NEW YORK, NY.- The New Museum announced today that Lisa Phillips, the institution’s Toby Devan Lewis Director, will retire from the Museum in April 2026 after twenty-six years of leadership and following the expanded Museum’s public reopening.

Board President James Keith Brown said, “During Lisa’s extraordinary tenure, the New Museum has grown from a small experimental organization into a major international powerhouse with a widely acclaimed program. Building on our roots as an experimental institution devoted to risk-taking, she led the creation of our flagship SANAA building on the Bowery as well as the OMA building currently rising next to it, catapulting our museum into a globally recognized hub of contemporary art and culture where interdisciplinary entrepreneurship, institutional resource sharing, and community engagement are paramount. We are now a closely watched supporter of challenging and untested art, incubating new ideas and talent. Along the way, Lisa has mentored a new generation of top talent in the field—including many women for whom she has set an exceptional example and who she continues to influence by sharing her considerable knowledge, insight, and expertise. Her visionary leadership has been a transformative gift to our institution. On behalf of the entire Board, it has been a privilege and pleasure to work in partnership with her for over a quarter of a century.”

Lisa Phillips said, “It has been a tremendous honor to lead the New Museum for two and a half decades, working closely with a truly exemplary Board and Board President, an extraordinary staff, and exceptional curators—all committed to opening minds to new futures. I am immensely proud of all the work we have accomplished together, taking our future-forward institution into a new era with a strong foundation, a vibrant and diverse audience, and an expanded complex of two contiguous buildings that will enable ever more ambitious programming. The reopening of this expanded campus presents the ideal moment to pass the baton to a new generation of leaders who will guide the institution into its next chapter.”

Phillips will continue as Director through the conclusion of her current contract in April 2026, and after stepping down will become Director Emeritus. She is also preparing an exhibition about the cultural history of the Bowery which will open at the Museum next year.

An international search for Phillips’ successor will begin this month.