Long tucked-away storage space at the Brooklyn Museum is about to get a serious glow-up. The institution is converting underused collection storage on its third floor into permanent galleries for its historic Arts of Africa holdings, with a roughly 6,400-square-foot installation planned. Renovations are slated to begin in summer 2026, and the galleries are expected to open in fall 2027, museum officials announced on March 24, 2026. The new spaces will connect directly to the museum’s Egyptian galleries, creating a continuous run of North African and sub-Saharan art visible from the Beaux-Arts Court.
According to Brooklyn Eagle, the inaugural installation will bring more than 300 works, ranging from antiquity to the present, into a dedicated footprint beside the Beaux-Arts Court. The outlet reports that the project transforms what had been closed storage and back-of-house areas into galleries designed to tell a more continuous story of African artistic traditions. Museum spokespeople describe the overhaul as a milestone in long-running efforts to move more of the African collection from storage into regular public view.
Timeline and funding
City capital-planning records list a project called “BMA - Brooklyn Museum - African Art Gallery Renovations” at 200 Eastern Parkway, with roughly $10.5 million in planned capital spending for the work, according to NYC OMB. Those documents chart design, procurement, and construction milestones running from 2026 to 2027, lining up with the museum’s stated goal of reinstalling dedicated African galleries in 2027. The museum has framed the renovations as part of a broader bicentennial-era push to modernize galleries and get more of its encyclopedic holdings on the walls; a recent acquisitions announcement from the Brooklyn Museum flagged the 2027 timeline as a priority.
Design and access
The museum has tapped Brooklyn-based Peterson Rich Office to lead design on the new galleries, with Beyer Blinder Belle advising on historic preservation, according to Brooklyn Eagle. Peterson Rich Office already counts the Brooklyn Museum among its institutional clients and has recently completed several gallery projects around the city, underscoring its museum pedigree. The plans emphasize upgraded conservation standards while rethinking circulation routes and display cases so that more works can be shown safely and regularly. Curators say the new sightlines are meant to draw visitors toward objects that have spent years out of public view.
What visitors will see
Curators are plotting a wide-ranging installation that cuts across time periods and regions, bringing together sculpture, textiles, jewelry, ritual objects, and contemporary photography to spark cross-regional conversations. The Brooklyn Museum’s own archival records and collection histories note that its Arts of Africa holdings exceed 6,000 objects, meaning the debut galleries will showcase only a fraction of what the institution has in storage, with future rotations likely. Those collection details are documented in the archives of the Brooklyn Museum.
Next steps and neighborhood impact
Renovations are set to kick off this summer on a phased schedule that makes room for conservation work, fabrication of new cases, and staged installations. City documents map out benchmarks through 2027, and NYC OMB records show the project moving from design into procurement and construction over the next year. Museum leaders say the finished galleries will expand exhibition and education offerings for Brooklyn residents and visitors alike, while bringing hundreds of African works into a more regular public rotation.
