Dia: Chelsea New York City.com : Profile

Arts & Attractions Dia: Chelsea

Although Dia: Chelsea closed for renovations in 2004 and was slated to reopen in 2006, Dia announced in October 2006 that it would not move from its two spaces on West 22nd Street to 820 Washington Street, at Gansevoort Street. The new Meatpacking Di... more

Although Dia: Chelsea closed for renovations in 2004 and was slated to reopen in 2006, Dia announced in October 2006 that it would not move from its two spaces on West 22nd Street to 820 Washington Street, at Gansevoort Street. The new Meatpacking District site would have abutted the High Line, the abandoned elevated railway line which runs north-south 30 feet above the Meatpacking District and Chelsea. While the ultimate fate of Dia's old four-story museum at 548 West 22 Street has not yet been decided, Dia's additional space at 545 West 22 Street has become Pace Wildenstein's second Chelsea gallery. Dia still maintains its administrative offices at 535 West 22nd Street, 4th Floor. For over twenty years, Dia: Chelsea (formerly Dia Center for the Arts) has played a vital and original role among arts institutions in New York, as well as nationally and internationally, by initiating, supporting, presenting, and preserving projects in nearly every artistic medium, and creating a primary locus for interdisciplinary art and criticism. The name Dia, taken from the Greek word meaning "through," suggests the center's role in enabling the realization of extraordinary artistic projects. ... more

Although Dia: Chelsea closed for renovations in 2004 and was slated to reopen in 2006, Dia announced in October 2006 that it would not move from its two spaces on West 22nd Street to 820 Washington Street, at Gansevoort Street. The new Meatpacking District site would have abutted the High Line, the abandoned elevated railway line which runs north-south 30 feet above the Meatpacking District and Chelsea. While the ultimate fate of Dia's old four-story museum at 548 West 22 Street has not yet been decided, Dia's additional space at 545 West 22 Street has become Pace Wildenstein's second Chelsea gallery. Dia still maintains its administrative offices at 535 West 22nd Street, 4th Floor.

For over twenty years, Dia: Chelsea (formerly Dia Center for the Arts) has played a vital and original role among arts institutions in New York, as well as nationally and internationally, by initiating, supporting, presenting, and preserving projects in nearly every artistic medium, and creating a primary locus for interdisciplinary art and criticism. The name Dia, taken from the Greek word meaning "through," suggests the center's role in enabling the realization of extraordinary artistic projects.

Dia's Chelsea program provided a laboratory for artists to conceive significant new works and distinctive exhibitions. Exhibitions typically offered an artist an entire floor on which to develop a new project or create a focused presentation of existing work, and were on view for approximately one year to allow extended viewing.

Public programs at Dia:Chelsea, based on the work on view, encompassed scholarly research and publications, the Arts Education Program, commissioned artist web projects, Readings in Contemporary Poetry, the Robert Lehman Lectures on Contemporary Art, the Artists on Artists lecture series, film and video screenings, performances, and book launches. Dia:Chelsea became a seminal attraction for national and international visitors to New York City, as well as a familiar cultural destination for many New Yorkers.

Do visit Dia: Beacon in the Upstate town of Beacon to see much of the phenomenal permanent collection of the Dia Foundation.

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West Village Description

Dia: Chelsea is located in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The western slice of Greenwich Village—although some will tell you it's a separate neighborhood altogether; don't listen to them—the West Village is a somewhat sleepier version of its larger neighborhood, with many tree-lined streets populated by residential buildings and punctuated ever-so-lightly with restaurants and bars. The locals have fought notoriously hard throughout the years to keep raucous bars and clubs from staying open—or even opening at all—to preserve the relative quiet of their neighborhood.

The West Village stretches east from the Hudson River to 6th Avenue, and north from Houston Street to West 14th. It's northwestern corner is chewed off by the Meatpacking District, where the very sorts of restaurants and bars West Village residents try to keep out of their 'hood flourish. The majority of Bleecker Street's dining, shopping, and drinking options exist on the West Village's end of the street, with a small shopping mecca surrounding the intersection of 7th Avenue, where many high-end retailers have stores, like Brooks Brothers' Black Fleece, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, and a whole lot more.

There's plenty of history here, and the bars are no exception—Dylan Thomas famously stumbled out of the White Horse Tavern heavy with whiskey on the night he expired at the Hotel Chelsea. For those aiming to avoid the thumping, throbbing nightclubs of the Meatpacking District, jazz can be had at Fat Cat, the legendary Village Vanguard, and smaller, quieter establishments like 55 Bar. If you'd like a more structured day of drinking, the folks at the Literary Pub Crawl put on a fantastic and informative tour.

The sophisticated residents of the West Village have led a number of excellent restaurants to open in the neighborhood, from Italian favorite Sant Ambroeus, April Bloomfield's game-changing gastropub The Spotted Pig, Yerba Buena, and Perry St.. Of course, if you're not in the mood for high-end cuisine in mood-inducing settings, there's pizza on offer at John's of Bleecker Street, but you'd be better served by walking a little further east and feasting one our favorite New York slice at Joe's. And if it's a burger you're looking for, the city's first Umami Burger is lurking over on 6th Avenue, while perennial favorite Corner Bistro is on 7th.

While the West Village is low on museums, it has two of the best independent cinemas in the city between Film Forum and neighborhood landmark IFC Center.

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Dia: Chelsea

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