impeachment language to a portrait of President Donald J. Trump. And Monday evening in New York, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum hosted a jubilant gala to celebrate the 2026 National Design Award recipients.

The honourees, chosen in 10 different categories by an independent jury, marked one of the most diverse and politically-engaged talent pools in recent memory, a roster that includes Thought Matter, a branding agency who’s redesigned the US Constitution; Laura Kurgan, a digital designer whose data visualisations have shed light on topics including mass incarceration; and Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman, whose work strikes alliances across the US-Mexico border.

‘[The winners] understand, as you all do, if you're in this room, that design is everywhere, and that it is, in fact, not neutral at all,’ said Cooper Hewitt director Maria Nicanor in a speech. ‘All of them are truth seekers, beauty makers, connectors.’

The National Design Awards grew out of the White House Millennium Council, an inter-governmental coalition established by the Clinton administration to rise to the challenges of the 21st-century. Now in its 26th edition, the prize is recognised as the most prestigious design accolade in the nation.

High-profile attendees included Martha Stewart, Thom Browne, Maya Lin, Jenna Lyons and Tory Burch, who all received special recognition at the awards banquet. Also in attendance was Joe Gebbia, a co-founder of AirBNB and America’s first Chief Design Officer, a title granted by President Trump in 2025.

In their 60-second acceptance speeches, award winners expressed gratitude while acknowledging the challenges facing the design community and the country – from artificial intelligence to climate change.

Some took subtle aim at recent White House actions. Kurgan, who took home the award for digital design and is a professor at Columbia University, seemingly referenced that institution’s $200 million settlement with the federal government last summer: ‘[Academia] is undergoing serious assault and transformations,’ she said. Architect Teddy Cruz, a co-winner of the award for climate action, devoted his firm’s award to ‘every single beautiful member of the immigrant communities we work with every day.’

Still, Gebbia, who leads America’s National Design Studio, touted the importance of America’s design sector and the need for innovation. The honourees, he told Wallpaper* following an address, represent ‘the best of our nation.’

And indeed, the remainder of the evening, set in the grand hall of the National Museum of the American Indian, was a celebratory one. The night culminated with a special dessert performance from artist Laila Gohar, complete with a marching band and cakes in the shape of objects from the Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection.

‘It makes me hopeful that we have good [honourees] who are good designers,’ Nicanor told Wallpaper* as waiters sliced into cakes shaped like Michael Graves teapots. ‘Some of them are very young, some of them have long trajectories, so there's a continuity there. I don't see that breaking.’

The 2026 National Design Award 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)