This 2023 is packed with exhibitions in the new museums opening their doors. From local and nearby places to crossing oceans, the new projects continue to move forward to offer history and culture around the world.
The names of artists Pablo Picasso and Joaquín Sorolla are the most heard for this 2023, as Picasso commemorates the 50th anniversary of his death, and 100 years since Sorolla’s death, where unpublished works of the artist will be exhibited. Their presence will surround cities and museums in exhibitions, such as the Sorolla exhibition. Hunting Impressions in Barcelona. But throughout the year, many are the new centers and museums that open their doors to celebrate art.
The new space, Richard Gilder Center, of natural history
For this February, The American Museum of Natural History welcomes the new Richard Gilder Center space. With architecture designed by Studio Gang, the 70,000 m² will invite visitors to explore the connection between the beings that inhabit the Earth, connecting different sections of the building. Throughout the five floors, exhibitions and programs are designed to discover through personal experiences. From floor to ceiling, vertical collections will be represented showing the different themes of the museum.
Richard Gilder Center, of six floors, recalls its facade to caves and canyons. It will also connect different galleries and spaces of the museum.
From biology to archaeology, being able to discover a large Insectarium, and how essential they are to ecosystems. As well as the nursery full of butterflies, where visitors can identify them through observation and boards. In addition, immersive art will be present with Invisible Worlds, a 12-minute experience in which you will travel from distant forests to the nearest cities. Revealing that everything that exists on the planet is interconnected, making observers part of history.
Its opening is scheduled for February 17, 2023.
Address: 200 Central Park West, New York, United States
Indian culture through the Museum of Art and Photography
In the central heart of the Indian city, Bangalore, the new building Museum of Art & Photography is about to open its doors with more than 60,000 works. A museum full of Asian culture, completed with an auditorium, galleries, an art and research library, an educational center as well as a terrace café. Founded by Indian collector Abhishek Poddar, within its walls will be found great works of premodern Indian art, as well as traditional textiles in addition to furniture and jewelry. Rooted in traditional culture, local artistic practices reflect their importance through paintings or shadow puppets from southern India.
The museum, despite still being closed until February, has already started offering online exhibitions.
The presence of women in history will be present from the first day, as one of the exhibitions at the inauguration will be Visible/Invisible. Through the tour, the representation of women in Indian art from the 10th century to the present day will be reflected. Using paintings, sculptures, and photographs reflecting and exploring the prejudices and social structures that have created their invisibility over the centuries.
Wild refuge, 2021, Oil and oil pastel on canvas. Donated by Rahul Sabhnani, Anoushka Mirchandani
Among the museum’s collections, visitors will also be able to enjoy the graphic and advertising industry section. In photography, images of 19th-century photographers such as William Johnson or John Edward Saché will be observed, and from the 20th century with works by Marc Riboud or Raghu Rai. As for modern and contemporary art, the museum offers a wide sample of the most significant artistic movements after achieving independence. Highlighting from the center itself artists such as Atul Dodiya, Jamini Roy, Ravi Varma, among many others.
Its opening is scheduled for February 18, 2023.
Address: Kasturba Rd, Shanthala Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, India
Opera Gallery comes to Madrid
The international gallery Opera Gallery has chosen the city of Madrid to be its new headquarters in Spain. The legendary street Serrano, one of the most important centers of the city, will host the three-story building. Approximately 1000 square meters of space will house art collections and exhibitions. To welcome visitors, among its walls, will be shown great masters of the 20th century such as Pablo Picasso, Pierre Soulages, Fernand Léger, among others. In addition, contemporary artists such as Fernando Botero and Manolo Valdés will also appear.
Opera Gallery has always found connections between emerging artists and renowned artists.
The next Madrid headquarters will be the fifteenth headquarters, after having been installed, after thirty years, in places like London, Dubai, Monaco, or Singapore. With this opening, the capital will have more art offerings, creating dynamic programs where national and international artists can connect in a special place. Showing the art of globally known figures and the young artists who follow them and are growing in the art world.
Its opening is scheduled for March 23, 2023.
Address: Calle Serrano, 56, Madrid
The great architecture of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum
One of the new openings in the United States is Buffalo AKG Art Museum, with a large expansion and renovation. The building, designed by OMA/Shohei Shigematsu together with Cooper Robertson, will have a large main exhibition space, five study rooms, a meeting space as well as more garden space. On the other hand, to its north, is the Jeffrey E. Gundlach building where special exhibitions and collections of modern and contemporary art will be housed.
The transparency of the facade of the Gundlach building allows connecting the interior and exterior.
The project was designed to connect art, nature, and people by providing new access links and radical transparency, and we are excited to see the campus come alive as it welcomes new activities and dialogues with global and local communities. commented Shohei Shigematsu, partner at OMA New York.
