A new kind of museum is coming to New York City in 2026, one tailored to a generation raised on screens and seeking experiences. Canyon, a cultural venue dedicated to video, performance, sound, and immersive installation art, will open its doors on the Lower East Side, promising “good art, good food, good drinks” in an environment that fuses creativity, sociability, and entertainment.
The project is the brainchild of philanthropist and art collector Robert Rosenkranz, who envisioned a space to champion the fast evolving language of contemporary multimedia art, work that speaks deeply to younger audiences through experimentation, authenticity, and direct engagement.
“This isn’t just a genre,” Rosenkranz said. “It’s the natural language of a new generation of artists, inviting visitors to slow down, to pause, to really experience what the artists have created.”
Canyon will occupy a repurposed commercial building redesigned by New Affiliates Architecture into a fluid hybrid of museum, theater, and public square. The 18,000 square foot space will feature state of the art multimedia galleries, a 300 seat performance hall, a café, cocktail bar, restaurant, and an open central atrium, designed to encourage interaction and shared moments.
The museum will be led by Joe Thompson, former longtime director of MASS MoCA, who views Canyon as a direct response to shifting cultural consumption patterns.
“We live in a world saturated with video, but these works are often overlooked in traditional museums. Yet, experiential art fascinates, especially younger people. The problem? They don’t always feel welcomed in institutional art venues. Canyon wants to change that narrative,” Thompson said.
He added that the museum is built around a simple but often underestimated truth: what keeps people coming back to cultural institutions isn’t just the art itself, “It’s the chance to experience it together, with friends, with family, over a good meal and a glass, in a neighborhood that pulses creativity.”
Canyon’s inaugural programming will include a sweeping retrospective of Ryoji Ikeda, a pioneer of new media known for hypnotic installations that blend sound and visuals with mathematical precision. Following that, the museum will host Worldbuilding, a group exhibition curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, exploring the intersection of art, video games, and digital technology as a lens on today’s reality.
