NEW YORK, NY.- The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum announced the renovation of the media labs in the Sackler Center for Arts Education. Located beneath the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum, the 8,200-square-foot Sackler Center opened in 2001 and serves as an education hub and learning laboratory in the visual, performing, and literary arts. Guggenheim Educators will use the renovated labs to build on a strong tradition of integrating new and digital media with arts education.

The project included the installation of new cork floors, magnetic dry erase boards that also function as projection surfaces, a recycled rubber accent wall for displaying work created in the labs (and which alludes to Frank Lloyd Wright’s fascination with the “Cherokee Red” color), moveable tables that support a wide variety of seating configurations and the use of mobile technology, and cabinetry to house desktop computers and equipment.

“Thanks to this renovation, we can more effectively fulfill the Sackler Center’s mission of encouraging audiences of all ages to explore and engage with new technologies,” says Rebecca Mir, the Education Department’s Associate Manager, Digital Media and Online Learning. “Members of the public have already used the Media Labs for a wide variety of programs. For example, during one recent program, architecture enthusiasts added information to Wikipedia at our first edit-a-thon. In another, families collaboratively modeled and printed sculptures inspired by Wang Jianwei: Time Temple. And recently, middle schoolers made connections between Frank Lloyd Wright’s decisions as an architect and their own in making video games.”

The Guggenheim offers a broad range of education programs intended to enrich visitors’ engagement with art, from free daily tours and family-focused art-making workshops to ticketed lectures delivered by celebrated scholars. See all upcoming events on the calendar.

The Sackler Center for Arts Education is a gift of the Mortimer D. Sackler Family.