To connect the Gundlach building with the rest of the museum, OMA has designed a bridge with glass walls to allow connection between the buildings. Opening its passage from the second floor of the Gundlach building, visitors will be able to walk through it and reach the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers blocks. The latter with new updates and improvements, as well as the Seymour H. Knox space, which will feature a gallery, a new restaurant, an auditorium, and five study rooms dedicated to a distinct artistic world.
The bridge named J. Albright Bridge allows connecting buildings helping to facilitate the visitors’ tour.
To welcome the public, a large installation of modern and contemporary art will fill the walls of all the buildings chronologically. The exhibition will feature 400 works from the 18th century to the present day, discovering works by renowned artists such as Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, or Andy Warhol. In addition, throughout the visit in the Wilmers galleries, juxtapositions will be presented to make visitors reflect on modern art.
Its opening is scheduled for May 25, 2023.
Address: 1285, Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, United States
Factory International Manchester
This year, the Manchester International Festival can be enjoyed at the new cultural space Factory International from June onwards. The building will be a destination where arts, music, and culture will come together, presenting projects by both beginner and expert artists. With 13,350 m², the public will be able to enjoy upcoming installations inside and outside the building, as its exterior will host performances, events, and markets.
Before the official opening of Factory International, the exhibition You, Me and the Balloons, by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, will invite visitors to celebrate three decades of Kusama’s art. Being able to observe works of ten meters high, among giant dolls, landscapes, and lunar spheres. The production Free Your Mind, directed by Danny Boyle, will inaugurate the opening, an immersive large-scale performance based on the Matrix movie. Combining music, dance, and visual effects to welcome visitors to Manchester.
The exhibition You, Me and Balloons by artist Yayoi Kusama
In addition to being the venue for exhibitions, Factory International will also feature Factory Academy, a training center for the local population where assistance will be provided to start new artistic careers. Featuring initiatives and courses to develop skills in live events, social media, and film production. Within the latter, being able to train in filming, editing, and visual effects.
Its opening is scheduled for June 2023.
Address: Water Street, Manchester, Britain
Real history through the Royal Collections Gallery
This summer, Madrid will open the Royal Collections Gallery with an inaugural exhibition featuring 650 works. Thus, the National Heritage museum changes to the concept of Gallery, offering a continuous transformation layout. Ana de la Cueva, president of National Heritage, has thanked the importance of showing the artistic heritage spread over three floors.
The spacious interiors will facilitate visits, allowing the large tapestries to be extended and enjoying every detail.
It will be the opportunity for National Heritage to show the quality and diversity of our Royal Collections, of the heritage of all, and also to show how we take care, preserve, and protect the wonderful cultural, artistic, and natural heritage that we have the responsibility to manage.
As they mention, the objective is to show the diversity of Spanish collections, not only giving visibility to art between paintings and sculptures, also giving importance to natural heritage such as historic gardens or orchards. In addition to focusing on the commitment to sustainability, having high technology inside the building. The Catholic Monarchs will be in charge of welcoming visitors when entering the first floor. The tapestry collections will join iconic artists such as Titian, El Bosco, or Velázquez, while the 9th-century Madrid wall will reveal the origin of the capital.
Throughout the collections, visitors will be able to discover unique works such as Velázquez’s White Horse oil or the first edition of Don Quixote with its original parchment binding.
The second floor begins with the plans of the Royal Palace of Madrid, built by order of Philip V. In addition, musical instruments, furniture, and decorative art will be discovered hand in hand with Goya, Maella, or Mengs. Ending on the top floor where temporary exhibitions will be located, as well as architectural spaces projected in 360º images.
Its opening is scheduled for summer 2023.
Address: C. de Bailén, 8, Madrid
African American culture through the International African American Museum
For this 2023, the International African American Museum will be completed in South Carolina, United States. Since 2019 when construction began, it is already in its final stretch to welcome all art and culture lovers. Installed on Gadsden’s Wharf pier, where thousands of slaves were received in past centuries, the museum will narrate the journey made by those forced Africans to cross the Atlantic. Once they set foot on American soil, many were the battles they had to fight.
After years of thinking and devising the project, this year the museum will open its doors in a historic place.
Through exhibitions, creating new approaches thanks to new technologies, visitors will be able to learn untold stories. How the culture of those people blended with the territory, how it marked over the years, as they influenced daily life and art. Honoring the lives of ancestors and the footprint they left behind, highlighting their struggles for equality and justice.
One of the projects within the museum is to provide guidance to those who want to know about genealogy. Offering workshops to learn about connecting with ancestors.
The museum was scheduled to open at the end of January, but due to temperature and humidity problems, they have decided to postpone it for a few months. The main objective is to offer a place to remember past events, but taking care of the safety and conservation of the objects and artworks exhibited.
Its opening is scheduled for mid-year.
Address: 14 Wharfside Street, Charleston, United States
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