NYC 's Dia Center for the Arts - New York City

Dia Center for the Arts' main exhibition facility is located in a four-story renovated warehouse at 548 West 22nd Street. This site covers an amazing number of 40,000 sq. feet. At the Center's website one can read of its future museum in Beacon, NY. "The museum will be distinguished as the largest and finest installation of some of the most important American and European artworks of the 1960s and 1970s." - Amazing!'

Available at the Dia Center are Lectures, Readings in Contemporary Poetry, an Education Program "designed to introduce teachers and students to contemporary visual art and poetry through museum visits, lectures, and studio workshops." There's also the Video Salon which is a "small scale urban park" located on the roof of it's 22nd St site, as well special events made up of performances, film and more...

Founded in 1974 by Philippa de Menil and Heiner Friedrich, Dia changed its name to Dia Center for the Arts in 1990. The organization "has played a vital and original role among arts institutions in New York, as well as nationally and internationally, by initiating, supporting, presenting, and preserving projects in nearly every artistic medium, and creating a primary locus for interdisciplinary art and criticism."

Two interesting notes are 1) in its early years, Dia's first major projects, were works of art which were not likely to be accommodated by conventional museums because of their nature or scale, 2) the term "dia" is taken from the Greek word meaning "through," which in turn suggests the center's role in enabling the realization of extraordinary artistic projects.

Locations for one to take in some of Dia Center for the Arts' offerings are, (but please be sure to either call ahead or visit their site before planning a visit):

You could visit their site

Admission and Hours: