The Art Newspaper has put together an up-to-date list of new museum openings—as well as those that have been retrofitted or revitalized—for 2020 from throughout the world. Here, we’ve re-formatted the information for some of those attractions which are located in the USA.
• New OKC Museum is Free. Billed simply as Oklahoma Contemporary, a new museum dedicated to modern works, is slated to open next month in Oklahoma City. Its inaugural exhibition—Bright Golden Haze, explores the ways which artists use light to create place. Featured are works from leading artists from around the world, including Robert Irwin, Olafur Eliasson, James Turrell, Jen Lewin and Leo Villareal. The new facility also features a Studio School, a venue for adult and teen classes and workshops that launches this spring with more than 50 classes. Most importantly, all of Oklahoma Contemporary’s exhibitions, lectures and family activities are free and open to the public.
https://oklahomacontemporary.org/, or call 405.951.0000.
• The Philadelphia Museum of Art, which has been undergoing a monumental makeover for the past several years, is nearing the end of what its officials say is the current phase of its Facilities Master Plan, which it calls the Core Project. By the end of the Core Project in 2020, the museum will offer 90,000 square feet of new galleries and public spaces. (The Facilities Master Plan is overseen by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry.) The museum has been, and will continue to be, open while construction goes on apace. Check the museum’s website for progress reports. Standard adult ticket price is $25, with senior, student and youth discounts and other categories offering lesser rates. For more information, visit https://philamuseum.org/visit, or call 215.763.8100.
• In the Chelsea neighborhood of southwest Manhattan in New York City, the Dia Art Foundation (It goes simply by Dia:), is enlarging its facility by consolidating three adjacent buildings at its 537 West 22nd Street site into a single space. The name “Dia,” taken from the Greek word meaning “through,” was chosen to suggest the institution’s role in enabling artistic projects that might not otherwise be realized. There is also a Dia: location in Beacon, N.Y., about 65 miles north of the Chelsea street location. Dia Chelsea is currently closed for renovation and will reopen in fall 2020. For more information
https://www.diaart.org/, or call 212.989.5566.
• The Seattle Asian Art Museum—widely known for the 1930s Art Deco building that houses it—has reopened to the public following a $56 million renovation that took nearly three years to complete. The renovated museum, which was constructed in 1933, features a new gallery, education studio, conservation center, and community room; a climate-control system so things don’t rot on the walls; a new glass-enclosed park lobby; and the restoration of one interior and two exterior fountains. Retail ticket prices range from free (children 14 and under) to $14.99 for adults. For more information, visit http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/asian-art-museum, or call 206.654.3210.
• The Momentary is a new contemporary art museum and event space in Bentonville, Arkansas, which operates as a satellite of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which was established in 2011 by Alice Walton, daughter of the late billionaire Sam Walton, founder of Walmart. 62,000 square-foot facility was scheduled to open on February 22 in what was once a cheese factory in downtown Bentonville. Admission is free. For more information, visit https://themomentary.org/, or call 479.367.7500.
