The two exhibits take a very different approach to their subject matter, with the first heavily centered on a specific medium and industry (textiles) while the second focuses broadly on how design can tackle social challenges ranging from healthcare to transportation infrastructure. Read below for more details!

Scraps: Fashion, Textiles and Creative Reuse, Sept. 23–April 16, 2017

Traditional craft and modern sustainability will intersect within this exhibit, which will include more than forty works from Reiko Sudo of Tokyo-based textile design firm Nuno, Luisa Cevese of Milan-based studio Riedizioni, and Christina Kim of Los Angeles-based brand dosa. Museum Director Caroline Baumann said in a press release, “Telling the inspiring and empowering stories of three women designers and entrepreneurs who hail from three continents, Scraps brings critical focus to the human and environmental costs of fashion consumption while also offering viable solutions for reducing waste and raising awareness.”

By the People: Designing a Better America, Sept. 30–Feb. 26, 2017

Cynthia E. Smith, the Cooper Hewitt’s curator of socially responsible design, spent two years compiling By the People. It will cover 60 projects that relate to health care, alternative transportation, sustainable land use, food, education, and more. An introductory section of the exhibition, which will include a video by Cassim Shepard and an interactive data visualization titled Mapping the Measure of America, aims to explore social inequality in the U.S. and contextualize the other exhibit’s other projects. Baumann added “By the People will showcase the innovative and impactful actions generated through design, and inspire creative problem-solving at local, regional, national and even international levels.”