From a centre honouring LGBTQ+ history to a groundbreaking Norwegian art gallery, these are the exciting museum openings, renovations and expansions to look out for in 2024...
What a year 2024 is shaping up to be in the world of museums. Across Europe, the Americas and Asia, a great selection of new, renovated and expanded cultural institutions are getting ready to welcome visitors to their awe-inspiring, multi-million pound projects, that usually involve shiny new buildings and reimagined exhibitions. Whether into history, archaeology, art, music or even wine, there'll be a museum on our list sure to spark your interest.
Estimated opening: Spring 2024
Opening on Martin Luther King Jr Avenue in the historic Anacostia neighbourhood of Washington DC is the small but groundbreaking Go-Go Museum. Go-go music, often stated as the ‘official soundtrack of DC’, is a blend of funk, R&B, salsa and hip hop beats that was created in the 1970s by music legend Chuck Brown, now known as the ‘Godfather of go-go’. The space will aim to preserve the history and culture of go-go music through interactive and digital exhibits that will be displayed acrorss the walls, ceilings and the floor. There will also be an on-site café with food inspired by go-go history, with flavours from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. gogomuseumcafe.com
The famous Lowell Observatory will house the new Astronomy Discover Center (Shutterstock)
Estimated opening: November 2024
Budding astronomers can gaze up at the dark skies of Arizona at the new Astronomy Discover Center, expected to open in Flagstaff in November 2024. Located at the famous Lowell Observatory, the center’s star attraction (quite literally) will be the open-air rooftop planetarium, where visitors can take in the pristine constellations above them. Presentations can be watched at its new Universe Theatre, while the permanent Astronomy Gallery Exhibit will answer all your burning scientific questions such as ‘how did we get here?’. All in all, you’ll be guaranteed to feel at one with the universe. lowell.edu
Estimated opening: April 2024
Built on an active research site in New Jersey, the Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park Museum is a $75 million project that will transport visitors deep into the planet’s archaeological past. The museum – predicted to be one of the most anticipated openings for 2024 – is perched above a giant quarry, home to 66-million-year-old fossils from the Cretaceous Period. Juxtaposing contemporary with prehistoric, immersive exhibits and fossil hunting will take visitors back to the age of the dinosaurs. rowan.edu
The original museum building is a work of art in itself (Shutterstock)
Estimated opening: Late 2024
Brazil's leading modern and contemporary art museum, abbreviated to MASP, is already housed in a phenomenal piece of architecture that is one of São Paulo's most iconic landmarks. Designed by Lina Bo Bardi and opened in 1968, the main building balances 8m above the ground, supported by four red concrete pillars that are attached to two beams. Because of this extraordinary design, building an extension is slightly problematic. But the museum has managed to find a workaround, creating an underground tunnel that will lead from Bo Bardi's building to a brand new space. Costing $33 million, the 75,000 sq ft extension will be in a separate, tall, dark and minimalist structure, not to detract attention from the original museum. A third of the space will be dedicated to exhibiting more of the museums impressive collection, of which only 1% can be displayed at one time. This new space is set to change that. masp.org.br/en
Estimated opening: 2024
Although not a brand-new opening, LA’s Natural History Museum is currently undergoing a $75 million renovation and expansion to its space. More than 55,000 sqm have been added to the site, which includes a new exhibition wing, an plaza for events, a 400-seat theatre, and an entry pavilion, where indeed, visitors will be warmly welcomed by a 21m-long dinosaur skeleton. nhm.org
The Perth Museum will open in the former city hall (Alamy)
Estimated opening date: March 2024
After a £27 development, the Perth Museum is excitingly expected to open its doors in spring of 2024. Putting Perth and Kinross at the centre of Scotland’s history, this world-class institute will certainly be the country’s top cultural and heritage attraction for years to come. At the heart of it all is the Stone of Destiny, one of Scotland’s most significant objects that has now returned to the region for the first time in 700 years. What’s more, the museum will be housed in an Edwardian building that has a fascinating history serving as a market hall, concert hall, wrestling venue and most recently was Perth City Hall. perthmuseum.co.uk
Estimated opening: Spring 2024
Shakespeare fans will soon be able to walk where the famous playwright and actor first staged his early productions of Romeo and Juliet and Henry V. The remains of the Curtain Playhouse, one of London’s earliest theatres in Shoreditch, were excavated between 2011 and 2016, and thanks to the Museum of Shakespeare, will be accessible for the first time in 2024. Immersive and interactive exhibits will bring the 16th century site back to life, allowing visitors to step into the world of William Shakespeare himself.
