New York City will soon be getting a new museum. Known simply as Poster House, the museum will be the first in the city to be devoted entirely to poster art. Designed to be an open, welcoming space, the museum will feature galleries, a gift shop and a café for visitors to enjoy.
Designing Poster House
Designed by LTL Architects, Poster House will have a distinctive style while maintaining a classic look. Other works created by LTL Architects include the Van Alen Institute’s Flatiron headquarters and the contemporary art museum in Austin, Texas. With a pedestrian pathway linking the museum’s entrances on 23rd and 24th streets, visitors will be able to walk through the museum and enjoy the works on view without needing to fully engage with the exhibits. On the other hand, the space will be open enough for visitors to spend as much time with each exhibit as they desire.
Exploring the Poster House’s Exhibit Space
Spanning over 15,000 square feet, Poster House will have two main galleries once it is complete. These two galleries will take up approximately 3,000 square feet of the museum’s total space. The method to be used for exhibiting the posters, however, is still uncertain at this time. Since the works were originally created as advertisements or propaganda that were designed to be used in the subway and other public spaces, one line of thinking is to present the posters in the context by which they were originally seen. On the other hand, it may be better to display them in a more traditional way within white box gallery space.
Ultimately, the exhibits are likely to be a combination of the two depending upon the type of poster being displayed and feedback from museum visitors. In fact, it may look similar to a pop-up museum that was hosted last fall in which posters showcasing New York’s history were on display. Among these were concert flyers and advertisements created on Madison Avenue. For this museum, works were mounted in a setting meant to mimic the green construction walls of the city. These walls, which were papered over with ads and fliers, were a hit with visitors.
As New York City embraces artistic evolution with its new museum dedicated to poster art, it’s worth exploring how technological advancements in living spaces, particularly smart homes, are revolutionizing real estate values. To understand this trend further, read about the impact of smart homes on real estate values.
Reaching All Visitors
In addition to its two main galleries, Poster House is slated to feature a café, a gift shop, storage space, offices and even a children’s exhibit space. The museum will also boast a cellar level area that will be used for special events, screenings or possibly additional exhibits. The idea was to keep the space flexible in order to meet the museum’s needs as it grows and expands in the future.
Ultimately, the museum strives to explore the impact that posters have had on our society and our culture. The museum also hopes to improve design literacy to the general public while providing a space of inquiry for those who are interested in advertising, design and public interventions.
The Poster House is located in the old Tekserve storefront between Sixth and Seventh avenues on 23rd Street. The museum is expected to be open to the public sometime in early 2019.