For years, New York City’s smallest museum was Mmuseumm, a 60-square-foot collection of artifacts (including the shoe thrown at George W. Bush!) housed in an abandoned freight elevator in Cortlandt Alley in Tribeca. But Mmuseumm’s founder Alex Kalman is ambitious, and by dreaming big he dreamt even smaller: Mmuseumm 2, which opened on Saturday, is only 20 square feet, the size of a storefront window (it’s in a storefront window). It’s even smaller than Juicys Gallery, which set up shop in a storage unit last year.
Mmuseumm 2’s first exhibit is by Alex Kalman’s mother, artist Maira Kalman, who recreated her mother Sara Berman’s West Village closet, neatly stocked with all-white clothing.
Maira Kalman told the New York Times:
“‘When she died,’ in 2004, ‘I just had the complete sense that her closet would be an amazing museum, and people would love to come and see it,’ her daughter said. In its pristine organization and wry choices, it offers, Ms. Kalman said, ‘peace of mind and a sense of humor,’ which she hoped would translate to visitors.”
Mmuseumm 2 is slightly smaller than Berman’s closet actually was. Both Mmuseumms can be found at 4 Cortlandt Alley in Tribeca on Saturdays and Sundays.
(Photo: Mmuseumm
