The former New York Building of the 1939 World’s Fair, which has evolved through the years from a United Nations headquarters to an ice skating rink, is finding a final form in a new, expanded Queens Museum of Art.
Long known for its beloved panorama scale model exhibit of the entire city, the museum is expanding into the southern half of its building, doubling in size plus adding a new west facade facing the Grand Central Parkway, which has been reconfigured with a new entrance hallway, drop off plaza, and 200 x 27 foot glass wall for projected images.
The redesign, managed by London firm Grimshaw Architects with Ammann & Whitney consultants, will provide new space for exhibits, educational programs, and public events as well as room for the museum to expand its permanent collection and to install eight studios for artists in residence. Other features are a new café, an enlarged bookstore and a museum shop.
Due to re-open in October, the inaugural exhibits will include the sixth edition of the museum’s biennial exhibit of international artists who live and work in Queens. Time lapse photos by Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao, large scale puppets of “Peter Schumann: Black and White,” and Pedro Reyes’ work “The People’s UN (pUN),” mock assemblies and performances referencing the buildings hosting of the UN General Assembly in the 1940’s. www.queensmuseum.org
