New Museum Building Expansion Opens Fall 2025

The New Museum is prepared to redefine New York’s contemporary art stage again when it unveils its expansion, designed by OMA / Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas, in collaboration with Cooper Robertson. Scheduled to open in fall 2025, this 60,000-square-foot addition will double the museum’s gallery space, introduce a new atrium stair for seamless vertical circulation, and establish a state-of-the-art cultural incubator.

Since its founding in 1977, the New Museum has continuously evolved to accommodate the shifting landscape of contemporary art. Originally established in a temporary space on Hudson Street, it relocated multiple times before settling into its SANAA-designed flagship building on the Bowery. Now, nearly two decades after that transformative move, the museum is expanding again—this time with a seven-story building that promises to integrate seamlessly with the original structure while offering bold, forward-thinking design elements. The expansion will introduce enhanced visitor access, an expanded bookstore, a full-service restaurant, and an open-air entrance plaza designed for public art installations.

The new building will feature horizontally expansive galleries, breaking away from the museum’s traditionally vertical design to allow for more diverse curatorial approaches. Additional artist residency studios, a 74-seat forum for public programs, and a dedicated home for NEW INC, the museum’s pioneering cultural incubator, will provide a dynamic space for artistic experimentation. Meanwhile, the Sky Room, renowned for its sweeping views of Manhattan, will double in size, offering visitors a distinctive perspective of the city skyline.

“New Humans” at the New Museum

The New Museum’s fall reopening will be celebrated with an ambitious inaugural exhibition titled “New Humans: Memories of the Future.” This large-scale show will explore humanity’s relationship with technological and societal change, featuring over 150 international artists, writers, architects, and filmmakers whose work reflects the evolving concept of what it means to be human.

The New Museum’s expansion has been made possible by a $125 million capital campaign, with the late philanthropist Toby Devan Lewis contributing $30 million, the single largest gift in the museum’s history. As of today, $118 million has been raised, solidifying the New Museum’s place as a major cultural institution in New York City.