COURTESY SWISS INSTITUTE
Swiss Institute, which was displaced from its home on Wooster Street in SoHo after Jeffrey Deitch decided to take back the lease on his old gallery space, has found a new home in the East Village, on St. Marks Place and Second Avenue, the art organization announced in a press release. It plans to move into the space on 38 St. Marks Place, formerly a Chase Bank that has been empty since November of last year, in spring 2017.
“This new building offers tremendous opportunities to expand upon our mission and serve a growing audience, to whom we will continue to offer forward-looking exhibitions and public programs, always free of charge,” Swiss Institute’s director, Simon Castets, said in the statement. “We look forward to joining and contributing to the diverse community of cultural organizations and artists that have called the East Village home for many years.”
The 7,500-square-foot space has been leased for 10 years, and will be designed by Selldorf Architects. There will also be a public rooftop that will double as an event space (a rumor going around was that there would be a biergarten up top, which would befit a Swiss art concern, but at this time that tidbit is unconfirmed).
Swiss Institute also announced that it would add nine new members to its board: Bice Curiger, Matthias Dettling, Alexandra Economou, Sam Keller, Lisa Schiff, Dominique Lévy, Christian Marclay, Michael Ringier, and Iwan Wirth. Maja Hoffman, the Swiss collector, will take over as board chair.