In Spring 2018, Swiss Institute looks forward to relocating to a new long-term home in New York City’s East Village, moving into a building at the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue. Swiss Institute has hired Selldorf Architects to oversee the transformation of the new building. The 7,500 square foot space features four levels – basement, ground floor, second floor and roof.
The design for the building will create spaces for exhibitions, projects and public programs, a library, a bookstore, and a rooftop garden. SI’s new home is located within half a mile of several prominent cultural and educational institutions including Anthology Film Archives, Cooper Union, Danspace Project, ICP, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, New Museum, New York University, The Poetry Project, The Public Theater, and Performance Space New York.
THE MOVE TO ST. MARKS WILL ENABLE SI TO:
– Strengthen & expand its core mission of promoting forward thinking and experimental art- now in an architecturally significant and expanded space.
– Act as a cultural catalyst to partner and engage with a dense network of cultural and educational institutions in a demographically diverse community.
– Significantly grow attendance to exhibitions and public programs through increased prominence and visibility.
EDUCATION INITIATIVE
Swiss Institute is proud to be launching its first Education Initiative on the occasion of the move to St. Marks Place. Building upon the success of its public programming series, SI’s educational program will include opportunities for families with children, teenagers, university students and seniors. SI looks forward to creating a program where participants are able to interact with exhibitions under the guidance of contemporary artists.
Swiss Institute is partnering with the Visual Communication students of HEAD (Haute école d’art et de design), on its signage and wayfinding design. Located in the heart of Geneva, HEAD is one of the world’s leading art and design schools.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Swiss Institute’s new location on the corner of Second Avenue and St. Marks Place is located within Manhattan Community Board 3 (CB3). The CB3 district spans the East Village, Lower East Side, and parts of Chinatown and is one of the most densely populated districts in the city. A third of the residents of CB3 are foreign born and in addition to English, Spanish and Chinese, dozens of languages can be heard throughout this historic neighborhood. This corner of New York City has always been a destination for immigrants and artists, and as an arts institution founded by immigrants and free to the public, Swiss Institute has deep roots in providing access to cultural engagements to all residents of New York and beyond.