New Museum’s $82M NYC Expansion Unveils New Building & Exhibits

New York's New Museum opens its $82M, 60,000 sq. ft. expansion, doubling space for art, new studios, and the New Humans exhibit. Named for Toby Devan Lewis, it embodies the museum's evolving mission to support artists and engage the public.

Architectural Design & Vision

The new structure was developed by Pritzker Prize-winning design company OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu and Rapid Eye Movement Koolhaas, in cooperation with the executive architect Cooper Robertson. The area is envisioned as a smooth and corresponding extension of the New Gallery’s Sanaa-designed flagship structure, completed in 2007. The addition’s design aims to stress openness, including a frontage of glass and metal panels, a central room visible from the road and a public plaza at the entryway.

The development allows the gallery to produce more complicated exhibits and commissions, according to its artistic supervisor, Massimiliano Gioni. “We have an opportunity to dedicate even more rooms and resources to the production of new work,” he states. “Due to the fact that we are unburdened by a collection, we put a great deal of our power into creating brand-new works, working with musicians to support them in creating jobs which remain with them and usually locate brand-new homes after they’re shown with us.”

Expanded Galleries & Inaugural Exhibition

The new structure adds around 10,000 sq. ft of event area. It opens with the exhibit New Humans: Memories of the Future, which occupies the gallery’s entire space (old and brand-new) with an expedition of just how changes in innovation and society have actually redefined the concept of humanity. The large program has jobs by more than 200 artists– amongst them the contemporary artists Tau Lewis, Wangechi Mutu and Valuable Okoyomon alongside 20th-century greats like Francis Bacon, Salvador Dalí and Hannah Höch.

Toby Devan Lewis Legacy & Artist Programs

The brand-new structure is called after the late curator and benefactor Toby Devan Lewis, a gallery trustee who made lots of contributions throughout the years, including contributing $20m to kick off the gallery’s $125m capital project in 2019. Phillips claims that Lewis “promoted emerging artists and was passionate about the gallery. We were fortunate and blessed to work so carefully for several years and are incredibly gratified to honour her memory and legacy.”

It opens up with the event New Humans: Memories of the Future, which inhabits the gallery’s entire space (old and brand-new) with an expedition of how shifts in modern technology and culture have actually redefined the principle of mankind.

On the top degrees, there is a new artist-in-residence studio that allows the gallery “to sustain an even more robust program for musicians in New York City and from around the globe”, the gallery’s supervisor, Lisa Phillips, tells The Art Paper. The expansion also integrates a permanent home for New Inc, the New Museum’s incubator for art and innovation founded in 2014– alumni of the program include the musicians Rachel Rossin, and Stephanie Dinkins, and the developer Telfar Clemens. Phillips includes that the effort has actually grown enormously, with more than 730 graduates increasing over $28.9 m for their companies and practices in the previous decade, hence it “needed a completely committed room with state-of-the-art devices”.

A number of irreversible art payments secure the brand-new structure’s public spaces, including a façade work by Tschabalala Self, a significant sculpture by Klára Hosnedlová for the atrium staircase and a site-specific installation by Sarah Lucas on the plaza.

On the upper levels, there is a new artist-in-residence studio that enables the museum “to sustain an also a lot more robust programme for artists in New York City and from around the world”, the gallery’s director, Lisa Phillips, tells The Art Paper. The development likewise integrates a long-term home for New Inc, the New Museum’s incubator for art and modern technology founded in 2014– alumni of the program consist of the musicians Rachel Rossin, and Stephanie Dinkins, and the designer Telfar Clemens. The brand-new building is called after the late manager and benefactor Toby Devan Lewis, a gallery trustee that made numerous contributions throughout the years, including contributing $20m to kick off the museum’s $125m resources project in 2019. “Since we are unburdened by a collection, we placed a lot of our energy into generating brand-new jobs, functioning with artists to support them in producing jobs which remain with them and usually discover new homes after they’re shown with us.”

Museum’s Evolving Mission & Thematic Curation

“The New Museum has continually advanced given that its founding in 1977, both in regards to physical growth from a one-room gallery on Hudson Road to our structure on the Bowery, and in regards to the many exhibits and campaigns we have actually piloted over the decades,” Phillips claims. “We began as a start-up, and though we have actually expanded in dimension, we are still an incubator, a place where ideas and art form in real time in a manner they do not in most various other galleries.”

This thematic exhibition continues a longstanding style for the museum, Gioni says: “Perhaps precisely since we don’t have a collection, we believe our duty is to take another look at the past from the point of view of the here and now. Via its 49 years of existence, the museum has actually shown us that art is a lens whereby we can comprehend, translate and transform the world outside the museum.”

The New Gallery’s development was originally set up to open up in autumn 2025. According to Phillips, some obstacles happened as an outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic, which began as the gallery prepared to begin and influenced fundraising and building, and the logistics of building on the Bowery– one of New York City’s oldest highways.

Gioni claims the exhibition intends to “develop a balance in between today and the 1920s, as seeking to the past can also comfort us that we have endured challenging times over and over once more”. He includes that it endeavours to think about how brand-new technologies “located an excellent ally in the rise of totalitarian routines and the birth of fascism in manner ins which are not also different to what we are experiencing today”.

Public Access, Amenities & Youth Initiatives

The New Gallery will offer totally free public access throughout its opening weekend break. Thereafter, it will supply pay-what-you-wish hours on Thursday nights, while admission continues to be totally free for visitors under 18 years of ages.

The development has a spacious entrance hall, a large skies area on the seventh flooring offering panoramic views of Manhattan, a shop with art books and limited- version objects and a 74-seat theatre for talks, testings and performances. A dining establishment offering a menu by the chef Julia Sherman– the writer of Salad for Head Of State: A Recipe Book Influenced by Musicians– includes a payment by Ian Cheng and furniture made by Minjae Kim.

The gallery is also presenting a complimentary regular monthly program for teenagers called the Bowery Art Space, which will certainly run together with its two-year intensive NewMu Teenager Fellowship program. In addition, the Bowery Art Area will certainly deal with 4 public high schools in the area and proceed connections with regional youth-serving partners like the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

Project Milestone & Leadership Transition

After four years of building, New york city’s New Museum is introduces its enthusiastic $82m growth on 21 March. The enhancement of a whole new 60,000 sq. ft building marks a significant milestone for the museum, doubling its impact to 120,000 sq. ft and producing even more room for galleries and musician workshops.

Phillips will certainly step down from her role next month, after leading the museum because 1999 and leading it with a number of transformative chapters– including overseeing the action into its front runner structure and presenting significant tasks like the New Gallery Triennial and the IdeasCity celebration.