A comprehensive history of MoMA PS1, this publication emphasizes artist-centered radical experimentation that characterizes the institution. MoMA PS1: A History contains historical statements and in-depth interviews with founder Alanna Heiss and contemporary witnesses closely associated with the institution. Complemented by previously unpublished archival documentation of exhibitions, performances, and events, with an additional included chronology and exhibition history.
The MoMA PS1 Archives contain the extant comprehensive documentation of PS1's history, beginning with the founding the Institute for Art and Urban Resources (I.A.U.R), in 1971. These records provide essential insight into an organization that played a pioneering role among non-profit art spaces and stood at the forefront of the New York art scene in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, MoMA PS1 remains an influential center for exploration and exhibition of contemporary art.
The archival records include particularly significant materials such as early founding and developmental documentation from the 1970s, extensive exhibition and curatorial materials, records from the press and communications department, documentation of the National and International Studio Program, records related to publications program, as well as the papers of founding director Alanna Heiss. Additional files cover educational initiatives, the WPS1 internet radio station, and general administrative activities.
The collection is organized into nine major series, each divided into subseries on the based on the nature of the records. Summaries of each series appear below; more detailed descriptions can be found in the scope and content notes at the beginning of each series.
Due to the collection's size, the finding aid is divided into three parts:
Series I: Curatorial and exhibition records
Series II-III: Press and publications records
Series IV-IX: Records from the studio program, director's office, development, and other departmental activities
MoMA's Archive Image Database (MAID) includes a hundreds of digitized materials from MoMA P.S.1 Archive collection such as installation photographs, exhibition posters, and other ephemera.
MoMA PS1 Archives, II.D.6. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York
MoMA PS1 Archives, II.D.38*. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York
| MoMA PS1 Archives, II.D.47*. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York |
MoMA PS1 Archives, II.D.51. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York
MoMA PS1 Archives, II.D.52. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York
MoMA PS1 Archives, II.D.57. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York
In 2013 the Museum of Modern Art exhibited Artists in Place: The First Ten Years of MoMA PS1 using materials exclusively drawn from the Museum Archive the exhibition documents the first ten years of the IAUR and P.S.1 and demonstrates the success of Alanna Heiss's original intention to provide a space embedded in the urban environment that provokes and engages artists, inspiring the works created and exhibited there. Organizers Jonathan Lill and Alanna Miller showcase the organizations enduring legacy as a central participant in a critical era for contemporary art in New York City.
Additional information about this exhibition can be found on the MoMA.org Exhibition page.
Installation view of the exhibition "The Artist in Place: The First 10 Years of MoMA PS1", October 24, 2012-January 8, 2013. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York. Photo by Thomas Griesel. © The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
In 2017 MoMA PS1 exhibited a survey of archival materials that documented the vast range of activities and wide array of artists who worked and exhibited in PS1's public school building over the course of its first 25 years. The exhibition documented events from the first exhibition in 1976 Rooms, held only forty-eight days after the IAUR acquired the PS1 building, to PS1's merger with The Museum of Modern Art (1999). Curators Peter Eeley, Jonathan Lill, and Oliver Schultz assembled hundreds of items extracted from the MoMA PS1 Archives, including artist's proposals, exhibition posters, photographs, correspondence, flyers, postcards, residency applications and other ephemera.
A checklist, complete installation images, and other materials are available on the MoMA.org exhibition page.
Installation view of the exhibition "A Bit of Matter: The MoMA PS1 Archives", April 9, 2017–September 10, 2017. MoMA PS1, Long Island City, New York. Photo by Pablo Enriquez. © The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
