Out & About
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Building a Future for African Art
Right now, the Museum for African Art has an exhibit on view at the World Financial Center; on June 15, it will be sponsoring a SummerStage concert with Cassandra Wilson, at which it will introduce a new look created, pro bono, by Ogilvy & Mather. Yet at the museum’s gala Tuesday, thoughts were fixed two years in the future.
For those involved in the museum, the year 2009 cannot arrive soon enough. That’s when a building that will give the museum a permanent home on Museum Mile, designed by Robert A.M. Stern, is scheduled for completion. The groundbreaking will take place within the next month or so.
“We’re already planning inaugural programs, new curricula, and we’re working on exhibits through 2012,” the president of the museum, Elsie McCabe, said. “You’ll see so many wonderful and cool things from us on a regular basis that it will knock your socks off.”
There’s a lot of work to be done before then, such as raising the funds to meet an $80 million goal. To date, the museum has pulled in more than $50 million. “It’s going well, we’re extremely pleased,” Ms. McCabe said.
The hard part is making decisions about the building, such as whether to build a separate education entrance. The museum finally decided against it.
“To put one there would be saying to children that there’s something wrong with you coming in the front door,” Ms. McCabe said. “That’s not us.”
Ms. McCabe, who has led the museum for 10 years, is good at sticking to her convictions. When it comes to the art, her conviction is clear: “We want to make sure we never separate the beauty of the art from the beauty and the majesty of the people who made it.”
The art is what initially drew board member Jane Katcher to the museum. Her focus has shifted. “Now, it’s about building an institution, and one that’s going to anchor the area that transitions to Harlem.”
“It’s time,” a New York University law professor and author, Derrick Bell, said of the museum’s plans.
“I’m cheering on the sidelines,” the founder of the museum, Susan Vogel, said. “I want the museum to be what Elsie makes it.”
