The Metropolitan Museum of Art has selected Mexican architect Frida Escobedo to design its new $500 million modern and contemporary art wing. She will be the first woman to design a wing at the museum in NYC.
Escobedo, who is based in Mexico City, has been selected to design the renovation of The Met‘s modern and contemporary galleries, called the Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing.
“The most generous gift of the Tangs has enabled this next step forward,” said Daniel Weiss, president and CEO of The Met. “Frida Escobedo’s impressive and inspiring portfolio of projects and her creative engagement with our team have given us great excitement about this important chapter for The Met.”
“The new wing will be a vibrant, exhilarating space that meets The Met’s current and future needs while promoting a lively representation and reevaluation of the art of the 20th and 21st century in the context of 5,000 years of art history,” said Max Hollein, director of The Met.
“Frida Escobedo is an outstanding architect of our time,” Hollein added. He said Escobedo will create “enthralling galleries that will challenge the embedded hierarchies of our history and chart a more accessible trajectory for the new wing”.
Mexican architect to design $500m wing
The renovation project will create 80,000 square feet of galleries and public space. As well as modern and contemporary art, the new Tang Wing will feature photographs, drawings and prints.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced a $125m gift from Oscar Tang and Agnes Hsu-Tang, the largest ever capital donation to the museum, in November 2021.
“The Met is one of the most relevant sites for culture on a global scale, and it is an honor to be selected for this historic architectural reimagining,” Escobedo said.
“The Tang Wing presents an opportunity to give new life to the museum’s art from the 20th and 21st century; to celebrate the dynamics we can find within art of different times, geographies, and ideologies; and to uncover new spaces for self-reflection and connection with others.”
“I look forward to working with The Met’s teams on this remarkable project,” she added.
Last year, The Met dropped the Sackler name from seven exhibition spaces in the building following concerns about the family’s role in the opioid crisis.
Images: The Met
