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Maya Lin to Design Expansion of MoCA
Museum of the Chinese in America |
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Great news from the
Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA)!!!
MoCA – the East coast's first and only Chinese American history museum –
announced on Tuesday, September 27th, plans to expand to a lower Manhattan
space that will be designed by world-renowned architect MAYA LIN. MoCA is
expanding in order to better serve its growing audience; present more
programs and exhibits that tell the unique and complex stories of Chinese
Americans; and further strengthen its role as the leading museum of
Chinese American history and culture.
Museum representatives signed a 15-year lease for the ground and basement
floors of 147-151 Lafayette Street. The space measures 12,350 sq. ft. –
five times the Museum's current home at 70 Mulberry Street (2,500 square
feet), which will be renovated to become the Museum's library and
archives. The new space will house exhibit galleries, bookstore, offices,
and multi-purpose rooms with a projected opening of late-2006. MoCA will
launch a capital expansion campaign to raise a minimum $6.5 million.
Thanks to lead grants including $2 million from the New York City
Department of Cultural Affairs, in addition to quiet fundraising efforts,
the Museum has reached 65% of this goal.
The expansion is a necessary step for the Museum, which has continued to
grow in programming and visitation numbers despite its space limitations.
Since September 11th, 2001, MoCA has seen a dramatic increase in visitors
with a 64% increase in group visitors and a staggering 180% increase in
individual, walk-in visitors. MoCA's average of 6.4 visitors/square
foot/year is two and a half times higher than the Metropolitan Museum of
Art's at 2.6 visitors/ squarefoot/ year (with a space of 2 million square
feet and 5.2 million visitors per year). Space constraints have also
affected museum programs, which are often held offsite to accommodate
audiences of over 40 seated adults.
"This is a landmark moment for MoCA," says Executive Director and
co-founder, Charles Lai, "It was apparent a longtime ago that the Museum's
work had outgrown its space, yet it was very important to us that, should
we expand, the space be in Lower Manhattan where so many immigrant stories
began. The Board and staff are so thrilled at the outcome of our
search. This new home for MoCA is a place where we can build a
world-class, national museum with the expertise and incredible talent of
none other than Maya Lin. We are truly excited about this collaboration
and the possibilities in programming and exhibiting thata larger space
affords us."
MoCA Board of Trustees Chair, Jonathan K. Ligh says, "MoCA's work engages
a multi-generational, multi-ethnic audience. To speak about the Chinese
American experience is to speak about American history – MoCA's work is
profound and often times revelatory because it reveals so many uncovered
aspects of this story that is pertinent to us all. To have a new space to
better share these stories that shaped where weare today as a country and
a people is remarkable."
ABOUT the MUSEUM OF CHINESE IN THE AMERICAS (MoCA):
The Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA) is the first full-time,
professionally-staffed museum dedicated to reclaiming, preserving, and
interpreting the history and culture of Chinese and their descendants in
the Western hemisphere.
Through an ongoing and historical dialogue that shapes MoCA's
collections, programs and exhibitions, people of all backgrounds are
able to explore the diversity and complexity of our history and
culture, while gaining unique access to the images, papers, oral
histories and artifacts which document the story.
COVERAGE OF THE EXPANSION:
-
http://www.ny1news.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid==8&aid=S839
- connect this link if it does not work
http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/news/celebrity/
sns-ap-chinese-museum,0,2728757.story?coll==mmx-celebrity_heds
For more information on how you can support the Museum's expansion
project, visit www.moca-nyc.org or call (212)619-4785.
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