ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

MoMA's $858M Expansion Sparks Roundtable on Museum Competition, Installation Debates, and New York's Art Ecosystem

institutional · 2026-04-22

In November 2004, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City will unveil its renovations, which cost $858 million and will introduce an additional 125,000 square feet of exhibition space. This reopening is part of a broader trend involving over $1 billion in museum developments across New York, such as the $155 million renovation of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum's expansion led by Renzo Piano, the New Museum's $35 million debut in spring 2006, and the Guggenheim's $20 million restoration. A roundtable discussion, moderated by Aaron Yassin and featuring Rocio Aranda-Alvarado, Deven Golden, Susan Jennings, and Christian Viveros-Faune, addressed MoMA's contemporary art focus, accessibility issues, and the challenges faced by smaller galleries amid increasing real estate pressures and museum competition.

Key facts

  • MoMA's $858 million expansion adds 125,000 square feet, reopening November 2004
  • New York museum construction totals over $1 billion, including Met, Whitney, New Museum, and Guggenheim projects
  • Roundtable participants include Aaron Yassin, Rocio Aranda-Alvarado, Deven Golden, Susan Jennings, Christian Viveros-Faune
  • MoMA's admission fee rises to $20, raising concerns about student and artist access
  • Latin American art integration debated, referencing MoMA@El Museo exhibitions
  • Design by Yoshio Taniguchi contrasted with Tate Modern and Guggenheim Bilbao
  • Small non-profits like White Columns rely on artist donations and foundation support
  • Artist affordability issues push creators to Bushwick, Bronx, Newark, and Beacon, NY

Entities

Artists

  • Aaron Yassin
  • Rocio Aranda-Alvarado
  • Deven Golden
  • Susan Jennings
  • Christian Viveros-Faune
  • Alfred Barr
  • Renzo Piano
  • Frank Lloyd Wright
  • John Elderfield
  • Cezanne
  • Paul Signac
  • Félix Fénón
  • Manet
  • Seurat
  • Ad Reinhardt
  • Monet
  • Pollock
  • Charles Stueckey
  • Picasso
  • Stieglitz
  • Klee
  • Thomas Hart Benton
  • Santiago Calatrava
  • Frank Gehry
  • Thomas Krens
  • Cindy Sherman
  • Chuck Close
  • John Currin
  • Elizabeth Peyton
  • Jerry Saltz
  • Ricci Albenda
  • Luc Tuymans
  • Olafur Eliason
  • Lydia Dona
  • Carroll Dunham
  • Walton Ford
  • Devendra Banhart
  • Leo Villareal
  • Scott Grodesky
  • Kara Walker
  • George Condo
  • Anselm Kiefer
  • Paul Ramirez Jonas
  • Peggy Preheim
  • Do-Ho Suh
  • Eric Hanson
  • Justine Kurland
  • Yuri Masnyj
  • Maurizio Catalan
  • Lucky DeBellevue
  • David Shaw
  • Hilary Harkness
  • Douglas Gordon

Institutions

  • Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Whitney Museum
  • New Museum
  • Guggenheim Museum
  • El Museo del Barrio
  • P.S.1
  • Tate Modern
  • Art Institute of Chicago
  • Dia
  • Dodge Foundation
  • Warhol Foundation
  • Drawing Center
  • L.A.C.E.
  • Renaissance Society
  • Artists' Space
  • White Columns
  • Exit Art
  • Momenta
  • Derek Eller Gallery
  • Oliver Kamm Gallery
  • Feature, Inc.
  • Michael Steinberg Fine Art
  • Mitchell Algus
  • LFL Gallery
  • Paula Cooper Gallery
  • Metro Pictures
  • Barbara Gladstone Gallery
  • Gagosian Gallery
  • Mary Boone Gallery
  • ATM Gallery
  • White Box
  • Triple Candie
  • artcritical

Locations

  • New York City
  • New York
  • United States
  • 53rd Street
  • Manhattan
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Bilbao
  • Spain
  • Chicago
  • Illinois
  • Los Angeles
  • California
  • Cologne
  • Germany
  • Berlin
  • Paris
  • France
  • Beacon
  • Soho
  • Williamsburg
  • Brooklyn
  • Bushwick
  • Bronx
  • Newark
  • New Jersey
  • Jersey City
  • Harlem
  • Sheepshead Bay
  • East Village
  • West Chelsea
  • 57th Street
  • Left Bank
  • South Street Seaport

Sources