The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs announced that the Noguchi Museum in Queens is one of the 70 cultural institutions across the city that will get a cut of the $127 million investment from City Hall.
The Noguchi Museum will be the recipient of $4.5 million capital funding which will be used for the renovation of the museum and sculpture garden’s campus, construction of a new cafe, retail area, and conservation facility. $1.5 million was given by Mayor Eric Adam while Queens Borough President Donovan Richards supplied the remaining funds for the said expansion and unification project.
The Architect’s Newspaper reported:
The most significant public-facing element of the project will be the restoration of celebrated sculptor, furniture designer, and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi’s original 1959 studio space and pied-à-terre located opposite the museum on 10th Street. When work is complete, the public will be able to access Noguchi’s studio building for the first time in history. The two-story, 6,000-square-foot Arts and Archive Building will rise directly next to Noguchi’s restored studio.
“The extraordinary diversity and energy of Queens is reflected in its cultural organizations, and we’re thrilled to invest in these projects that will give local residents and visitors from all over access to the remarkable cultural facilities they deserve,” said Cumbo in a statement. “From this exciting new project at Noguchi Museum that will open up the legendary artist’s living spaces to the public for the first time, to the Queens Museum’s ongoing expansion, and many more – these projects are part of the City’s long-term investment in the cultural community of Queens and across all five boroughs.”
Queens is the final stop for Cumbo on her largesse-driven tour across all five boroughs. Since kicking off in Manhattan in June, the DCLA has since revealed its support for cultural institutions in Staten Island, the Bronx, and, as mentioned, Brooklyn. In addition to Green-Wood Cemetery and now the Noguchi Museum, other cultural institutions showcased during the DCLA’s capital funding tour included the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in Manhattan, the future Universal Hip Hop Museum at Mill Pond Park in the Bronx, and Staten Island’s Snug Harbor Music Hall
