The New MoMA is Here, and It's Incredible!
It’s no secret that New York City's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is one of the most renowned art institutions in the world. Now, just as it celebrates its 90th anniversary, MoMA is giving art enthusiasts even more to love, as it just reopened after a $450 million renovation by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler.
In an essay exploring MoMa's transformation, Director Glenn Lowry says: "The challenge before us today is how to create a museum that is at once global in its perspective yet rooted in New York; that is sensitive to divergent artistic practices yet focused on the artists and ideas it most believes in; that is open and accessible to the largest possible public yet engaging and intimate; that is fundamentally participatory yet enables individual experiences."
The result considering these goals? For one, MoMA's gallery space has increased by 30%—47,000 square feet, to be exact. The overall design is also more welcoming for visitors, offering more thoughtfully crafted spaces to stop and reflect on the museum's breadth of world-class modern and contemporary art, from paintings to sculptures.
The renovations were also intended to encourage museum-goers to engage with its vast collection of more than 200,00 objects in a manner that showcases the connections between varied disciplines. For instance, paintings and sculpture are no longer separated from architecture and design. Film is positioned alongside drawings and prints, and media and performance aren't removed from photography.
And along with an airy new lobby—complete with double-height ceilings—there's a high-tech studio and Gensler-designed Creativity Lab: the perfect spot for visitors to engage with MoMa's collection in innovative ways. What's more, the MoMA Design Store was lowered one level, exposing it to passers-by on the bustling street by means of a sleek glass wall. Additionally, a new 3,600 square-foot cafe on the sixth-floor is available for casual refreshments and dining.
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