MoMA Offers First Look At Renovation Weeks Before Reopening

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The Museum of Modern Art released images of the results of its nearly-finished, nine-figure renovation project just weeks ahead of its reopening.

The MoMA shut down this summer to facilitate a $450-million renovation project that will add 47,000 square feet of new gallery space to the West 53rd Street institution. The renovation was helmed by a collaboration of architecture firms Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Gensler.

When the museum announced its renovation plans in February, Director Glenn Lowry described the project "as an opportunity to re-energize and expand upon our founding mission—to welcome everyone to experience MoMA as a laboratory for the study and presentation of the art of our time, across all visual arts."

In addition to the added space, the MoMA plans to completely re-invision its layout in order to create a less claustrophobic experience for museumgoers. Popular exhibits and artworks will be spread out across the museum campus to reduce congestion.

Much of the museum's reorganization will be done in a way that features underrepresented artists. The second-, fourth- and fifth-floor galleries will be connected by a "general chronological spine," that will "offer a deeper experience of art through all mediums and by artists from more diverse geographies and backgrounds than ever before," according to a museum press release.

Artworks will rotate every six to ninth months to different galleries in the building, so the new MoMA will offer a constantly evolving experience, museum officials said. The museum's collections in its second-, fourth- and fifth-floor galleries will be entirely new by 2022.

Check out images of the new MoMA campus below: