Image: Museum of Arts and Design, New York
The Museum of Arts and Design in New York will open ‘Nike: Form Follows Motion’ on September 12, 2026, bringing together five decades of the sports company’s design history. The exhibition will remain on view through March 7, 2027, at the museum’s Jerome and Simona Chazen Building at 2 Columbus Circle.
Organized by Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, the exhibition traces Nike’s development from a small running company in Oregon into a global cultural force. Its focus is the relationship between sport and design innovation, examining how footwear and related design practices have contributed to the company’s international impact.
The presentation will draw primarily from the Department of Nike Archives, identified by the museum as DNA. It will include experimental prototypes, original design studies, rarities and one-off objects, placing these less familiar materials alongside some of Nike’s most recognized shoe collaborations. The selection is intended to show both the development process behind the brand’s products and the range of forms that emerged from it.
‘Nike: Form Follows Motion’ is curated by Glenn Adamson, with Marcella Hanika serving as assistant curator. JA Projects is responsible for the exhibition design, while Daniel Streat of Visual Fields designed the graphics. The museum describes the project as the first exhibition dedicated to a comprehensive history of Nike’s global impact on design, innovation, sport and society.
The exhibition will be accompanied by public programming at MAD. On September 19 at 4 p.m., Adamson and Nick Schonberger, Nike’s senior director of relationships and culture for Nike Brand Communications, will discuss stories and discoveries that emerged during the exhibition’s development. The museum has also scheduled an in-person verbal-description tour for September 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as sneaker-care workshops on September 23, October 21 and November 21.
A members’ opening celebration is scheduled for September 18. Other museum programming listed alongside the exhibition includes ‘ArtsLab: Ceramic Superpower Shoe’ for teens on September 4 and 25. These activities are separate from the exhibition itself but extend MAD’s programming around footwear, materials and design.
‘Nike: Form Follows Motion’ is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. It will be on view at MAD in New York from September 12, 2026, through March 7, 2027.
