About the Museum
At the heart of Columbia University's new Manhattanville campus towers the Lenfest Center for the Arts. Designed by the legendary architect Renzo Piano, the gleaming new building is the new home of the university's premier gallery space. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery has, since 1986, hosted hundreds of contemporary art exhibits, featuring works by students, faculty, alumni, and community artists. Its new home adds stunning views of Upper Manhattan to its appeal as one of the city's premier contemporary art galleries.
What You Will See
The energetic gallery hosts contemporary art exhibitions that change frequently, as many as 10 unique exhibits per year. The focus is heavily contemporary and experimental, so the quality and appeal vary with personal tastes. With students and faculty guiding the programs in collaboration with the school's art history, archeology, architecture, archaeology, and fine arts departments and libraries, exhibitions combine contemporary experimentation with serious academic roots. And the building itself is a work of art.
Why You Should Go
Even with the long-term closure of the Studio Museum in Harlem, the neighborhood has become Manhattan's newest center for emerging contemporary art, with new galleries and spaces opening regularly. The Wallach Art Gallery, while new to the neighborhood, brings decades of experience to the Harlem Contemporary Art scene and is the perfect anchor for a day spent exploring the creativity of this historic neighborhood. Free admission also gives you access to one of the best public views of the skyline of Upper Manhattan.
