ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Metropolitan Museum Breaks Ground on $670m Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art

institutional · 2026-04-26

The Metropolitan Museum of Art held a groundbreaking ceremony on 15 September for its Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art, set to open in 2030. Designed by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo, the five-storey, 126,000-sq.-ft wing marks the first time a woman has designed a wing for the museum in its 156-year history. The Met has raised $670m for construction and operations. The wing is named for financier Oscar Tang, a longtime Met trustee, and his wife, archaeologist and art historian Agnes Hsu-Tang, who donated $125m—the largest cash gift in the museum's history. The event began with a breakfast reception in the Carroll and Milton Petrie European Sculpture Court, followed by speeches from Met director Max Hollein, Oscar Tang, local politicians, and Escobedo. Hollein called the wing 'the next grand chapter' and emphasized its design connects the museum to Central Park and the Upper East Side. Escobedo praised her team and said the project is 'the most ambitious' her studio has undertaken. The wing's large windows will be bird-friendly. The ceremony concluded with a performance by Swinomish/Iñupiaq singer-songwriter Black Belt Eagle Scout.

Key facts

  • Groundbreaking ceremony held on 15 September for the Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art.
  • Wing scheduled to open in 2030.
  • Designed by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo, the first woman to design a wing for the Met in its 156-year history.
  • Five-storey, 126,000-sq.-ft space.
  • The Met has raised $670m for construction and operation.
  • Named for Oscar Tang and Agnes Hsu-Tang, who donated $125m, the largest cash gift in the museum's history.
  • Met director Max Hollein called it 'the next grand chapter' and highlighted connections to Central Park and the Upper East Side.
  • Event included speeches by politicians and a performance by Black Belt Eagle Scout.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • New York Philharmonic
  • New York Historical
  • Frida Escobedo Architecture Firm
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Serpentine Pavilion
  • Centre Pompidou
  • ArtAsiaPacific
  • Frida Escobedo Studio
  • Beyer Blinder Belle
  • Kohler Ronan
  • Thornton Tomasetti
  • Cantor Roof Garden
  • Le Journal des Arts
  • Taller Frida Escobedo
  • Moreau Kusunoki
  • Central Park Conservancy
  • International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab) Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • Pedersen Foundation
  • Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
  • Emporio Armani
  • Giorgio Armani Accessories
  • Armani Group
  • Versace
  • Prada Group
  • Miu Miu
  • Bottega Veneta
  • Dsquared2
  • Municipal Programme for the Recovery of the Historic Centre of Lima
  • Sotheby's
  • Art Basel Paris
  • The Armory
  • Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection
  • Salone del Mobile
  • Houston Center for
  • Studio MUKA
  • DRIFT
  • Serpentine
  • Crystal Bridges
  • Tiffany & Co.
  • GPHG

Locations

  • New York
  • United States
  • Central Park
  • Upper East Side
  • Manhattan
  • New York City
  • Mexico
  • Fifth Avenue
  • European Sculpture Court
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Paris
  • France
  • Ireland
  • Mexico City
  • Thimphu
  • Bhutan
  • Nepal
  • India
  • Belgium
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Lima
  • Peru
  • Rímac River
  • Chabuca Granda Avenue
  • Riyadh
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Santa Monica
  • Chicago
  • Kolkata

Sources

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