Last summer, Alexander Wang bought the Beaux-Arts HSBC bank on Bowery and Canal for $9.5 million in cash. At the time, the fashion designer declined to say what he was planning to do with the domed 1924 landmark, which HSBC had shuttered a few years earlier.
Now, Wang and his mother, Ying — one of the co-trustees on the deed — have announced that they will be opening an Asian American cultural center, Wang Contemporary, in the 17,600-square-foot space at 58 Bowery. The organization will host performances, art exhibitions, and other cultural programming, starting with an inaugural show, opening on February 20, by the art collective MSCHF (known for pranksterish send-ups of fashion culture like Nikes with human blood in their soles and a limited run of Big Red Boots inspired by Astro Boy).
