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(MENAFN- USA Art News) New Museum to Unveil $82 Million Expansion on March 21, Doubling Its Footprint on the Bowery

New York's New Museum will reopen on March 21 with an $82 million expansion that adds a new 60,000-square-foot building and doubles the institution's total footprint to 120,000 square feet. Four years in the making, the project significantly increases space for galleries and artist studios, marking one of the museum's most consequential physical changes since it moved to the Bowery.

The new building was designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architecture firm OMA, led on the project by Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas, with Cooper Robertson serving as executive architect. The addition is intended to read as a seamless extension of the New Museum's SANAA-designed flagship building, completed in 2007. Its architecture leans into openness: a façade of glass and metal panels, a central atrium visible from the street, and a public plaza at the entrance.

Public-facing commissions will anchor the expansion from the outset. The museum has announced a façade work by American artist Tschabalala Self (b. 1990), a monumental sculpture by Czech artist Klára Hosnedlová (b. 1990) for the atrium stair, and a site-specific installation by British artist Sarah Lucas (b. 1962) on the plaza.

Inside, the building introduces a larger lobby and a seventh-floor sky room with panoramic views of Manhattan. Visitors will also find a shop offering art books and limited-edition objects, along with a 74-seat theater designed for lectures, performances, and screenings.

Food service is also part of the museum's expanded public program. A restaurant will serve a menu by chef Julia Sherman, author of“Salad for President: A Cookbook Inspired by Artists.” The space will include a commission by Irish artist Ian Cheng (b. 1984) and furniture designed by Minjae Kim.

On the upper levels, the museum has built a new artist-in-residence studio. Director Lisa Phillips said the added facilities will allow the New Museum“to support an even more robust programme for artists in New York City and from around the world.”

The expansion also gives a permanent home to New Inc, the New Museum's art-and-technology incubator founded in 2014. Phillips noted that the initiative has grown substantially, with more than 730 alumni raising over $28.9 million for their businesses and practices over the past decade, and said it“needed a fully dedicated space with top-of-the-line tools.” New Inc has supported artists including Simone Leigh, Sable Elyse Smith, and Jeffrey Gibson.

Alongside the building's physical growth, the museum is introducing a free monthly program for teenagers called the Bowery Art Space, which will run in tandem with its two-year NewMu Teen Fellowship. The Bowery Art Space will also partner with four public high schools in the neighborhood and continue collaborations with local youth-serving organizations, including the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

The new building is named for the late curator and philanthropist Toby Devan Lewis, a New Museum trustee. Lewis helped launch the museum's $125 million capital campaign in 2019 with a $20 million gift. Phillips said Lewis“championed emerging artists and was passionate about the museum,” adding that the institution is“extremely gratified to honour her memory and legacy.”

The expansion had originally been slated to open in autumn 2024. Phillips attributed the delay to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which began as the museum was preparing to break ground and affected both fundraising and construction, as well as the practical challenges of building on the Bowery, one of New York City's oldest thoroughfares.

The reopening arrives at a moment of leadership transition. Phillips, who has led the New Museum since 1999, will step down next month after overseeing pivotal chapters in the institution's history, including the move into its Bowery home and the launch of signature initiatives such as the New Museum Triennial and the IdeasCity festival.

With its expanded galleries, new commissions, and reinforced commitment to artist support and youth programming, the New Museum's next phase aims to make the Bowery building not only larger, but more porous to the city around it.

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