The New Museum's new building opens soon-and it will be free to visit for a limited time

"The 60,000-square-foot expansion, designed by OMA's Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas in collaboration with Cooper Robertson, doubles the museum's gallery space and gives the Bowery icon a major glow-up. The new addition slips in right next to the existing SANAA-designed building, bringing a larger Sky Room, a new 74-seat forum for talks and screenings and a street-level entrance plaza that finally gives the museum some breathing room."

"Inside, the reopening exhibition, "New Humans: Memories of the Future ," takes over the entire expanded building with work by more than 200 artists, writers, scientists and filmmakers, exploring how technology and social change keep reshaping what it means to be human. There's a mix of contemporary heavy-hitters like Hito Steyerl, Wangechi Mutu and Anicka Yi alongside 20th-century visionaries including Salvador Dalí, Hannah Höch and H.R. Giger."

"the museum is debuting its first full-service restaurant, run by the Oberon Group and led by chef Julia Sherman, plus a doubled-in-size store packed with artist-made objects you can browse without even buying a ticket. Opening weekend-Saturday, March 21, and Sunday, March 22-is completely free, but you will need to snag a ticket in advance. Registration for free opening weekend tickets goes live on the New Museum's website next month, but members get an extra perk: preview days before the public opening."

The New Museum reopens a 60,000-square-foot expanded building on March 21, 2026, doubling gallery space and adding a larger Sky Room, a 74-seat forum, and a street-level entrance plaza. The expansion, by OMA's Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas with Cooper Robertson, adjoins the existing SANAA-designed museum. The reopening exhibition New Humans: Memories of the Future occupies the expanded galleries with work by more than 200 artists, writers, scientists and filmmakers, pairing contemporary names such as Hito Steyerl, Wangechi Mutu and Anicka Yi with 20th-century figures including Salvador Dalí and H.R. Giger. The reopening introduces a full-service restaurant run by the Oberon Group and chef Julia Sherman, a doubled-in-size store, free opening-weekend tickets available by advance registration with members’ preview days, and regular adult admission priced at $25.

Read at Time Out New York