Michelle Obama 'Fell In Love' With New Whitney Museum
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- First Lady Michelle Obama was on hand Thursday for a dedication ceremony at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
The first lady was given as brief tour of the museum, which has relocated from the Upper East Side to the Meatpacking District.
Michelle Obama Attends Dedication Ceremony At Whitney Museum
"I fell in love with the building, it is an amazing space," Obama said.
The first lady, who has made arts education a mission, spoke of the importance of the museum's access to all, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
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"There are so many kids in this country who look at places like museums and concert halls and other cultural centers and they think to themselves, 'Well, that's not a place for me,'" Obama said.
The more than 200,000-square-foot building doubles the museum's exhibition space.
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"We already knew we were the mecca of the art world but just in case we needed to make it clearer, this museum does it," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the ribbon cutting.
The museum opens to the public Friday.
The opening exhibit, "America Is Hard to See," is a reexamination of the history of American art from the turn of the 20th Century and Whitney's founding to today.