Kunstsilo will be built inside a former grain silo (Kunstsilo)
Estimated opening: May 2024
A new ‘universe of art’ will be opening in the late spring 2024 in the Norwegian coastal city of Kristiansand. Kunstsilo, housed in a restored grain silo, is expected to entice art lovers from around the globe. The eyecatching, awe-inspiring structure says enough, but inside visitors will discover a fusion of traditional and futuristic art. Interactive digital displays and international collections will be found spread across three floors, while the Tangen Collection – Norway’s largest collection of Nordic modernist art – will be available to view in one place for the first time. kunstsilo.no
The façade of Grand Egyptian Museum has been teasing us for years (Shutterstock)
Estimated opening: Late spring 2024
No, it still hasn't happened yet, and we're not holding our breath. The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has been teasing us with its opening for years now. But after two decades of work and more than a $1 billion invested, we understand the pressure is on for a near-to-perfect grand opening of what will be one of the largest museums in the world. Located just a short distance from the Pyramids of Giza, the institution is dedicated to preserving Egypt’s past, with more than 100,000 artefacts on display around the whopping 490,000-square-meter site. The most exciting part of its collection has to be the treasure of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, on display for the first time since the discovery of his tomb more than a century ago. grandegyptianmuseum.org
Estimated opening: June 2024
The Palmer Museum of Art, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary, is currently transitioning from its former home on Curtin Road to a brand-new building within the Arboretum at Penn State. It is the largest art museum collection between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, which will only grow even bigger with nearly twice the amount of exhibition space housing more than 10,000 works. Additionally, there will be educational spaces and a teaching gallery on site. Its first opening exhibitions will include Made in PA, a collection of paintings, sculptures and mixed-media work by artists hailing from Pennsylvania. palmermuseum.psu.edu
The Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center will be on the same road as the Stonewall Inn, pictured (Shutterstock)
Estimated opening: Summer 2024
Expected to open in the summer of 2024, the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center will be dedicated to the history of the national monument and its impact on the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. The 3,700 sq ft site will be located two doors down from the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street, New York City, where the pivotal uprising took place in 1969. The centre will preserve the legacy of all queer people who fought for gay rights at Stonewall, and aims to inspire future generation to continue standing up for equality. stonewallvisitorcenter.org
Estimated opening: 2024
Set to be the second largest wine museum in the world (following Cité du Vin in Bordeaux), the Universal Wine Museum will open near Dachi River in Beijing. Of the 18,000 sqm site, a large proportion will be dedicated to permanent exhibitions telling the story of wine production, wine history, and wine across the world, while some of the outdoor area will be an organic vineyard. The building design is inspired by the silhouette of the city of Saint-Émilion, famous for its red wines with a history of dating back to the ancient Romans.
Hampi Art Labs building (JSW Foundation)
Estimated opening: February 2024
Just a short distance from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi in southern India, Hampi Art Labs will be an art centre set across 18 acres of land. The initiative – by JSW Foundation – was inspired by the nearby temple town of Vijayanagar, who’s art, architecture and literature flourished in the 14th-16th century. It will open with the Right Foot First exhibition, a collection of works by renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Annie Morris, Atul Dodiya and Zarina Hasmi, among many others. hampiartlabs.com
Estimated opening: April 2024
The first of its kind, the Museum of Homelessness will arrive at Manor House Lodge in Finsbury Park in the spring of 2024. The centre aims to preserve and share the history of homelessness, poverty and social action through a variety of exhibitions and artistic instalments, with stories told by people who have experienced homelessness in their lives. Their ultimate goal? To change the perception of how people perceive the homeless. museumofhomelessness.org
The new Visitor Hall at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has already opened (Cleveland Museum of Natural History)
Estimated opening: Open now, but redevelopment completed in 2024.
Another Natural History Museum is currently undergoing a substantial spruce up, but this time it can be found in Ohio. It remains open to the public during its revamp, but new sections are slowly being unveiled. First up was its Visitor Hall, what is considered to be the heart of the museum and a free space for the public to see, with iconic specimens on display including a sauropoda dinosaur, 3.2 million-year-old partial fossil skeleton, a bald eagle model, and moon rock on loan from NASA. But this is just the start of the $150 million redevelopment and expansion, which will include new wings and reimagined exhibits – all expected to open in 2024. cmnh.org
Estimated opening: 2024
Turin’s Museo Egizio, founded nearly 200 years ago in 1824, is the world’s oldest museum for Ancient Egyptian culture. Ahead of its bicentenary, the museum plans to transform much of its space in order to become better in keeping with the rich history of Turin, while also implementing modern elements. The most striking change will be its courtyard, the Piazza Egizia, while its urban rooms will reimagine the existing space of the museum. museoegizio.it
teamLab Borderless is an Instagrammer's dream (Shutterstock)
Estimated opening: January 2024
Borderless by name, borderless by nature. This immersive art installation fills every corner of the room, so you’re literally stepping into a world of digital art with no boundaries. It closed in 2022 for relocation, with plans to reopen at the beginning of 2024 as part of the Azabudai Hills development – a modern urban village in the heart of Tokyo. This one is certainly one for the Instagrammers of the world. teamlab.art
Estimated opening: Open now
After nearly two long decades of restoration, Alexandria's iconic Graeco-Roman Museum finally reopened its doors to the public in October 2023. Displaying 6,000 artefacts dating from the pre-Alexander Period until the Byzantine Period, the museum’s 30 galleries – which include antiquities on display for the first time – reflect the history of Alexandria and its surrounding area. The museum opening is part of the Egyptian government’s commitment to promote its unmatched heritage and culture.
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