'World's Only' Gay and Lesbian Art Museum to Expand SoHo Space

SOHO, NY — The self-styled "world's first and only" museum dedicated exclusively to gay and lesbian art is set to expand into a neighboring space and nearly double in size.

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art announced last week they will be expanding into an unoccupied space next to its 26 Wooster St. location imminently with the new museum set to open in early 2017. The new space will be 5,600 square feet, an increase from the current location's 3,300 square foot size.

The newly expanded gallery will host an exhibition featuring 140 pieces of work, many never seen before, by artists such as Richard Hamilton, Bernice Abbott and George Bellows.

"This expansion marks an extraordinary turning point and phase of substantive growth for the Museum, which has had a strong presence in SoHo for nearly 30 years," says Interim Museum Director Meryl A. Allison. "Not only are we adding an entirely new gallery to the Museum, but we are also actively enhancing our permanent collection through our recently announced Hunter O’Hanian Diversity Art Fund. This fund, which has raised over $40,000 since its inception this summer, supports our mission of representing all of our constituents through collecting non-cisgender white male artists."

The original non-profit was founded by Charles Leslie and Fritz Lohman in 1987 to help promote the LGBTQ community.

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