NEW MUSEUM NYC REOPENS MARCH 21 WITH $82M OMA EXTENSION—INSIDE THE BOWERY'S BIGGEST ART FLEX

The New Museum just swung open its vault. After a decade of planning and nearly two years of construction, Manhattan's scrappiest contemporary art institution reopens March 21 with a $82 million expansion that basically doubles everything. Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu's OMA firm designed the 60,000-square-foot addition—a serious architectural statement that signals the Bowery is officially locked in as the city's new cultural epicenter. This isn't just more wall space. The expansion adds 9,600 square feet of exhibition galleries, dedicated artist-in-residence studios, and a full headquarters for New Inc., the museum's cultural incubator that's become its own gravitational pull for creative startups. The real flex? "New Humans: Memories of the Future"—an inaugural 200-artist exhibition spanning the entire museum. This is the kind of ambitious, slightly unhinged curatorial move that's defined the New Museum for 50 years. You're getting new work, new perspectives, new risk-taking across every inch of the building. Outgoing director Lisa Phillips called it a "redoubled commitment to new art and new ideas, and to the museum as an ever-evolving site for risk-taking, collaboration and experimentation." Translation: they're not playing it safe. Beyond the galleries, OMA introduced three new artist commissions for the entrance plaza, atrium stair, and elevator spaces—work by Tschabalala Self, Klára Hosnedlová, and Sarah Lucas. There's also a full-scale restaurant from chef Julia Sherman and the Oberon Group, because apparently you can't have a major Manhattan cultural institution anymore without a destination dining component. Opening weekend (March 21-22) is free admission, which means expect lines around the block and Instagram stories for days.