Aperture Welcomes the Public to Its New Home This September

It is with tremendous joy that I write to share good news: On September 18, 2026, Aperture will open the doors to a permanent home at 380 Columbus Avenue in New York City.

Along with my brilliant colleagues and our dedicated board of trustees, we cannot wait to welcome you to this space for “serious photographers and creative people everywhere,” as our founders envisioned. Situated on the first two floors of a historic building in a bustling neighborhood on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, Aperture will be a place to gather, share ideas, and engage with photography. From a dynamic program in our gallery and bookstore to a lively calendar of talks and events, we invite neighbors and visitors alike to kindle a curiosity informed by photography. And we’ll even have a photo booth to commemorate your visit!

Aperture Loves New York is our inaugural installation (curated by yours truly), and it will highlight iconic NYC photos alongside beloved Aperture books: from landmark titles by Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Nan Goldin, and Stephen Shore to more recent favorites featuring Justine Kurland, Deana Lawson, Tyler Mitchell, and Coreen Simpson. If you can’t wait to hear more about it, we will soon post our recent Aperture PhotoBook Club gathering online, where an esteemed group of colleagues discuss their most cherished selections from the checklist!

Aperture was conceived in 1952 as a quarterly magazine: a unique forum that has incubated ideas and encouraged urgent conversations for more than seven decades. Our new home builds upon our storied publishing legacy, anchored—then and now—by the conviction that “creative thinking, significantly expressed in words and photographs,” offers vital new perspectives about our world and one another. (The title of my quarterly newsletter is a nod to this quote from an early editorial note.) In our magazine, books, public programs, educational initiatives, and exhibitions, we have nurtured young talent, created frameworks for overlooked achievements, and offered tools to develop visual literacy, embracing the complexity and plurality at the heart of the medium.

I joined Aperture five years ago, when the need—and the potential—for a permanent home was clear, but just where this would be and how we would get there were less certain. When you stop by in September, I’d love to share all I have learned about injection grouting (essentially Botox for old buildings), the Department of Vertical Transportation (and our LULA lift), and acoustics (just wait until you stand beneath our “StarSilent” ceilings).

Everything you will encounter in the new space has been made possible thanks to the vision of our talented architects—LEVENBETTS—in partnership with Sciame, our construction managers, and the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) who have extended valuable financing. We could not be an independent, nonprofit publisher nor own this home were it not for the extraordinary generosity of our board of trustees, a community of individuals and foundations, and critical support from New York City and New York State. The most significant of these gifts are listed here, and you can still make a difference with a donation of any amount.

We envision Aperture’s new home as a place where the power and democratic spirit of photography will inspire a more curious, creative, and equitable world. Whether by contributing to our capital campaign or joining as a member (with special access to our opening events!), we would deeply appreciate your help at this critical moment. No matter what, we hope you will visit us at 380 Columbus Avenue come September.

With care and heartfelt enthusiasm,
Sarah

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Read more about Aperture’s 2024 groundbreaking ceremony and new home as featured in The New York Times (2022).