Video games? In the Smithsonian? It could happen sooner than you think, if "soon" for you is March of 2012, when the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC will feature the Art of Video Games exhibition.


The Smithsonian's web site promises that the six-month-long showing of video games as art will be "the first to examine comprehensively the evolution of video games themselves as an artistic medium," which you may or may not contend.

More specifically, it will "show the development of visual effects and aesthetics during four decades, the emergence of games as a means for storytelling, the influence of world events and popular culture on game development, and the impact that the games can have on society." The Smithsonian's curators will do so in the form of game footage, video interviews with developers and artist, historic game consoles and working, playable systems.


Additional details at the Smithsonian's web site. No rush.

The Art of Video Games Exhibition [Smithsonian American Art Museum]