Bronx Museum of the Arts

The Bronx Museum of the Arts
Established 1971
Location 1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10456
Coordinates 40°49′51.6″N 73°55′11.5″W / 40.831000°N 73.919861°W / 40.831000; -73.919861Coordinates: 40°49′51.6″N 73°55′11.5″W / 40.831000°N 73.919861°W / 40.831000; -73.919861
Founder Irma Fleck[1]
Director Holly Block
Public transit access
Website www.bronxmuseum.org

The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art[2] or simply the Bronx Museum,[3] is a cultural institution located in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th century works created by American artists, and it has hosted exhibitions of art and design from Latin America, Africa and Asia. Its permanent collection consists of more than 800 paintings, sculptures, photographs and works on paper.[4] The museum is part of the Grand Concourse Historic District.[5]

History

The museum opened on May 11, 1971, in a partnership between the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) and the Bronx Council on the Arts (founded 1961).[2][6] The opening coincided with a borough-wide "Bronx Day" event.[7] The first exhibit consisted of 28 paintings from the Met's collection.[2] The museum was originally housed in the first floor rotunda (the Veteran's Memorial Hall) of the Bronx County Courthouse, converted using $77,000 in municipal funds.[2][6][8] Additional galleries were located in Co-op City, Bedford Park, and at the Beth Abraham Hospital in Allerton.[9] In its first 12 years of operation, the museum held over 350 exhibitions.[9]

In 1982, the city purchased a vacant synagogue at 165th Street and the Grand Concourse, as a new location for the museum.[4][5][8] The new location opened to the public in May 1983, in conjunction with "Bronx Week" (successor to "Bronx Day").[9][10] An expansion and renovation was completed in 1988, at the cost of $5.8 million.[1][8][11] Construction began in February 2004 on a $19-million expansion project, doubling the museum's size to 33,000 square feet (3,100 m2). The expansion opened in October 2006.[3][8][12] In 2008, a 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) arts center was added to accommodate educational programs for local schoolchildren and their families.[13] Beginning on March 29, 2012, the museum ceased charging admission. Previously, admission was free on Fridays only.[14]

Design

The "Accordion"-designed 2006 addition.

The current museum is located at the northeast corner of 165th Street and the Grand Concourse in the Concourse neighborhood of the South Bronx, just west and north of Yankee Stadium.[8][11] The building was originally the Young Israel Synagogue (or Young Israel of the Concourse),[5][8] constructed from 1959 to 1961 and designed by Ukrainian-born Simon B. Zelnick.[5][8][9][11] The building was converted into a museum space in the early 1980s using concrete, steel and glass, at the cost of $2 million.[8][9][11] The 1988 expansion was designed by Castro-Blanco, Piscioneri & Feder, renovating the building exterior with black granite and metal, and adding large ribbon windows and a three-story glass atrium which serves as the museum lobby.[1][5][8][11][15][16][17] The 1988 design has been criticized by some as awkward and uninteresting, and due to its lack of exhibition space.[15][11][18]

The 2006 expansion (1046 Grand Concourse) was designed by Miami-based architecture firm Arquitectonica, adding the three-story North Wing building adjacent to the original structure. It features a larger entrance with a two-story lobby, a new gallery and enhanced educational facilities.[5][8][12][15][16] The outer design utilizes a "pleated aluminum facade" in contemporary Art Deco/Art Moderne style. It consists of seven irregularly-shaped vertical aluminum pieces connected by fritted glass, resembling an accordion or paper fan.[5][15][18][19] The side of the structure features black and white concrete blocks organized in geometric patterns, similar to the brick facades of rowhouses and commercial buildings in the Bronx.[5][11][18][20] These walls are temporary, designed to be removed in the event of future expansion, which would replace the original museum with a residential high-rise building.[5][18][19][20] At the rear of the structure on the second floor is a sculpture garden.[21]

Exhibitions

In 1987, the museum gained attention for two high-profile exhibitions: a career retrospective of African American artist Romare Bearden[22] and a presentation of the then-evolving school of computer generated art.[23] More recent exhibitions have included the 2006 presentation "Tropicalia: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture"[12] and the 2008 overview of street-level photography by Jamel Shabazz, a Harlem-based artist.[24]

In 2013, the Bronx Museum of the Arts won a competition to represent the United States at the 2013 Venice Biennale; the museum commissioned “Triple Point”, an installation by artist Sarah Sze.[25]

From November 4, 2015 to March 13, 2016, the museum held a retrospective of Martin Wong's career entitled "Martin Wong: Human Instamatic."[26]

