The museums opening in 2026 are signature projects in new cultural capitals
From America to Arabia, from an OMA-designed expansion to a museum dedicated to hip hop
By Geoffrey Montes
Published: 09/01/2026
This year saw the opening of numerous long-awaited cultural institutions, from Cairo’s long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum—into which nearly thirty years of work have been invested—to the Studio Museum in Harlem, which unveiled its first purpose-built home with a spectacular project by Adjaye Associates. But 2026 promises to be just as exciting: there will be something for art lovers, history buffs, and even hip hop fans.
The buildings themselves should not be overlooked, especially considering that two of them are projects conceived by two architectural luminaries we lost this year: Frank Gehry and Robert A.M. Stern. So before planning your travel itinerary for the year ahead, take a look at our list below.
New Museum Expansion | New York (early 2026)
Rendering courtesy of OMA / bloomimages.de
The New Museum in Lower Manhattan—the only institution in the neighborhood dedicated to contemporary art—is known for its multi-story tower on the Bowery, opened in 2007 and designed by the renowned Japanese firm SANAA. Now it is about to gain a companion: Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas of OMA, together with Cooper Robertson, have designed a 5,574-square-meter expansion adjacent to the existing building. It will double the museum’s exhibition space and provide a permanent home for its art and technology incubator.
Obama Presidential Center | Chicago (spring 2026)
Iwan Baan
Located within historic Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side, the Obama Presidential Center features a striking design by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners (TWBTA), with surrounding landscape architecture by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. Under construction since 2021, the 19-acre campus includes a granite-clad tower, a forum, and a branch of the Chicago Public Library, all accessible via a public plaza and connected by an underground passage. At the top of the tower is engraved a quote from President Obama’s 2015 speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches.
LACMA Expansion | Los Angeles (April 2026)
© O’Donnell + Tuomey / Ninety90, 2018
Arcing over Los Angeles’s busy Wilshire Boulevard, the new expansion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art—the David Geffen Galleries—will house the institution’s permanent collection. Pritzker Prize–winning architect Peter Zumthor designed the sinuous wing, which will include 110,000 square feet of new galleries and more than three acres of outdoor space. Notably, Japanese textile artist Reiko Sudō is creating custom fireproof curtains to be hung throughout the building, just ahead of a retrospective of her work opening at the museum in August.
V&A East Museum | London (April 2026)
RAMSA / Alden Studios
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is the world’s most renowned institution devoted to design and decorative arts, with a collection of nearly 3 million objects spanning several centuries. After opening an East London outpost in 2025 (called Storehouse), the museum is set to unveil the V&A East Museum, a five-story artistic structure designed by Dublin-based firm O’Donnell + Tuomey.
Tang Wing for American Democracy at the New York Historical | New York (June 2026)
Rendering by Stantec and DBOX
One of the final works of revered architect Robert A.M. Stern, who passed away at the end of November, the expansion of the New York Historical Museum will be completed this summer. Called the Tang Wing for American Democracy, the addition will connect to the main museum and span more than 71,000 square feet. Coinciding with the nation’s 250th anniversary, the project will also include the American LGBT+ Museum.
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art | Los Angeles (September 2026)
Concept rendering of The Hip Hop Museum / Courtesy of RAA
Perhaps the most anticipated museum on the list is the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. Championed by iconic filmmaker George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, the approximately 28,000-square-meter museum features a futuristic design by Ma Yansong’s MAD Architects and rises on the site of a former parking lot. Inside will be 9,300 square meters of exhibition space dedicated to “visual storytelling” (with works by Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell, and many others), along with Lucas’s personal archives, two theaters, classrooms, a restaurant, and a café.
Hip Hop Museum | New York (October 2026)
Atelier Kanal © Secchi Smith
A popular yet often overlooked musical genre is finally receiving the recognition it deserves with the upcoming opening of the Hip Hop Museum, located along the Harlem River in the Bronx. Covering more than 5,000 square meters, the first cultural institution dedicated to hip hop aims to preserve the genre’s musical legacy and inspire new generations through a range of exhibitions and public programs.
Centre Pompidou/Kanal | Brussels (November 2026)
Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron and Memphis Art Museum
Belgium’s capital, Brussels, will soon have its first contemporary art museum thanks to a partnership between the local KANAL foundation and the renowned Parisian institution Centre Pompidou. Designed by Atelier Kanal—comprising architects Sergison Bates, noAarchitecten, and EM2N—the museum will occupy a former Citroën garage and showroom spanning approximately 40,000 square meters.
Memphis Art Museum | Memphis, Tennessee (December 2026)
On the banks of the Mississippi River stands the new home of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, which will now be known as the Memphis Art Museum. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Herzog & de Meuron, the project will double the museum’s size. It will also include a roughly 4,600-square-meter rooftop sculpture garden and a public plaza at street level. The state’s oldest and largest art museum houses a permanent collection of more than 10,000 works.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (2026)
The Pritzker Prize–winning architect Frank Gehry left an imposing legacy when he passed away in December at the age of 96. One of his final projects is the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, featuring his signature angular and curved forms. The 320,000-square-foot museum is expected to open by the end of the year, two decades after it was first unveiled, on Saadiyat Island, which also hosts the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Zayed National Museum.
Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art | Suzhou, China (2026)
In a city just west of Shanghai, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art is the latest landmark building designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Composed of 12 pavilions unified by a ribbon-shaped roof, the imposing new complex will cover nearly 60,000 square meters.
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