The Bronx Museum has announced Unfolding: Inside, Outside, & Beyond, an ambitious programme of exhibitions, artist commissions and public projects that will lead the institution through the final phase of its transformation ahead of the reopening of its renovated campus in autumn 2027.
The initiative coincides with the Museum’s major redevelopment, designed by Marvel, which will create a more open and welcoming campus while respecting the distinctive architecture of the original Arquitectonica building. The renovation introduces a transparent new entrance and expanded public spaces, reinforcing the Museum’s long-standing commitment to free access and community engagement.
Rather than waiting for the building to reopen, Unfolding extends the Museum’s activities across the Bronx, activating its permanent collection while taking exhibitions and performances into public space.
Among the highlights is The Woods Woman Method, a new exhibition by artist Saya Woolfalk, opening on 9th October 2026. A former AIM Fellow at The Bronx Museum, Woolfalk returns with the first chapter of a multi-year project that reimagines the Museum’s permanent collection through the lens of speculative storytelling. Bringing together works from the collection alongside new commissions and process materials, the exhibition explores imagined worlds, ecology, the cosmos and collective narratives, while also functioning as a space for workshops and public participation. The project will ultimately inform a major commission for the Museum’s renovated entrance hall.
The Museum is also expanding beyond its walls with Meet Me At The Park, a new series of free artist-led programmes taking place in nearby Joyce Kilmer Park. Beginning this summer, performances and public events will bring artists directly into one of the Bronx’s busiest civic spaces, including presentations by Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow and Asia Stewart, whose work currently features in The Seventh AIM Biennial: Forms of Connection.
Public space remains central to the programme with Alex Strada’s Public Address, created in partnership with Storefront for Art and Architecture, the NYC Department of Homeless Services and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. Launching in September, the project uses official New York City Department of Transportation signage to amplify the voices of people living and working in homeless shelters, transforming civic infrastructure into a platform for dialogue across the borough.
Young people will also play a significant role in shaping the Museum’s future. From October, participants in the Museum’s long-running paid Teen Programme will curate a presentation drawn from the permanent collection, responding to questions around resistance, experimentation and artistic innovation.
The Museum’s collection will remain at the heart of its programming into 2027, with a new series of focused displays beginning in January. The first centres on Pablo Helguera’s ongoing project The School of Panamerican Unrest, documenting the artist’s journey from Alaska to Argentina with a travelling schoolhouse designed as a platform for public conversation.
“With Unfolding, we’re embracing this moment of transformation as an opportunity to reaffirm how our Museum can best serve its audiences,”
said Shamim M. Momin, Director and Chief Curator of The Bronx Museum.
“The projects activate the permanent collection in profound ways and extend the Museum’s programmes beyond our galleries to meet people where they are in public spaces. As we prepare to open our renovated building in 2027, this series will deepen our commitment to free access, meaningful dialogue and honouring the creative energy of the Bronx.”
With its combination of exhibitions, artist-led public programming and community engagement, Unfolding: Inside, Outside, & Beyond offers a preview of how The Bronx Museum intends to operate once its transformed campus opens in 2027—placing openness, participation and accessibility at the centre of its future.
About
For over five decades, The Bronx Museum has been a vanguard of cultural diversity and accessibility in the contemporary art world. The Museum offers 100% free admission for everyone to all its exhibitions and programs, providing a vital creative outlet to the public. Through its curatorial practices, including a permanent collection, the Museum seeks to champion and promote artists who have been systemically and historically marginalized. The history and culture of The Bronx are a never-ending source of inspiration for the Museum, and its programs are designed to facilitate meaningful engagement with the people of the borough while also attracting visitors from all over New York City and the world. The Bronx Museum is a leader in the cultural sphere with its unwavering commitment to access, dedication to platforming underrepresented artists, and dynamic community-engaged programming.
