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As the year comes to a close, we look back on the art and experiences that have resonated deeply in the Museum’s galleries and beyond. We are grateful to all the artists, colleagues, visitors, members, and donors who share in our belief that art has the power to change our world. The stories highlighted here are a snapshot of the exhibitions, outreach, and initiatives that fuel our passion. Thank you for being part of MoMA and MoMA PS1 and for your outstanding generosity and enthusiasm.
Inspiring exhibitions
This year we welcomed nearly 2.7 million visitors to our galleries for more than 35 exhibitions, that, to name just a few, included An-My Lê’s photographs exploring conflict and human connection, a reunion of works made by Pablo Picasso during the pivotal summer of 1921, a deep dive into the tensions between craft and modernism in Latin America, and a moving assemblage of Kathe Kollwitz’s art for social purpose. Celebrated series brought new voices to the galleries with London-based designer Grace Wales Bonner selecting works from the collection for Artist’s Choice, the Museum’s first group exhibition of West African artists for New Photography 2023, and the awe-inspiring drawings of Tadáskía for the Elaine Dannheisser Projects Series.
We were also thrilled to present two major retrospectives. The first encompassed the full array of Ed Ruscha’s incomparable art, from his signature paintings and drawings of words, gasoline stations, and pop culture icons to his photographs, prints, and artist’s books. Likewise, the first-ever exhibition in New York devoted to Joan Jonas’s career transported visitors with her spellbinding performances, pioneering video works, and evocative installations.
A painting hidden behind a painting
Before Martin Wong’s painting Houston Street became part of MoMA’s collection, rumors circulated about another artwork on its back. When our conservation team replaced the painting’s stretcher, they had a chance to study the piece which had been hidden for more than 40 years. On the back of the canvas Wong had painted his signature brick-by-brick motif and then asked his friends, graffiti artists Sharp and Delta 2, to spray paint over it, tagging it like a real wall. Documentation of the discovery, archival research, and conversations with Sharp and filmmaker Charlie Ahearn (Wild Style) brought to life the creativity and community of Wong’s Lower East Side universe.
Access to the arts for NYC students
We are thrilled to have continued the expansion of our programs serving K-12 students from across the five boroughs, thanks to major support from the Adobe Foundation. Over the past year MoMA welcomed over 19,000 students—up from a pre-pandemic level of 11,000—to explore our collection and exhibitions and to foster a love of art in all ages.
MoMA also continued its partnership with D75, the New York City Public School district created to serve all students with disabilities, by empowering teachers through a professional development program and curricular guides inspired by artists in MoMA’s collection.
Our dynamic collection
On view at MoMA for the first time, Mike Kelley’s immersive installation Deodorized Central Mass with Satellites became a destination for visitors fascinated by its curious and colorful forms and nostalgic references. Throughout the year, our ongoing slate of exhibitions in the collection galleries brought forward fresh perspectives and unexpected pairings to tell more expansive stories of art that included a salon-style display of Cubist works, a presentation of Ernest Cole’s groundbreaking photobook House of Bondage, deep cuts from experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs, and the multisensory House of Hope by Montien Boonma.
An enduring commitment to film
Over the past year our Department of Film presented over 1,000 screenings, sharing classic works, studio hits, and experimental and indie films from all over the world with the Museum’s dedicated cinephiles. A counterpoint to on-demand streaming, MoMA’s commitment to preserving rare works on celluloid, screening 35mm prints, and annual festivals like New Directors/New Films and To Save and Project that share emerging talent and cinematic history with new audiences has never been more robust. Attendance in our theaters is up by 25% and is a testament to this enduring artform, which MoMA has championed since the 1930s.
Honoring an artist activist
Among the esteemed honorees of this year’s Party in the Garden was the artist activist LaToya Ruby Frazier, who was named one of this year’s most influential people by TIME magazine. With the exhibition Monuments of Solidarity, Frazier captivated visitors with her powerful photographs highlighting untold stories of resilience across the United States, brought together artists and community leaders for a special program at the Museum, and shared with us the influence of other photographers on her work.
Performance, sound, installation, and more
The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Studio was transformed with immersive and ambitious installations punctuated by live performances, from Shana Moulton’s kaleidoscopic dreamscape to a one-night only, immersive screening of Martin Beck’s Last Night that celebrated the 40th anniversary of David Mancuso’s legendary dance parties at the Loft. The possibilities of sound were a focus in 2023 with the inaugural Studio Sound series presenting Suzanne Ciani and Sarah Davachi, two composers of different generations working with innovative music technologies, and the annual Studio Residency which featured the premiere of Simultaneous by sonic and visual innovator Pamela Z.
Jazz legends in the Sculpture Garden
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This summer, MoMA launched the three-episode podcast, Jazz in the Garden, which dives into the little-known history of jazz performances in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden dating back to the 1960s, which included George Wein, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, and Sonny Rollins. Through original recordings, archival audio, and new interviews this series illuminates a remarkable chapter in MoMA’s history.
To celebrate the podcast launch, MoMA hosted a special member evening featuring legendary bassist Ron Carter, who first performed in our garden in 1965. More than 3,000 guests attended, bringing together our vibrant community for an unforgettable night of musical magic.
Creative thinkers and leaders
In 2023–24 our Scholars in Residence program, supported by the Ford Foundation, welcomed Chicanx and Latinx art specialist C. Ondine Chavoya, comparative race scholar Anne Anlin Cheng, and civil rights activist and lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill to the Museum. Granted full access to MoMA’s collections, library, archives, and other resources, these inspiring thinkers were invited to pursue independent research projects, and over their residencies they engaged our community through conversation including public programs on curatorship hosted by Chavoya, a book signing and scholars panel with Anlin, and dialogues between Ifill and artists including Isaac Julien and Anna Deavere Smith.
Sustainable futures
MoMA is dedicated to making the Museum more sustainable and to serve as a leader in this field through our operational changes as well as through our exhibition programming. Last year, Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism was the first major museum exhibition to survey the relationship between architecture and the rise of the environmental movement in the US during the 1960s and ’70s.
Behind-the-scenes, our sustainability team is spearheading efforts to limit waste, lower energy use, and reduce carbon emissions across our campus. New programs—including onsite garbage separation, LED lighting, and improved cold storage for our film and photography collections, among many other projects—mean that the Museum is on target to achieve its 2024 goal to reduce emissions by 27%.
Thank you
Your dedication makes all this and more possible, and ensures our unparalleled research and collections reach millions around the world each year. Thank you for joining us in sharing and celebrating the art of time—we look forward to another year of new possibilities.