Toby Devan Lewis Director

The New Museum’s mission is simply “New Art, New Ideas.” Since its founding in 1977, the New Museum has consistently made history by leaning into the future and is known for its experimentation, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit. Unafraid to commit to the unexpected and reposition the previously familiar, it is known in the field for bold thinking and execution and has become internationally recognized for its adventurous programming.

The New Museum focuses on emerging and historically under recognized voices who define this cultural moment and is often the first museum to give artists major museum presentations. The Museum challenges the perceived stiff institutionalization of an art museum while its programming promotes the free exchange of ideas that present the forefront of contemporary art in ways that engage and encourage visitors to explore the art and ideas of our time.

Remarkably, the New Museum opened its first permanent home, the SANAA-designed building on the Bowery, in 2007. Unique among its peers, it has had only two directors (Founder Marcia Tucker 1977; Lisa Phillips 1999) and three board chairs. In that time, it has presented more than 175 exhibitions featuring over 700 artists from 70+ countries, as well as over 2,000 public programs, performances, and online programs.

Together these programs have an annual reach of more than one million that spans the globe.

An avowedly non-collecting institution, The New Museum is defined by its programming. The exhibition program is distinguished for its global scope, commissioning of new works, and focus on living artists. The  exhibition program, as example, included major survey presentations of Theaster Gates, Wangechi Mutu, and Judy Chicago, solo exhibitions of the work of Mire Lee, Pepón Osorio, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen, and new commissions by Vivian Caccuri and Miles Greenberg and Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo), among others.

The New Museum’s signature Triennial will launch its sixth edition in winter 2027.

Early and consistently, the New Museum forged a strong presence where art and technology converge. Rhizome, an affiliate of the New Museum since 2003, has championed born-digital art and culture since 1996 and seeks to enrich our understanding of digital culture’s past, present, and future through commissions, discussions, preservation, and technology initiatives. Rhizome’s programs can be found online as well as IRL at the New Museum and other partner venues.

In 2014, New Museum launched NEW INC, the first museum-led incubator. NEW INC fosters creative practitioners working at the intersection of art, design, and technology through a yearlong program that advances pioneering exploration in the field of art & tech. NEW INC’s community of over 800 members and alumni have created 686 new jobs and 370 business in NYC, generated more than $45M in revenue, and are recognized as leaders in fields as diverse as biotech, AI, MR/VR/AR, architecture and sustainable design.

Additionally, the 7,500-item database New Museum Digital Archive provides accessibility to primary sources from Museum exhibitions, publications, and programs.

One cannot fully appreciate the New Museum without considering its global reach. The Museum has been expansively, intentionally international in its leadership, community, program, focus, and mindset. In addition, the Museum has launched innovative partnerships with organizations around the world which has further strengthened the expansion of its international profile over the last decade. At times, its profile worldwide exceeds its regional one and many who are deeply involved are both active and overseas.

Board culture is diverse, democratic, engaged, collaborative, and passionately committed to the Museum’s mission. Relationships are valued and nurtured. Similarly, many on the 9-member senior leadership team are long-tenured with more than a few ‘boomer angers’ who returned after time elsewhere. Various invitation-only councils play active roles that extend the sense of community, relationships, and contribution to the New Museum’s mission and a vibrant global community.

In Spring 2026, the Museum…