FEATURED EVENT
LECTURE | SCULPTURE, SPACE, AND VISION
Join us for an evening with Anne Reeve, Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden,
for a behind-the-scenes look at one of Washington DC's most anticipated cultural transformations.
Originally designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and opened in 1974, the Hirshhorn Sculpture
Garden has long been a beloved — if quietly tucked away — landmark on the National Mall.
Now, fifty years on, the garden is undergoing a major revitalization led by renowned Japanese architect
and artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, whose recent renovation of the Hirshhorn's lobby has already
welcomed nearly a million visitors. Sugimoto's design promises to open the sunken garden to
greater visibility, create dynamic spaces for large-scale contemporary works and live performance,
restore intimate settings for the museum's modern masterpieces, and reopen a long-closed underground
passage that was central to Bunshaft's original vision.
In this lecture, Reeve will trace the history and evolution of the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden,
share images and details of the revitalization currently underway, and offer a preview of
new acquisitions that will be unveiled when the garden reopens to the public in Fall 2026.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Anne Reeve
Curator
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Anne Reeve is Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C.,
where she oversees the museum’s collection of modern and contemporary sculpture.
Reeve organized the Hirshhorn’s first major collection exhibition devoted exclusively to the work of women and gender-nonconforming artists,
Put It This Way: (Re)Visions of the Hirshhorn Collection (August 2022-September 2023), as well as their recent presentation of the
landmark survey exhibition, Simone Leigh (November 2023-March 2024). She is currently at work on plans for the museum’s fully renovated
sculpture garden on the National Mall, designed by Hiroshi Sugimoto, which is set to re-open to the public in Fall 2026. Her writing has
appeared in publications including Artforum, Art in America, and Art Papers, and she is a contributor to the 2024
Phaidon volume, Great Women Sculptors.
She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MA in the History of Art from University College London.
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