Explore Pirouette: Turning Points in Design at MoMA New York. From Post-its to Telfar, discover objects that reshaped culture. On view through Nov 15, 2025

Design isn’t just a visual language, it’s a force that reshapes how we live. Pirouette: Turning Points in Design, now showing at MoMA in New York, captures the subtle yet radical shifts that everyday objects can spark.

Curated by Paola Antonelli alongside Maya Ellerkmann, the exhibition draws from MoMA’s collection to spotlight objects that rewrote our behavioral script, some universally known, others quietly beloved within design circles. From cultural icons like the I ♥ NY logo, the Sony Walkman, and the Macintosh 128K, to symbols like the Accessible Icon and fashion’s favorite Telfar Shopping Bag, each piece reframes how design intersects with daily life.

Take the humble Post-it or Spanx: they’re unassuming, yet profoundly shifted how we organize, communicate, and feel. Meanwhile, pieces like the Walkman or early personal computers transformed private spaces, making the world portable, intimate, and immediate.

Seen as a whole, Pirouette argues that design is both reflective and generative—absorbing our experiences and ambitions, then translating them into forms that nudge us toward more equitable, conscious futures.

Exhibition Dates & Visitor Info

• On view through November 15, 2025 at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
   
• That means there are just a few more months to experience it, perfect timing if you’re planning a fall trip to the city.
   

Why Go Now

Pirouette is more than a survey of clever objects, it’s a reminder of how design steers culture in directions big and small. With the countdown to its closing already underway, this is the moment to see how designers, across decades, turned small pivots into global turning points.