Queens’ personal slice of Hollywood is thriving under new leadership.
Since 1985, the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) has been devoted to educating the public on television, film, and art through history and technological advances in the space. The museum currently has nine exhibitions, including its permanent exhibition surrounding “The Muppets,” and regularly hosts screenings, talks and events for the public.
Aziz Isham came on board as the museum’s executive director in 2023. With a history as a television producer, running a production company and working with BRIC TV, he was well-positioned to take up the mantle at MoMI.
“We supported emerging filmmakers, showcased new work, commissioned documentaries, we did TV series. It was a really exciting experiment in how community media can make a difference,” recalled Isham. “I think that’s also what always drew me to the museum, is that here was a place where creativity is something that is celebrated, where people are introduced to new storytelling tools, new technologies, new ideas on a daily basis.”
Despite the allure of the museum’s content, MoMI was struggling. Despite the steady visitorship on weekends, Isham noticed that the ground floor of the museum was going unutilized.
“I noticed pretty early on, like the first day I was there, that even when the galleries were full on a Saturday or a Sunday afternoon, the ground floor wasn’t and it’s a third of our museum,” said Isham. “There’s this big, beautiful lobby and cafe area and amphitheater and classroom area, but there was no programming.”
The solution was Open Worlds, a series of free community programming that spans a myriad of topics including performance, arts conservation and accessibility, science, special effects, video gaming, fan meet-ups, and more. During Open Worlds, the entirety of MoMI’s ground floor is free to the public.
Some of the upcoming Open Worlds programming includes Gaymer Pride 2025 (May 31), Fight for Your Right to Party (June 13), and a Juneteenth celebration (June 19). Isham says that the Open Worlds programming has helped reignite the museum’s position in the community as well as the empty spaces in the museum.
“It activated the last remaining empty spaces in the museum. Unsurprisingly, visitorship went way up. We’re one of the only museums in New York where we’re actually way above our pre-pandemic levels, and we’re about to double the visitors that we had just one year ago,” said Isham. “I think what was a little bit of a surprise — and a pleasant surprise we were hoping would happen but we didn’t expect it to happen this much — is that it has also really increased and that has been a huge boon to the museum.”
Since Isham has taken over, MoMI has seen its visitorship doubled and revenue is up by 80%. The majority of visitors, Isham says, are from the New York area, which is a point of pride for the museum.
tries out painting in virtual reality.Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI)
“It’s one of the strongest things that we have going for us. One of the reasons why visitorship in museums is down so much is because tourism is down so much. Obviously, the pandemic was a big hit, but right now this administration has had a negative impact on international tourism,” said Isham. “Yes, it’s a point of pride as a New Yorker. I love the fact that most of our visitors are [from] New York or New York adjacent. It really helps our revenue right now when other museums are suffering from what’s going on in DC.”
As we go further into summer, MoMI has a lot on the calendar, including a 10 p.m. closing time on Fridays, a new “Mission: Impossible” themed exhibit, and a completely revamped membership model. Members of the museum will be able to take advantage of $7 movie screenings, with around 60 advance screenings of new films a year.
To Isham, MoMI is not to be slept on just because it’s in Queens. It’s only two stops away from Midtown, and Isham says that the area is a great place for New Yorkers and tourists alike to spend an afternoon.
“You can have beer in the courtyard — we have two bars — and it’s a cool place to just hang. I think people are reminding themselves how awesome Queens is,” said Isham. “There’s a lot going on in Queens right now, and we’re in a particularly interesting and cool part of it.”
For more information about the museum, visit movingimage.org.
