Smithsonian Institution 2021

Smithsonian Institution
Annual Report

How do you tell an authentic and unified story of a multifaceted institution during an unprecedented time? For the 2021 annual report, we partnered with the Smithsonian and photographer Stephen Voss to document the year in real time and visually depict the macro story of the organization from closure and isolation through gradual reopening. Photographing the year in its entirety was an exciting premise for an annual report, but we didn’t want to tell a chronological story with a conventional narrative thread. “What if we hired a poet?” we mused. Our team at Smithsonian put their trust in the idea and commissioned a poem by Jennifer Chang. With her creative partnership, we were able to contrast the sheer scale of the institution and provide a singular, intimate voice of observation in this consequential time. The poem transformed the book and created a guiding light, a parallel path of experience and an elegant dialogue with the photography. In a world where annual reports often recycle the same messages and metaphors, this one is a true original.