Met Museum Reaches Fund-Raising Goal for New Modern Wing
The museum achieves a milestone, but still faces a complex public approval process for its Tang Wing, which is on city land.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Overcoming Political Roadblocks For A Cultural Institution
Tusk Strategies successfully led The Metropolitan Museum of Art through a complex regulatory and political process—navigating intense public scrutiny, community board approvals, and preservation oversight—to secure unanimous support for the Tang Wing expansion, positioning it as a culturally and environmentally sensitive enhancement to public access and education.
Press Hits
Met Museum Unveils Design for New Modern Wing
The architect Frida Escobedo has drawn on her Mexican heritage in reimagining the galleries for Modern and contemporary art.
Landmarks approves Frida Escobedo’s new Met Museum wing
The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to approve architect Frida Escobedo’s design for a new wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Stakes
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world’s leading cultural institutions, embarked on an ambitious project: the construction of the new Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art, designed to modernize and expand its existing gallery space. However, this vision encountered major roadblocks, triggering significant scrutiny from community boards, preservationists, and city agencies. The museum needed to navigate contentious approvals for its interior and landscape design from five local community boards, two city agencies, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission — all within a political and public environment highly sensitive to changes in protected spaces.
The Process
Tusk Strategies was brought on to guide the Met through this high-stakes regulatory and political terrain. Over the course of 15 months, our team developed and executed a multi-pronged strategy to build broad-based support and clear the necessary regulatory hurdles:
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Campaign Management: Tusk managed the work of a cross-functional team across legal, communications, government relations, volunteer engagement, capital planning, and architecture. That included developing and maintaining comprehensive workback plans and overseeing the sequencing of the public rollout to ensure none of the five relevant community boards and all relevant state and city officials felt brought in.
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Stakeholder Mapping & Engagement: We identified key decision-makers and influential voices in government, preservation, and community groups. Our outreach ensured early engagement, addressed concerns proactively, and cultivated allies across the public and private sectors who voiced their support when it was needed most. This included getting elected officials to provide quotes to the press, submit written testimony ahead of public hearings, and testify at those hearings in support of the project.
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Community & Media: Tusk helped shape the public narrative around the Tang Wing, positioning it not just as a museum expansion but as an investment in public access, education, and cultural enrichment. We developed messaging that emphasized the environmental and historical sensitivity of the design.
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Regulatory Strategy: Tusk coordinated efforts to meet regulatory benchmarks in the LPC and EIS process. We supported the Met in presenting to the Landmarks Preservation Commission and other oversight bodies, ensuring alignment with both procedural and political expectations.
The Conclusion
As a result of our efforts, the Tang Wing received approval from all five community boards it needed, and unanimous approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, paving the way for a transformative addition to New York City’s cultural landscape.