An immersive survey of new and existing works by the performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson is heading to the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington next year.

Organized by Mark Beasley, the Hirshhorn’s curator of media and performance art, the exhibition touches on the social, political and personal. Five new large-scale commissions and pieces that expand on previous ideas will fill the museum’s entire second floor.

Ms. Anderson is “somebody who speaks to the issues of our time from many different vantage points and media and genres,” said Melissa Chiu, the director of the museum. “She’s one of the most important voices I think of the 20th and 21st century because of that.”

One of the new works is “Red Flags,” an installation of six flags waved by robotic armlike structures that swing from side to side before abruptly ringing a bell. The idea is that upon entering the show, visitors will hear a call to humanity, one that conveys a sense of alarm.