Institutions On The Rise

A series of new art spaces are due to open across the globe within the coming year

Marciano Art Museum, Los Angeles
This new multi-level contemporary art museum, which opens on 25 May, is backed by Guess co-founders Paul and Maurice Marciano, who hope that visitors will discover new artists.

Located near Koreatown, the Marciano Art Museum will feature a collection of 1500 artworks dating from the 1990s onwards from emerging and established artists. The inaugural exhibition, curated by Philipp Kaiser, is titled Unpacking: The Marciano Collection after the 1931 essay Unpacking My Library by Walter Benjamin. “The title of the show is kind of nice because it’s conceptualising randomness in a way,” explained Kaiser to the LA Times of the show’s thematic focus on how chaos can spark new readings of objects.

While renovations continue until the 11th hour, visitors can expect several new commissions alongside works by Franz West, Ryan Trecartin & Lizzie Fitch, Albert Oehlen, Mike Kelley, Jeff Koons and Paul McCarthy.

A yet-unnamed museum and artist colony, Berlin
Berlin’s Teufelsberg, a 120-foot hill formed by debris following World War II, is set to be transformed into a cultural centre by real-estate developer Marvin Schütte, who announced the project on 8 May, the anniversary of the 1945 surrender of the Axis powers. The site, pocked with four giant antennas, marks the location of a large radio facility put in place by the Allies during the Cold War which intercepted radio signals from the Warsaw Pact countries.

Teufelsberg has been tapped for a revamp for over a decade – Schütte’s father, architect Hanfried Schütte, together with a group of investors originally purchased the land to build a hotel, luxury apartments and an observation tower. As those plans failed to come to fruition, Teufelsberg became overgrown and now receives 25,000 annual visitors who come to experience its sculpture garden left by a former tenant, as well as its reputation as one of Europe’s largest graffiti galleries.

Ripe with potential, the 2,400-square-metre outdoor space is bound by concrete walls and is currently being rented-out as a film-set. The revenue from this will contribute to Schütte’s overhaul intentions, who despite wishing to add a museum, artist colony and public gathering space, wants to “preserve everything; we will not build anything new; we will not damage anything.” However, although Schütte pledges to maintain the historical site’s integrity, Aktionsbündnis Teufelsberg (Teufelsberg Alliance), a group of local conservationists and residents, remain sceptical, asserting that these new plans may be rooted more in financial gain than the cultural growth of Berlin.

Srihatta – Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park, Sylhet
The Samdani Art Foundation, a Bangladeshi private arts trust that is also behind Dhaka Art Summit, announced at the Venice Biennale that it will be opening its own arts institution, named Srihatta, in 2018. It will be led by the foundation’s artistic director Diana Campbell Betancourt and will exhibit works from the Samdani’s 2000-work rich collection of Modern and contemporary art.

Aiming to create a community space rather than a privatised museum, Srihatta will occupy an unfilled niche in Bangladesh. “Like the Dhaka Art Summit, Srihatta was born from a long-time dream to innovate a new destination for South Asia in Bangladesh, one that revolves around art,” said Nadia Samdani with husband and co-founder Rajeeb Samdani in a statement. “Rajeeb and I are now realising our dream – in the district where our families come from – to build a permanent home for the Samdani Art Foundation’s activities and a dynamic art centre international in approach. We hope that with this unique endeavour, the people of South Asia as well as international visitors will find a haven amongst the remarkable works of art and profound landscape.”

Designed by Dhaka-based architect Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury and his firm URBANA, the venue will include 2,300-square-metres of artist residency space, plazas and galleries located 240km from Dhaka.