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Read the press release here.

Poster Museum To Open in Former Tekserve Space on W. 23rd St.

By Maya Rajamani | August 24, 2017 2:42pm
 Poster House will showcase rotating exhibits of international posters from different time periods. 
Poster House
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CHELSEA — The city's first museum dedicated to poster art will open in the former longtime home of computer-service center Tekserve.

Poster House “will present lively, rotating exhibitions of international posters from all time periods and cultures, exploring how this ephemeral medium came to become the people’s art," when it opens late next year at 119 W. 23rd St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

“Though one of the most influential forms of mass media in history, catalysts for wars and revolutions, and vehicles for new ideas in graphic design, New York has never had a space dedicated to posters until now,” a statement from the museum said.

Poster House's permanent collection already boasts more than 1,000 posters, including works by graphic designer Milton Glaser, who created the I ❤ NY logo, street artist Shepard Fairey, who created the Obama "Hope" poster, and French poster artist Raymond Savignac, a spokesman for the museum said.

The project was spearheaded by artist Val Crosswhite, who developed an affinity for posters during her childhood and serves as Poster House's president. Julia Knight, who has worked in the city's nonprofit arts sector for the past decade, will act as the museum's director. Its advisory board includes SUNY Purchase professor Elizabeth Guffey, Brooklyn Museum director of merchandising Chad Phillips and Swann Galleries president Nicholas Lowry, according to the museum. 

While the space undergoes renovations ahead of its opening, it will host a series of pop-up exhibits, the first of which will run from Sept. 20 to Oct. 20.

The first pop-up, called “Gone Tomorrow,” will showcase posters, handbills and other “ephemera” from iconic venues in New York that are no longer open, including Bond's International Casino in Times Square and the Palladium on 14th Street. 

The exhibit, which will be open to the public on Sept. 20 and will be viewable by appointment after that, “is a nod to the departure of long-time tenant Tekserve, and an opportunity for visitors to explore the raw space before its renovation,” the museum added.