Page 19 - Mar2019

fest itself in new and exciting ways?” Russell asked. “This is going to be a landmark, a go-to spot for that.”
The new building will increase the museum’s exhibition space from 8,000 square feet to over 17,300 square feet and enlarge its indoor space by 47 percent from 6,340 square feet to 9,300 square feet. Outdoor space will more than double.
Russell said the features reflect the Studio Museum’s unique role as an institution that embraces the Harlem community. One example is the “inverted stoop” that carries a museum-goer from the street level down into the public hall, an airy space for lectures, performances, or films or informal gathering place and an invitation for passers by to peek in and browse.
“The design has been driven by a desire to serve the public,” she said, calling the lobby, gallery and circulation corridors an exhibition gallery and archive and workplace for artists and the museum as a whole forming a “living room“ for the Harlem community.“ “The museum itself has always been a site of congregation of the community and so we feel really enthusiastic about making sure the design answers to that.”
“The new features reflect the Studio Museum’s unique role
as an institution that embraces the Harlem community.”
STUDIO MUSEUM 50YEARS
HARLEM FINE ARTS SHOW MAGAZINE PAGE 19