Arts & Culture

Anniversaries, Expansions & Openings

• The Shed | Manhattan | April 2019
  • The first arts center designed to commission, produce and present interdisciplinary arts, with an outer shell that contracts and expands on wheels.

• Webster Hall | Manhattan | April 2019
  • Built in 1886, the famed East Village music venue was renovated by BSE Global and The Bowery Presents and reopened with a buzzy performance by Jay-Z.

• Alice Austen House | Staten Island | May 2019
  • The museum, a national site of LGBTQ+ historic significance, reopened with a multi-year exhibition highlighting the works of Alice Austen, one of America’s earliest and most renowned female photographers.

• The Statue of Liberty Museum | Liberty Island | May 2019
  • The museum, with a green roof offering views of the statue and Lower Manhattan, is free to enter with a Statue Cruises ticket. Climate controlled for all seasons, it features Bartholdi’s workshop replica, the original torch and an immersive theater.

• High Line Spur | Manhattan | June 2019
  • The preserved, last remaining section of the original rail structure at the western end of the High Line at West 30th Street Tenth Avenue. The focal point is the Plinth, a series of rotating art commissions debuting with Brick House by Simone Leigh.

• Posterhouse | Manhattan | June 2019
  • First US museum dedicated to the global medium that appeared in the 1800s as a persuasive form of visual communication often utilized in politics and advertising.

• Lehman Center for the Performing Arts | The Bronx | September 2019
  • The 40th season kicked off with brand-new seating in the theater, a reimagined lobby and accessibility improvements

• Artechouse NYC | Manhattan | September 2019
  • Chelsea Market’s new digital arts space recently debuted with an inaugural exhibit, Machine Hallucination by Refik Anadol, which pairs NYC architecture with L’ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology.

• BAM Strong | Brooklyn | October 2019
  • Three Fort Greene cultural centers are united with this block-long expansion. The 115-year-old Harvey Theater balcony is now accessible via elevator, along with the debut of a dedicated visual arts space.

• Museum of Modern Art | Manhattan | October 2019
  • The museum reopened after an expansion by one-third and complete reinstallation of all art in a more integrated fashion, featuring new gallery and performance space.

• Jackie Robinson Museum | Manhattan | December 2019
  • Celebrating the baseball legend’s contributions to the civil rights movement, the new cultural organization in Soho includes a 75-seat theater, two flexible galleries to host traveling exhibits, a classroom and more.

• LIU Brooklyn Paramount Theater | Brooklyn | Fall 2019
  • Legendary artists Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis performed at this iconic 20th-century music venue, which shuttered in 1962. Upon completion, the restored theater will accommodate up to 3,500.

• Fotografiska New York | Manhattan | Winter 2019-20
  • A Stockholm-originated, photography-centric cultural organization will open in a landmarked Flatiron building complete with a distinct dining concept by Stephen Starr and dedicated events space.

• American Museum of Natural History 150th Anniversary | Manhattan | 2019–20
  • The museum’s historic anniversary programming includes a refreshed T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, a new planetarium show, a reopened geological hall and a restoration and unveiling of its oldest gallery, dedicated to indigenous anthropology.

• NYCxDESIGN | Citywide | May 12–20, 2020
  • This annual celebration of design generally includes 350+ events featuring local and international designers across more than a dozen artistic disciplines.

• Dia: | Manhattan | September 2020, Fall 2022
  • Originated in NYC in 1974, the foundation—dedicated to contemporary art in industrial spaces—will expand its presence in Chelsea (2020) and Soho (2022). Admission will be free.

• Apollo Performing Arts Center | Manhattan | Fall 2020
  • The nonprofit theater is expanding for the first time, with the Victoria Theater Redevelopment Project that will introduce two new stages, a hotel and more, creating an arts campus in Harlem.

• The Morgan Library & Museum | Manhattan | Fall 2020
  • The preservation project of the landmark library’s Neoclassical exterior is the first in its 112-year history. A new garden and lighting will refresh the southern campus. The library will remain open throughout the restoration.

• Bronx Music Hall | The Bronx | Winter 2020
  • A 250-seat music venue will honor the Bronx’s diverse musical legacy as El Condado de la Salsa and the birthplace of hip-hop, set within a mixed-use community.

• Bronx Children’s Museum | The Bronx | 2020
  • The Powerhouse facility, steps from Yankee Stadium, will serve nearly 75,000 children annually when it opens with a café and programming to celebrate curiosity.

• Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center | Manhattan | 2020
  • The 138-foot-tall cubed-shaped venue will be made of translucent marble and glass that will glow amber at night. Situated adjacent to the 9/11 Memorial north reflecting pool, its theater spaces will be reconfigurable in 11 ways.

• Museum of Broadway | Manhattan | 2020
  • The pop-up in Times Square will detail NYC’s Theatre District transition from Lower Manhattan to Midtown, how a show is made and theatrical eras.

• Irish Art Center | Manhattan | 2020
  • A new building—currently under construction—will join the existing historic center for performance, visual arts and education centered on Ireland and the Irish in America.

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art 150th Anniversary | Manhattan | 2020
  • The historic celebration will kick off with Making The Met, 1870–2020—on view from March 30–August 2—which will showcase 250+ works and chronicle the transformation since opening in 1870.
  • A commemoration on April 13, public events June 4–6, and reopening of the British Galleries are also planned. Collections galleries will display works gifted in honor of the historic occasion and Crossroads will include a new series of installations drawn from the permanent collection.

• American Museum of Natural History | Manhattan | 2021
  • The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation will place emphasis on insects, butterflies and 4 million specimens.

