After a decade of gestation and two years of closure, the New Museum is preparing to reopen its doors. The museum announced 10 years ago its intention to expand by constructing a second building on the adjacent land, acquired in 2008.
The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), led by Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu, in collaboration with executive architect Cooper Robertson, was selected in 2017 to design this extension. The objective is then to double the museum’s exhibition space thanks to a 5,574 m2 building spread over seven floors. It is directly attached to the main building designed by the architectural firm Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA).
Named after the art collector and patron Toby Devan Lewis in homage to his donation in 2019 of 20 million dollars (17 million euros), the extension experienced several setbacks: initially hoped for 2022, its opening was delayed, in particular due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Work did not begin until 2022. The museum had to close its doors in March 2024 to allow the construction site to be completed. After more than two years of closure to the public, the institution is finally preparing to inaugurate this extension, the total cost of which amounts to 82 million dollars (70 million euros).
Visually, the new building is distinguished by its silver-grey metallic envelope made of glass panels. It forms a modern contrast alongside SANAA’s iconic white volume while dialoguing harmoniously with it. It is one of the few museums in the world to bring together the designs of two living Pritzker Prize-winning architects. The extension corrects a weak point of the old museum: internal circulation. Previously served by a single freight elevator and a discreet staircase, the complex now benefits from three new elevators and a monumental staircase crossing the atrium. It ensures smoother movement between floors.
A 74-seat forum has been integrated for conferences and public events, and a panoramic “Sky Room” now occupies the seventh floor for special programming. The expansion also offers artist-in-residence studios and educational spaces, as well as a new permanent home for NEW INC, the museum’s art and technology incubator.
This reopening coincides in particular with a handover to its management. Lisa Phillips, director of the museum since 1999, announced that she would step down in April, after 26 years at the helm of the institution.
To celebrate the event, the museum will inaugurate a major thematic exhibition, “New Humans: Memories of the Future”. It will be deployed across all new and existing galleries. The exhibition will explore how creators have imagined the future, considering the impact of social and technological forces on the human experience. The route will bring together historical figures (such as Salvador Dalí, Hannah Höch or Francis Bacon) as well as major contemporary artists such as Wangechi Mutu, Hito Steyerl, Tau Lewis or Meriem Bennani, illustrating a dialogue between different generations. The museum also announced an increase in its entrance fees. The price of adult tickets will increase from 22 to 25 dollars (19 to 21 euros).
The New Museum is a contemporary art museum located at 235 Bowery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Founded in 1977 by curator Marcia Tucker, it distinguished itself as one of the first New York museums exclusively devoted to contemporary art. The museum’s mission is to present emerging artists and avant-garde practices often absent from traditional institutions. It was installed in 2007 in a very recognizable building designed by the Japanese agency SANAA, a staggered stack of cubic volumes covered in aluminum mesh.
