Changes That Matter

Keeping It New
Never mind that the New Museum didn’t reopen until the end of 2007. The famously trailblazing New York institution generated plenty of buzz long before its new building went live on December 1. For three years, while the seven-story, mesh-covered sanaa-designed structure was under construction and operations continued in temporary quarters, director Lisa Phillips did some building of her own. She steadily reinforced the curatorial infrastructure by hiring Richard Flood away from the Walker Art Center and then bringing on Massimiliano Gioni, Laura Hoptman and Eugenie Joo to round out an enviably talented roster. Ground had barely been broken on the Bowery site before the institution became a prime mover in the rapidly changing social landscape of the Lower East Side, where it has become an anchor for a burgeoning neighborhood gallery scene. “The museum has always been an instigator,” says Phillips. “We want to be a lively place that matters, where ideas are discussed openly and where we show art that’s being made right now.” It’s a mission that gives the New Museum a certain freedom and agility that other institutions, burdened by top-heavy bureaucracies and collecting mandates, may not enjoy. (Continued on next slide)

From left: New Museum curators Laura Hoptman, Eugene Joo, Richard Flood and Massimiliano Gioni with director Lisa Phillips

Photo by Tina Barney