Lisa Phillips, the director of the New Museum in Manhattan since 1999, will retire in April 2026 after the completion of an $82 million expansion designed by OMA and Cooper Robertson. The expansion, which doubles the museum's exhibition space, is set to reopen this autumn, marking the culmination of Phillips's transformative 26-year tenure. She will become director emeritus and curate an exhibition on the Bowery's artistic history.
Phillips's retirement matters because she led the New Museum from a small rented space in Soho to a globally recognized contemporary art hub on the Bowery, overseeing two landmark buildings by Sanaa and OMA. Under her leadership, the museum launched a influential triennial, hired top curators like Massimiliano Gioni, and expanded its audience and programming. Her departure signals a generational shift at a key institution known for supporting experimental art.