A new view for tourists? Smithsonian museum to revamp ‘front door’ to National Mall

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s goal is to make the garden and plaza, first built int he 1980s, more accessible and inviting to the millions who visit the nation’s capital each year.

“Adjacent to the National Mall, the sunken garden is barely visible to both Mall and museum visitors,” the Hirshhorn said in a statement this week.

The updated garden will provide a “front door” for the museum on the National Mall and will be redesigned by Hiroshi Sugimoto, who was responsible for renovating the museum’s lobby in 2018. The new garden will accommodate “large-scale contemporary works and performances,” along with space to show off artwork from the museum.

Some of the more than 60 works on display year-round include a large dotted pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama and a car smashed under a large graffiti-faced rock, both frequent captures on visitors’ cameras.

“Sugimoto’s early concept calls for an enhanced entrance facing the National Mall, directly engaging the more than 35 million people who pass through each year,” he said.

The museum’s board voted unanimously to start the process.

“I can think of no better way to expand our mission than by creating a 21st-century outdoor space for sculpture and performance that will become a beacon for many more visitors,” said Dan Sallick, the Hirshhorn board’s chairman.

The new design plan for the acre-and-a-half area creates three spaces for modernist works, performances, and new installations.

“The plan recognizes the shifts in art-making in the 40-odd years since we were founded,” Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu said to the Washington Post. “Many artists create work on a larger scale, and we want to create a space for performance and other interactive work.”

The project’s timeline and cost was not immediately available, but Chiu said the project will be paid for by federal funds and donations.

“We wanted to look carefully at the garden and make it just as active as the museum and fully draw visitors,” Chiu said.