• Snug Harbor Music Hall | Staten Island | May 2021
  • A $20 million renovation of the 1892 structure—NYC’s second-oldest after Carnegie Hall—is underway and will include a new annex with dressing rooms, event space and an accessible orchestra pit and stage.

• The Met Fifth Avenue | Manhattan | 2023
  • In 2020, a $70 million renovation will break ground to transform the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Galleries into a cohesive wing.

Exhibitions & Performances

• Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum | Manhattan | July 24, 2019–January 5, 2020
  • The second phase of a yearlong exhibit honoring the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe captures his impact on the field of portrait photography by spotlighting artists who were inspired by his work exploring identity and sexuality.

• Pope.L: Instigation, Aspiration, Perspiration | Manhattan | Fall 2019–Winter 2020
  • This trio of complementary exhibitions surrounding the visual artist Pope.L includes a retrospective of his landmark performance art at MoMA, a new installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art and interventionist public art through the Public Art Fund.

• Henry Chalfant: Art vs. Transit, 1977–1987 at The Bronx Museum of the Arts | The Bronx | September 25, 2019–March 8, 2020
  • The birthplace of hip-hop honors street art with this exhibit on American photographer Chalfant’s groundbreaking work documenting the birth of subway graffiti.

• The Art of the Brick, World’s Largest Display of LEGO Art at New York Hall of Science | Queens | September 28, 2019–January 26, 2020
  • This collection by Nathan Sawaya uses only LEGO bricks in 100 creative structures, including re-creations of famous artwork and a 20-foot Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.

• Cultivating Culture: 34 Institutions that Changed New York at Museum of the City of New York | Manhattan | October 18, 2019–February 9, 2020
  • Highlighting 150 years of NYC’s Cultural Institutions Group, which provides support for 34 arts and cultural institutions across the five boroughs, this exhibit features images and objects such as a copy of the 1870 charter of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

• J.D. Salinger at New York Public Library | Manhattan | October 18, 2019–January 19, 2020
  • Coinciding with the centennial of the author’s birth, the exhibit features more than 200 items being shared with the public for the first time, including an original typescript of The Catcher in the Rye and one of his typewriters.

• Theater of Operations, The Gulf Wars 1991–2011 at MoMA PS1 | Queens | November 3, 2019–March 1, 2020
  • This group exhibit will feature more than 50 artists throughout the museum examining effects of American-led military engagement in Iraq on national and international artists.

• Shahidul Alam: Truth to Power at Rubin Museum of Art | Manhattan | November 8, 2019–May 4, 2020
  • The first extensive US survey of the Bangladeshi photographer, activist and 2018 Time magazine Person of the Year reframes the concept of the “third world.”

• In Pursuit of Fashion: The Sandy Schreier Collection at The Met Fifth Avenue | Manhattan | November 27, 2019–May 17, 2020
  • The Costume Institute’s fall exhibition includes couture and ready-to-wear 20th-century fashion gifted from this pioneering collector.

• Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey at Museum of the Moving Image | Queens | January 18–July 19, 2020
  • This exhibition dedicated to the influential 1968 science fiction film debuts with original artifacts and special programming.

• Jacques-Louis David Meets Kehinde Wiley at Brooklyn Museum | Brooklyn | January 24–May 10, 2020
  • For the first time, Kehinde Wiley’s Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps will be on view alongside its original inspiration by Jacques-Louis David, emphasizing the painting’s commentary on race, masculinity, power and representation.

• Beethoven Celebration at Carnegie Hall | Manhattan | January 30–June 12, 2020
  • Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, the iconic venue presents an exploration of his work in performances throughout the season, including artists such as Yo-Yo Ma.

• Project 19 at New York Philharmonic | Manhattan | February 5–June 13, 2020
  • Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the US 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, 19 women were commissioned to write 19 new pieces that will premiere at Lincoln Center.

• Handel’s Agrippina at the Metropolitan Opera | Manhattan | February 6–March 7, 2020
  • This ancient Roman classic will have its first Met Opera performance with a modern take on the dark comedy.

• City/Game: Basketball in New York at Museum of the City of New York | Manhattan | Opens February 14, 2020
  • This exhibit showcases original ephemera, photography, audio and video that connects the development of basketball to NYC’s culture, music, fashion, economy and history.

• Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925–1945 at Whitney Museum of American Art | Manhattan | February 17–May 17, 2020
  • Featuring about 200 pieces by 60 artists, this exhibit explores the impact of revolutionary Mexican art on American artists.

• Studio 54: Night Magic at Brooklyn Museum | Brooklyn | March 13–July 5, 2020
  • Photos, costume designs and films chronicle the history, activism and influential looks of the iconic nightclub from Prohibition through the 1970s.

• Triennial of Asia: We Do Not Dream Alone An Asia Society Initiative| Manhattan | Spring 2020
  • This inaugural festival of art, ideas and innovation will feature a multi-venue exhibition, policy discussions, forums and performances themed We Do Not Dream Alone.

• KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature at New York Botanical Garden | The Bronx | May 9–November 1, 2020
  • Featuring new works created specifically for the exhibition, the internationally renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama will create multiple installations engaging with nature.

• Day's End at Whitney Museum of American Art | Manhattan | Fall 2020
  • This permanent public art by David Hammons will honor Gordon Matta-Clark's 1975 artwork with a structure in Hudson River Park. Concurrent exhibits, neighborhood tours and a podcast series will lead up to the opening and celebrate the area’s artists and LGBTQ+ history.