Brooklyn Museum Plans New $13 M. Home for African Art Collection, One of America’s First
The Brooklyn Museum announced a $13 million renovation to create a dedicated 6,400-square-foot home for its African art collection, with an opening planned for fall 2027 and an inaugural display of more than 300 works. The project will transform third-floor space currently used for storage and is being developed with the Brooklyn-based architecture firm Peterson Rich Office (PRO), with galleries positioned near the Beaux-Arts Court by McKim, Mead & White and connected to the museum’s Egyptian art galleries to better integrate North Africa with the rest of the continent. Curator Ernestine White-Mifetu and associate curator Annissa Malvoisin will draw from the museum’s 4,500-work Arts of Africa collection and include the African diaspora in the presentation. Construction is set to begin in summer 2026, funded by the City of New York and federal grants, with additional support from the Ford Foundation, the Sills Family Foundation, and individual donors; the announcement follows layoffs of about 40 employees amid a $10 million budget deficit.
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This story was covered in Venice Defiance, Monuments Return, A.I. Retreat