Management

Audience engagement

Since waiving the entry fee in March 2012, thanks to a grant from the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, the museum increased attendance.[27] In 2011, museum officials also put together a council of residents to serve as "cultural ambassadors" to the community and to advise them on public engagement.[28]

Governance

In 2006, Holly Block became the museum's director. She was previously the executive director of Art in General, a nonprofit organization in New York City,[12] and replaced Olivia Georgia.[29]

Funding

The Bronx Museum of the Arts has a $2.8-million operating budget. Once supported almost entirely by government funding, it has increasingly turned to corporations, foundations and private donors.[28] The museum is typically able to spend $10,000 to $50,000 a year for acquisitions, and it receives donations and bequests of work.[30] In 2013, it completed a campaign to raise $1 million for a new acquisitions fund that will focus on buying the works of contemporary artists with strong connections to the Bronx.[31]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Glueck, Grace (September 25, 1988). "The Many Accents of Latino Art". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Glueck, Grace (May 13, 1971). "Bronx Museum of Art Makes Debut". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 "About". The Bronx Museum of the Arts. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 "The Bronx Museum of the Arts". Alliance for the Arts. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Grand Concourse Historic District Designation Report: October 25, 2011" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 25, 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 Phillips, McCandlish (January 12, 1971). "Lively and Innovative Bronx Arts Council Promotes Cultural Fare on a Shoestring". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "People's Festival at the Zoo Will Highlight Bronx Day". The New York Times. May 9, 1971. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lloyd Ultan; Shelley Olson (1 June 2015). The Bronx: The Ultimate Guide to New York City's Beautiful Borough. Rutgers University Press. pp. 93–94. ISBN 978-0-8135-7321-2. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Lewis, John (September 21, 2015). "Bronx Museum of the Arts opens its new home in 1983". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  10. ↑ Glueck, Grace (May 13, 1983). "ART: THREE SHOWS OPEN NEW BRONX MUSEUM". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gardner, James (January 24, 2006). "New Life on Grand Concourse Avenue". The New York Sun. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Carol Vogel (July 21, 2006). "Extensive Changes at a Bronx Museum". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  13. ↑ Tanyanika Samuels (May 27, 2008). "Bronx Museum of the Arts set to open Arts Education Center". Daily News. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  14. ↑ Samuels, Tanyanika (March 27, 2012). "Bronx Museum to offer free admission; ‘adopts’ 40 neighborhood schools to increase access to arts: Bronx Museum of the Arts marks 40th year by not charging for admission". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Ouroussoff, Nicolai (October 6, 2006). "Art to the People, and Vice Versa, in the Bronx". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  16. 1 2 Casari, William A. (January 31, 2008). "Concourse Dreams: A Bronx Neighborhood And Its Future". CUNY Academic Works. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Governor Helps Dedicate New Synagogue in Bronx". The New York Times. April 9, 1962. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Gardner, James (October 5, 2008). "A Bronx Bombshell". The New York Sun. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  19. 1 2 Chaban, Matt (October 20, 2006). "NEW AND IMPROVED BRONX MUSEUM: Arquitectonica gives 35-year-old institution new faaade and 50 percent more public space". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  20. 1 2 "The Bronx Museum of the Arts: Arquitectonica". www.arcspace.com (Bronx, New York). December 11, 1006. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  21. ↑ Taylor, Kate (September 29, 2006). "Beauty in the Bronx". The New York Sun. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  22. ↑ Vivien Raynor (January 4, 1987). "A Glance at Romare Bearden at the Bronx Museum of the Arts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  23. ↑ Vivien Raynor (October 25, 1987). "Computer Reigns at Bronx Museum of Arts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  24. ↑ Holland Carter (September 11, 2008). "Shabazz Finding Art in the Asphalt". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  25. ↑ Jamie Wetherbe (February 24, 2012), Artist Sarah Sze will represent U.S. in 2013 Venice Biennale Los Angeles Times.
  26. ↑ Cotter, Holland (2015-11-19). "Martin Wong, an Urban Visionary With a Hungry Eye". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  27. ↑ Nell Alk (March 5, 2013), Venetian Honors For the Bronx Wall Street Journal.
  28. 1 2 Winnie Hu (December 29, 2013), Bronx Arts Museum Reaches Out to Borough Alumni New York Times.
  29. ↑ Carol Vogel (July 21, 2006), Extensive Changes at a Bronx Museum New York Times.
  30. ↑ Randy Kennedy (June 26, 2013), Bronx Museum Raises $1 Million to Acquire Art New York Times.
  31. ↑ Randy Kennedy (June 13, 2012), Bronx Museum Gets Major Gift to Acquisitions Fund New York Times.

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