The Jewish Museum undergoes a major makeover, with brand-new galleries, a learning center and an installation of 130 Hanukkah lamps

The Jewish Museum is about to flip the switch on a $14.5-million transformation—and fittingly, it’s all about light. On October 24, the storied Warburg Mansion on Fifth Avenue reopens with reimagined collection galleries and an all-new, 7,000-square-foot Pruzan Family Center for Learning, marking the museum’s most sweeping renewal in more than 30 years.

Designed by UNS (Amsterdam) and New Affiliates Architecture (New York), with Method Design serving as the architect of record, the overhaul connects two floors of the museum through an airy, double-height gallery crowned by a glittering installation featuring more than 130 Hanukkah lamps. Together they symbolize what the museum calls “light as a universal metaphor for hope and enlightenment”—and form a literal bridge between storytelling and education.

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“This milestone moment heralds a new chapter for the Jewish Museum,” said director James S. Snyder. “With this reimagining of our collection and education galleries, we hope visitors will discover new points of connection and deepen their appreciation of the traditions that have shaped the Jewish experience throughout the global diaspora and in resonance with other cultures.”

The centerpiece exhibition, "Identity, Culture, and Community: Stories from the Collection of the Jewish Museum," sprawls across the third floor, featuring more than 200 works ranging from ancient ritual objects to modern masterpieces by Mel Bochner, Eva Hesse, Lee Krasner, Mark Rothko and Louise Nevelson. The galleries trace Jewish cultural expression from antiquity to the present, with rotating features spotlighting themes like Jewish life in Colonial America and the legacy of filmmaker Pearl Bowser, who helped launch the museum’s pioneering “Black Film” series in 1970.

Upstairs, the new Pruzan Family Center strikes a balance between learning and play. Visitors can explore portraits, landscapes and artifacts, then head to interactive spaces that include a simulated archaeological dig for kids, a “Touch Wall” and a pair of art studios. “These spaces offer a less formal setting for visitors to gather, relax, and engage in participatory moments,” said Nelly Silagy Benedek, the museum’s deputy director of education.

Coinciding with the reopening are two major shows: Anish Kapoor: Early Works (October 24) and Joan Semmel: In the Flesh (December 12). Together, they underline what this revitalization is all about—art that doesn’t just illuminate the past but also keeps the conversation bright well into the future.