The Jewish Museum undergoes a major makeover, with brand-new galleries, a learning center and an installation of 130 Hanukkah la

"Designed by UNS (Amsterdam) and New Affiliates Architecture (New York), with Method Design serving as the architect of record, the overhaul connects two floors of the museum through an airy, double-height gallery crowned by a glittering installation featuring more than 130 Hanukkah lamps. Together they symbolize what the museum calls "light as a universal metaphor for hope and enlightenment"-and form a literal bridge between storytelling and education."

""This milestone moment heralds a new chapter for the Jewish Museum," said director James S. Snyder. "With this reimagining of our collection and education galleries, we hope visitors will discover new points of connection and deepen their appreciation of the traditions that have shaped the Jewish experience throughout the global diaspora and in resonance with other cultures.""

"The centerpiece exhibition, "Identity, Culture, and Community: Stories from the Collection of the Jewish Museum," sprawls across the third floor, featuring more than 200 works ranging from ancient ritual objects to modern masterpieces by Mel Bochner, Eva Hesse, Lee Krasner, Mark Rothko and Louise Nevelson. The galleries trace Jewish cultural expression from antiquity to the present, with rotating features spotlighting themes like Jewish life in Colonial America and the legacy of filmmaker Pearl Bowser, who helped launch the museum's pioneering "Black Film" series in 1970."

A $14.5 million renovation transforms the Warburg Mansion on Fifth Avenue and reopens on October 24 with reimagined collection galleries and a new 7,000-square-foot Pruzan Family Center for Learning. Design by UNS and New Affiliates, with Method Design as architect of record, connects two floors via a double-height gallery crowned by a glittering installation of more than 130 Hanukkah lamps that symbolize light as a metaphor for hope and enlightenment. The centerpiece exhibition "Identity, Culture, and Community" features over 200 works from ancient ritual objects to modern masterpieces and rotating features on themes like Jewish life in Colonial America and Pearl Bowser's legacy.

Read at Time Out New York