News Flash: Dia to Build New Facility in Chelsea

I'm still traveling and time-pressed, but I had to share with you this press release (not online at this writing) about the Dia Art Foundation's plans to build a new facility in New York City, where it surely belongs:

DIA ART FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES PLAN TO OPEN A NEW SPACE IN CHELSEA

New building will house artists' commissions and installations and serve as site for innovative scholarship and public programs

For Immediate Release, November 6, 2009, New York

Philippe Vergne, director, Dia Art Foundation, today announced that Dia will construct a new building in West Chelsea for a reinvigorated New York City program. It will be located at 545 West 22nd Street, on the footprint of a building that Dia currently owns. In keeping with the organization's historical commitment to in-depth support of ambitious projects, the space will provide a New York City location for commissioned artworks. It will also house exhibitions; long-term installations; public programs including readings, lectures, and symposia; and performances.

The decision to open a new site in West Chelsea follows Dia's 2004 closing of its former New York City space, which was in need of substantial renovation and was found to be inadequate for Dia's programming needs. Dia subsequently explored other locations throughout Manhattan and, given the shift in the cultural landscape that has taken place since 2004, it determined that it would reestablish a presence in Chelsea. With the new site, Dia will again serve as an institutional anchor for the contemporary-art neighborhood that it pioneered in the late 1980s and that is now home to a rich mix of art galleries, theaters, public spaces, and diverse nonprofit organizations.

In addition, West 22nd Street is identified with three major Dia installations: Joseph Beuys' 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks), along West 22nd Street between and including 10th and 11th Avenues (1988); Dan Graham's Rooftop Urban Park Project (1991), originally located on the roof of 548 West 22nd Street and to be reinstalled on the roof of Dia's new building; and Dan Flavin's untitled (1996), sited in the stairwells of 548 West 22nd Street.

Early planning for the building has begun, and the architecture and scale of the edifice--which will provide a utilitarian space designed for the experience of art--are being determined. The project represents the first time in its 35-year history that Dia has elected to construct a new building, rather than to re-use an existing one.

 Mr. Vergne, working in collaboration with Dia's staff and in dialogue with its board, is conceptualizing the artistic and architectural program for the new space, which will provide flexible conditions in which artists across generations, disciplines, and cultures can experiment and produce new works.

And the money will come from...?