The Studio Museum Reopens in a New Location

Subscribe to our free e-letter!

Webform

I agree to be emailed

The Studio Museum Reopens in a New Location

WikiCommons

Entrance to The Studio Museum in Harlem’s old building. License.

After seven years of construction, the Studio Museum in Harlem reopened last month in a seven-story neo-Brutalist building designed by Adjaye Associates. The $160 million structure is reminiscent of the Breuer Building further downtown with its precast concrete façade and severe aesthetic. Both the interior and exterior design was intended to echo Harlem’s architectural vernacular and cultural history, harkening back to traditional brownstones and a deep sense of community.

The new structure is a far cry from the museum’s original location in a loft above a liquor store, opened by a group of artists and philanthropists in 1968. Established as a platform for artists of color who were largely excluded from traditional institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it was deeply rooted in the Civil Rights and Black Arts movements. In the early 1980s, the museum moved into a converted bank on 125th Street, which was torn down to make way for the updated space.

WikiCommons

The Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building, designed by Adjaye Associates. License.

Despite a floor plan with 82,000 square feet, exhibition galleries only comprise about 17% of the new space, placing as much emphasis on fostering education and community as on art. Education spaces and studios for the museum’s artists-in-residence occupy a large portion of the building. A lobby dominated by two staircases, one bleacher-style set sinking into the lowest floor and one leading to the galleries above, take up an immense amount of real estate.

Three major exhibitions are mounted to mark the Studio Museum’s reopening. To Be a Place chronicles the institution’s history through photographs, exhibition announcements, and historical documents. From Now: A Collection in Context presents 194 objects by 159 artists of varying prestige from the museum’s collection. The headline exhibition features an electric-light wall sculpture by Tom Lloyd, a recreation of the museum’s inaugural 1968 exhibition in a full circle moment.

Numerous other New York museums have also embarked upon building or expansion projects in the past few years. The Frick Collection’s renovation was unveiled earlier in 2025, the Met’s refreshed Michael C. Rockefeller Wing reopened in May, and Sotheby’s recently finished renovating the Breuer Building.

WikiCommons

The Breuer Building, now owned by Sotheby’s. License.

Yet, these larger organizations have much deeper pockets than their Harlem neighbor. When the Studio Museum began planning for the new building, it had $10 million in reserves and no endowment. A capital campaign led by museum director Thema Golden raised $307 million to fund the project and keep operations afloat during construction. The campaign’s success also enabled the Studio Museum to establish $23 million in reserves and a $52 million endowment.

In an uncertain climate for arts funding and cultural equity, the museum’s return stands as both achievement and affirmation of its founding vision. It can once again function as the center of 125th Street’s commercial and cultural vitality.