Calder Gardens Sets Opening Date, Reveals Curatorial Leader

Calder Gardens Sets Opening Date, Reveals Curatorial Leader

Calder Gardens, theforthcoming sanctuarybeing built in Philadelphia to honor pathbreaking sculptorAlexander Calder(1898–1976), has announced that it will open to the public in September 2025 with Juana Berrío serving as its inaugural Marsha Perelman Senior Director of Programs. Berrío, who is currently curatorial and sustainability adviser to the Independent Study Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, will step into her new role on January 21.

Occupying a 1.8-acre plot of land on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which is home to several museums, the $58 million Calder Gardens will comprise an 18,000-square-foot shed-style building designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architects Herzog & de Meuron and will feature landscaping by Piet Oudolf, whose grass and wildflower plantings lend New York’s High Line its natural, idyllic look. The exhibition space and gardens will mainly host works by Calder—some from the Calder Foundation’s vast trove, and some borrowed—but may welcome interventions from other artists at a future date, according to theNew York Times. The Calder Foundation has emphasized that the institution, which boasts a $30 million endowment, is not a museum but rather, according to a press release, “an oasis that invites introspection and nurtures human connection.”

“Calder Gardens is an entirely new type of cultural institution focused on nurturing introspection and personal growth through the art and ideas of my grandfather—one of the most influential artists of the modern era,” said Calder Foundation president Alexander S. C. Rower in a statement. “Juana Berrío’s expertise and wide-ranging interdisciplinary experience—shaped by openness, compassion, and curiosity—make her ideal for this essential role at Calder Gardens. We look forward to being inspired by her dynamic, unexpected programming.”

Prior to her arrival at the Whitney, the Bogotá–born Berrío was associate director of residencies and curator of public programs at Amant in Brooklyn. Previous roles include those at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the New Museum, New York. She holds an MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, an MFA from the University of Minnesota, and a BFA from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma.

“I am thrilled to join Calder Gardens, a unique space that integrates art, architecture, and nature to invite self-reflection,” said Berrío in a statement. “I look forward to working with the team to design rich cross-pollinations between artistic and nonartistic practices, with diverse communities, and between humans, flora, and fauna. Calder’s own passion for interdisciplinary collaborations and experimentation at large provides a perfect context for Calder Gardens to become one of the most innovative and forward-thinking spaces for art and culture today.”