Another Delay for Museum of African Art
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/06/14/another-delay-for-museum-of-african-art/
By Pia Catton
The opening of the Museum for African Art’s new building has been delayed again. The museum, which will be located at Fifth Ave and 110th Street, will now open in late 2012 instead of the previously announced late 2011.
The Museum for African Art decided to delay the final stage of construction in order to meet its fund-raising goal, according to a statement by museum president Elsie McCabe Thompson. Though the museum had raised $86.3 million, it has had to raise its fund-raising goal from $90 million to $95 million due to increased construction costs.
Devoted to the art of Africa and the African Diaspora, the museum was founded in 1984 and had been located in an Upper East Side townhouse until 1992. It then moved to SoHo and to temporary facilities in Long Island City. Ground was broken for the new building in 2007.
The opening of the new museum facility had already been delayed from April 2011 to fall 2011. Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the new building will be a mixed-use development with the museum occupying 90,000 square feet.