Designed by Selldorf Architects, the institute’s new 7,500-square-foot building is located at 38 St. Marks Place and is scheduled to open on June 21. The organization had previously occupied the Swiss Townhouse at 35 West Sixty-Seventh Street from its founding in 1986 until 1994, when it moved to 495 Broadway in SoHo. It remained there until it relocated to 18 Wooster Street, the former home of Jeffrey Deitch’s Deitch Projects, in 2011, after the dealer left to lead the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Once the institute’s lease expired in 2016, it settled at 102 Franklin Street while it searched for a permanent location.

“I am immensely grateful for the continuing support we have been receiving as we create the very first longterm home for the Swiss Institute after more than three decades of existence,” said board chair Maja Hoffmann, who made a leading gift to the campaign. “We are opening much more than a building—it is a new public space in the heart of Downtown, for an ever-growing community to enjoy art, always free of charge. We are committed to continuing a legacy of generative experimentation and to fostering an environment in the East Village in which art can thrive, and be open to all.”

The third edition of the institute’s Annual Architecture and Design Series, titled “Readymades Belong to Everyone,” and “SI ONSITE,” a series of semi-permanent, site-specific, commissioned artworks by artists such as John Armleder, Valentin Carron, Hans Haacke, and Jill Mulleady, will inaugurate the space.

This summer, the institute will launch several education programs developed by artists in collaboration with local schools and community organizations, including School of the Future, Little Missionary’s Day Nursery & Sara Curry Preschool, GO Project, and the Sirovich Center for Balanced Living. Commenting on the new initiatives, director Simon Castets said: “A space for artists, 38 St. Marks Place is also a space by artists, who are actively contributing through both the ‘SI ONSITE’ commissions and our new artist-led education programs. Moving into a new neighborhood and building goes hand in hand with expanding upon our mission, with education as a new cornerstone of our activities.”