It may be Women’s History Month now but this summer, a new Museum of Women is coming to Soho and its founders intend to empower women with over a dozen experiential, colorful and immersive exhibits to get those fierce hormones flowing.
Although the exact concepts are still gelling, “It will be truly interactive,” says the museum’s real estate broker Josh Berger of Norman Bobrow & Co.
“It’s a cool concept targeted at empowering women,” Berger said
Founder Abby Trott said she has brought in a team “of amazing, talented women” to design the upcoming exhibits at 480 Broadway between Broome and Grand streets.
“We want to use art to create critical thinking and conversations,” Trott explained. “We’re trying to create a space to allow women — and anyone who identifies as a woman — to have a physical space to bond and be seen and heard and have a space to define what it means for them to be a woman.”
Different rooms will highlight the female experience and inspire women through their interactions with the art.
For instance, in one area, visitors can write down their fears or something holding them back, shred it, then toss the colored remnants around the room, “physically ridding it from your self-conscious.”
Trott is working with many female artists to empower people to forge their own path and fill their lives with color.
“This is just a new generation’s twist on an art museum and we hope it will have a positive impact,” she said. “Everything will be kid-friendly and we hope it can be a place for young girls to have conversations that we were unable to have at their age.”
The former Top Shop space even has escalators making it easy to sweep visitors through its 25,422 square feet on three levels.
Building owner Greg Kraut, CEO of KPF Funds said the museum will be an “innovative experience that is perfect for Soho.” KPF was also represented in the negotiations by the Ripco Real Estate team of Richard Skulnik, Lindsay Zegans and Ben Sabin. The asking rent for the entire space was $200 per foot.
“We could not think of a more iconic location to be the home for the bold experience we are building to change the way we hear, define and listen to women,” Trott added.
The museum will open this summer and is expected to run at least through the end of the year.