The Met’s new art wing, designed by Frida Escobedo, breaks ground.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art broke ground on a redesigned wing for modern and contemporary art, set to open in 2030. The Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing, designed by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo, will occupy the footprint of the museum’s current modern-art wing on Fifth Avenue. Escobedo is the first woman to design a wing in the Met’s 156-year history. The five-story wing will offer 69,500 square feet of exhibition space, nearly 50 percent more than the current wing, with ceiling heights up to 22 feet to accommodate large-scale installations. The design features a limestone lattice exterior and roughly 18,500 square feet of outdoor space across two floors, including an expanded Cantor Roof Garden and a new fifth-floor café with Central Park and skyline views. The museum has raised $670 million for construction and endowment costs. Modern and contemporary works will remain on view elsewhere during construction, with rotating installations planned.
IAM Lab launches an architect-in-residence program with Michael P. Murphy.
The International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab) Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has named Michael P. Murphy as its inaugural Architect-in-Residence Visiting Scholar. The residency, part of the IAM Lab’s Intentional Spaces Initiative and supported by the Pedersen Foundation, aims to bridge architecture, neuroscience, medicine, and technology. During his tenure, Murphy will collaborate with faculty, clinicians, and community partners on interdisciplinary forums, salon-style conversations, and public lectures addressing trauma-informed design and neurospatial research, with the goal of translating findings into real-world applications. “Michael’s work exemplifies the profound impact that design can have on human health, wellness, and experience,” noted Susan Magsamen, Executive Director of the IAM Lab. “His ability to bridge architecture, equity, and healing aligns deeply with our mission at the IAM Lab. Welcoming him as our inaugural Architect-in-Residence is a rare and exciting opportunity to bring together global leaders and reimagine how intentional spaces can support the brain, the body, and the communities we serve.”
Pem Lham. Photo: Yeshi Zangpo, courtesy of the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art.…
Pem Lham wins the Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize.
The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art has named Bhutanese mixed-media artist Pem Lham the winner of the 2026 Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize, the largest award of its kind in the world at $30,000. Lham, who lives and works in Thimphu, Bhutan, explores identity and collective memory through folkloric tradition, feminist theory, and contemporary culture, working across painting, embroidery, and mixed-media assemblage. She frequently draws on Bhutanese mask dance, particularly the figure of the “Molay,” to examine gender and power. Her work has been exhibited in Bhutan, Nepal, India, Belgium, Switzerland, and Taiwan.
Dario Vitale named creative director of Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani Accessories.
Italian fashion designer Dario Vitale has been appointed creative director of Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani Accessories, effective immediately, the house announced Wednesday. His debut collection will be presented for Fall/Winter 2027. The hire marks the first time Armani Group has placed an external designer in creative charge of one of its lines since founder Giorgio Armani’s death last September. It is also Vitale’s second high-profile appointment in under two years: he served as Versace’s creative director for eight months before departing following Prada Group’s acquisition of that house. Vitale spent 14 years at Miu Miu, rising to design director of ready-to-wear, and previously worked at Bottega Veneta and Dsquared2.
A 16th-century colonial mill discovered under Lima street to open to public.
The Molino de Aliaga, Lima’s earliest known colonial structure, will open to the public in January after being discovered in 2020. The Municipal Programme for the Recovery of the Historic Centre of Lima uncovered the mill during excavations following the collapse of part of Chabuca Granda Avenue, and archaeologists have since worked to conserve the site. Built in 1548 by Spanish conquistador Jerónimo de Aliaga on the banks of the Rímac River, the mill produced flour for the young city, which had become the capital of the Viceroyalty of Perú in 1543.
Pablo Picasso, Deux nus couchés, 1968. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.…
Attractive Distractions:
Sotheby’s will debut “Chez Sotheby’s,” a $150M art-filled dining experience during Art Basel Paris.
From Chicago to Kolkata, “Walking Men Worldwide” by lifestyle photographer Maya Barkai shows the differences between pedestrian crossing icons from cities around the world.
The Armory artist-in-residence Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ new play “Grass” will open the cultural venue’s 2027 season this February.
For the first time in over a decade, Ralph Rucci‘s haute couture and made-to-order collections form part of the Cornell Fashion + Textile collection.
