US lawmakers demand Smithsonian exhibition-review documents
Two Republican US representatives have asked the Smithsonian for exhibition-review documents, setting a November 11 deadline. Their October 28 letter focuses on an installation about homes destroyed with US-made weapons. The request covers institutional directives and archive access, while the lawmakers’ criticism of the artwork differs from the museum’s published description of the project.
Arts··Evening
A November deadline for Smithsonian documents
Republican US Representatives Tim Burchett and Brian Jack have demanded documents concerning exhibition review at the Smithsonian Institution, the American museum and research network. Their October 28 letter to outgoing secretary Lonnie Bunch III sets a November 11 deadline. It requests institutional directives, a timetable for planned changes to Directive 603, correspondence about those changes and access to six groups of archive records.[1], [2]
Directive 603 governs reviews of exhibitions and programmes, including sensitive material attracting unusual public interest. One requested archive group concerns 2017 work on updating that policy and is restricted until January 1, 2033. Burchett, chairman of the House subcommittee on government efficiency, and Jack say information sought during a July hearing has not been supplied.[2], [1]
Three homes stood inside a design exhibition
Their criticism centers on Patterns of Life, an installation by data journalist Mona Chalabi and Brooklyn visual investigation group SITU Research. It appeared at New York’s Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian’s design museum, in Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial. The exhibition opened on November 2, 2024 and closed on August 10, 2025. The installation was one of 25 commissioned projects examining the physical and emotional experience of home.[1], [2]
Architectural models reconstructed homes in Mosul, Iraq, Manbij, Syria, and Gaza with contributions from affected residents. The museum described homes destroyed in airstrikes involving weapons manufactured in the United States. Books, toys, heirlooms and furniture brought their domestic interiors into the display. Chalabi’s drawings of possessions were printed on translucent silk suspended inside the models, giving household objects a place within the architectural forms.[1], [2]
Lawmakers challenge the review process
Burchett and Jack allege that the installation was partisan and inaccurate and that it changed from its initial proposal. Art in Context distinguishes their characterization from the museum’s published text: that text does not mention America’s founding or identify the US military as responsible for all three strikes. The June inspector-general case study also addressed content review. Smithsonian management said some policy changes had been completed and others were underway. Neither the institution nor Cooper Hewitt immediately answered ARTnews’s request for comment.[1], [2]
