Galerie’s Weekly Art and Design Industry News Brief

Here are this week’s must-read news stories in the fields of art and design.

1. MoMA announces $40 million gift 

Leon and Debra Black have given a gift of $40 million to the Museum of Modern Art, which will be used to create the Debra and Leon Black Family Film Center, spanning two floors of the museum’s Ronald S. and Jo Carole Lauder Building, which includes multimedia exhibition galleries and two theaters. The center will present film exhibitions and premieres with directors, actors, and other film experts.

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A rendering of Foster + Partners proposed building, The Tulip. If completed, it would be the tallest structure in London. Photo: Foster + Partners

2. Foster + Partners proposes 1000-foot-tall tourist viewing tower in London

Foster + Partners has submitted its design for an observation tower, called The Tulip, which would become the tallest structure in London, for planning permission. The proposed tower would be topped with a viewpoint and rotating gondolas, to offer visitors sweeping views of the city. If approved, the tower could begin construction in 2020, with an opening date planned for 2025.

3. The revamped Ford Foundation is revealed

After two years, the $205 million renovation of the Ford Foundation’s New York headquarters is almost finished. Now called the Ford Foundation for Social Justice, the building was designed by Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo and includes a public art gallery, abstract tapestries by Sheila Hicks, and a Dan Kiley–designed garden.

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The proposed redesign of the Met’s African art gallery. Photo: wHY

4. The Met’s Rockefeller Wing will undergo $70 million renovation

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced this week a $70 million renovation of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, which will be designed by the architect Kulapat Yantrasast of the firm wHY, to begin in late 2020 and be completed in 2023. The museum will revamp its galleries dedicated to Africa, Oceania, and the Americas before starting on a pricier update of its modern and contemporary wing.