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With annual operating funds from NYCEDC, the Museum screens films, educates students in visual media, and is the only cultural institution in the United States dedicated to the exploration and interpretation of film, television, and digital media.

Overview

After a three-year renovation and expansion, the City-owned Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens reopened on January 15, 2011. Nearly double its previous size, it now measures 97,700 square feet. The Museum is the only cultural institution in the United States dedicated to the exploration and interpretation of visual media, including film, television, and digital media.

With annual operating funds from NYCEDC as well as the cooperation of City Council, the Mayor’s office, and the Department of Cultural Affairs, the now state-of-the-art Museum of the Moving Image provides new exhibition and screening space and the capacity to double the number of students that its education center serves. Said Mayor Bloomberg, "It is an example of the kind of substantial investments we continue to make in New York City’s cultural institutions, which benefit New Yorkers and, last year, helped us attract a record number of visitors."

Museum expansion

  • Doubled in size to 97,700 square feet
  • 267-seat main theater
  • 68-seat Celeste and Armand Bartos Screening Room
  • 1,700-square-foot Video Screening Amphitheater
  • 4,100-square-foot gallery for changing exhibitions and another smaller exhibition gallery
  • Redesigned lobby and new café
  • 10,370-square-foot landscaped courtyard garden (2012 - 2013)
  • New Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Education Center
  • LEED Silver certification anticipated

View more information about the museum expansion.

Jim Henson Exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image. Photo by Donna Ward/Getty Images.
Jim Henson Exhibition

MMI has received the creative works of Jim Henson to be exhibited in a dedicated gallery, within the newly expanded museum. NYCEDC is currently under construction to complete the gallery space by the end of 2015.

About Museum of the Moving Image

Founded in 1981, Museum of the Moving Image is the only institution in the United States dedicated to advancing the public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. The Museum collects, preserves, and provides access to moving-image related artifacts; screens films and other moving-image works; presents exhibitions and interactive experiences; and offers educational and interpretive programs to students, teachers, and the general public. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Museum is housed on the site of the Astoria Studio in a building owned by the City of New York and receives annual operating support from the Department of Cultural Affairs and NYCEDC.