Moma PS1

MoMA PS1 is one of the largest art institutions in the United States dedicated solely to contemporary art. It is located in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution also organizes the Sun Sessions performance series, the Warm Up summer music series, and the Young Architects Program with the Museum of Modern Art. MoMA PS1 has been affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art since January 2000 and, as of 2013, attracts about 200,000 visitors a year. MoMA PS1 was founded in 1971 by Alanna Heiss as the Institute for Art and Urban Resources Inc., an organization with the mission of turning abandoned, underutilized buildings in New York City into artist studios and exhibition spaces. Recognizing that New York was a worldwide magnet for contemporary artists, and believing that traditional museums were not providing adequate exhibition opportunities for site-specific art, in 1971 Heiss established a formal, alternative arts organization with architecture/theater critic Brendan Gill called The Institute for Art and Urban Resources, and began renovating abandoned buildings in New York City. In 1976, Heiss opened the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in a deserted Romanesque Revival public school building, exponentially increased the organization's exhibition and studio capacity. This building, dating from 1892, served as the first school in Long Island City until 1963, when the First Ward school it housed was closed due to low attendance and the building was turned into a warehouse. In October 1997, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center reopened to the public after a three-year, $8.5 million renovation project designed by Los Angeles-based architect Frederick Fisher. The building's facilities were increased from 84,000 to 125,000 square feet in order to include a large outdoor gallery, a dramatic entryway, and a two-story project space. In February 1999, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center and the Museum of Modern Art announced their institutional merger, which was stated to take 10 years and designed to preserve P.S. 1 as a center of independent experimentation and exploration. In 2008, following the completion of a 10-year merger process with MoMA, Alana Heiss retired as director of P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center after 36 years. In 2009, Klaus Biesenbach was named Director of the renamed MoMA PS1. Biesenbach first joined at PS1 as a curator in 1997, and subsequently held the positions of Curator in MoMA's Department of Film and Media and Chief Curator of MoMA's Department of Media and Performance Art.MoMA PS1 and the Museum of Modern Art formalized their affiliation in January 2000. New York City, which owns the MoMA PS1 building, endorsed the merger. The principal objective of MoMA's partnership with MoMA PS1 is to promote the enjoyment, appreciation, study, and understanding of contemporary art to a wide and growing audience. Collaborative programs of exhibitions, educational activities, and special projects allow both institutions to draw on their respective strengths and resources and to continue shaping a cultural discourse. The two institutions also integrated their development, education, marketing, financial planning and membership departments. To mark the 10th anniversary of the merger between the former P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center and MoMA, the museum changed its name to MoMA PS1 in 2010.In 2012, Biesenbach turned MoMA PS1 into a temporary day shelter for displaced residents after Hurricane Sandy.From its inception, MoMA PS1 has championed the innovative and the experimental. The premiere exhibition, Rooms, held in June 1976, featured the works of 78 artists, many of whom created site-specific installations in the former classrooms. For Rooms, the sculptor Alan Saret cut a tiny hole in one wall, creating an almost heavenly aureole of light at one end of the third-floor hallway. The museum has featured the works of the artists Janet Cardiff, David Hammons, Kimsooja, Hilma af Klint, Donald Lipski, John McCracken, Dennis Oppenheim, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Alan Saret, Katharina Sieverding, Keith Sonnier, Michael Tracy, Franz West, Maria Lassnig, Judy Rifka, and Peter Young. A focus has been on outsider artists such as Henry Darger, who was included in “Disasters of War: Francisco de Goya, Henry Darger, Jake and Dinos Chapman” (2000). “Greater New York,” a survey of little known and emerging artists working in New York City, was established in 2000 and is mounted every five years. Many exhibitions organized by MoMA PS1 travel to museums in the United States and abroad, including collaborations with Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin. Throughout its history, MoMA PS1 has routinely organized exhibitions outside of its building, including street performances throughout New York City, projects in the Rockaways, and international exhibitions and projects. Warm Up is MoMA PS1's music series summer event. The series is housed within the architectural installation created by the winner of the annual Young Architects Program. Together, the music, architecture and exhibition program provide a unique multi-sensory experience for music fans, artists, and families alike. Warm Up was conceived in 1997 as a summer-long dance party to bring new audiences to MoMA PS1 and Long Island City, Queens. The series runs every Sat from July through early September and draws thousands of local and international visitors each day. Highlights from the series include a notable group of international DJs and live music ensembles: DJ Harvey, Groove Collective, Afrika Bambaataa, Mad Professor, Richie Hawtin, François K, Fischerspooner, Kid Koala, Arto Lindsay, Scissor Sisters, Luke Vibert, Solange, Jamie XX, Grimes, Arca, Black Dice, Four Tet, DJ Premier, Ritchie Hawtin, Derrick May, Venus X, Mattis With, Naomi Zeichner, Dean Bein, Matt Werth, and many more.From 2004 to 2009, PS1 also ran WPS1, an Internet radio station founded by Alanna Heiss. In 2009, when Heiss left PS1 to become full-time Director of The Clocktower Gallery, WPS1 became Art International Radio. In 2013, the online radio station was renamed Clocktower Radio, a division of Alanna Heiss's Clocktower Productions project.Under chairwoman Agnes Gund, the MoMA PS1's board of directors includes the artists Cindy Sherman and Mickalene Thomas, art historian Diana Widmaier-Picasso, fashion designer Adam Kimmel, and art collectors Adrian Cheng, Peter Norton, and Julia Stoschek. Exhibitions at MoMA PS1 are made possible by the Annual Exhibition Fund, which draws donations from the trustees. As owner of the MoMA PS1 building, New York City paid 85 percent of its renovation costs in 1997, with the rest coming from private donors. The city also contributes one-third to one-half of MoMA PS1's total annual operating budget of $1.5 million to $2 million.

Previous Next