Two New York Times Interactive Stories Will Be Featured at The Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art acquired two interactive reports from The New York Times for the exhibition “Full Disclosure: The Edge of Information Design,” which runs from Sept. 27 to June 13, 2027. Added to the museum’s collection in 2025, these data-driven visual journalism pieces examine the 2019 Notre-Dame fire and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

What are the acquired interactive reports?

The first piece, “Why Notre-Dame Was a Tinderbox,” uses a 3-D exploration to analyze how the 2019 fire started and the reasons it spread quickly through the Paris cathedral. It was produced by a team including Larry Buchanan, James Glanz, Evan Grothjan, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Allison McCann, Karthik Patanjali, Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, Jeremy White and Graham Roberts.

The second piece, “What the Tulsa Race Massacre Destroyed,” recreates the Greenwood neighborhood as it existed 100 years before the 1921 Oklahoma massacre. This report utilizes 3-D models, graphics, and photographs. The reporting team included Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, Anjali Singhvi, Audra D.S. Burch, Troy Griggs, Mika Gröndahl, Lingdong Huang, Tim Wallace, Jeremy White and Josh Williams.

Did You Know? This is the first exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art devoted entirely to information design.

How will the reports be displayed?

Visitors will interact with the reports digitally within the exhibition space. The display simulates the experience of using the Times app, requiring users to scroll up and down to navigate the content.

The museum placed these works in a section dedicated to investigative design. They appear alongside contributions from Laura Kurgan, Chow and Lin, and the collective Forensic Architecture. According to the museum, this grouping demonstrates how design and investigative work combine to support fact-finding and public accountability.

Expert Insight: Samantha Carter notes that integrating interactive journalism into a fine arts space suggests a shift in how institutions value data-driven storytelling. By placing these reports alongside investigative collectives, the museum highlights the potential for design to transform complex evidence into a tool for public accountability.

Why is this exhibition significant?

The exhibition recognizes information design as a critical practice for the 20th and 21st centuries. It examines the various methods humans use to visualize information in a digital world.

LIVE Q&A with MoMA Exhibition Designers (Nov 14)

According to the exhibition’s framework, the goal is to explore how designers can shape and facilitate human understanding of complex data. The inclusion of these reports specifically highlights the use of visual journalism to report on historical injustice and tragedy.

What may happen next?

The museum’s focus on investigative design could lead to more digital journalism being archived as permanent art. This shift may influence how other institutions categorize data-driven reporting.

Future exhibitions might further integrate interactive app-based experiences to replace traditional static displays. It is possible that the collaboration between investigative reporters and museum curators will expand to cover other global tragedies.

Frequently Asked Questions

When can visitors see the exhibition?
The exhibition runs from Sept. 27 to June 13, 2027.

What specific events do the New York Times reports cover?
The reports cover the 2019 fire at the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in Oklahoma.

How do visitors navigate the digital reports?
Visitors scroll up and down, simulating the experience of viewing the articles within the Times app.

Do you believe interactive journalism should be classified as a form of modern art?