McCourt eventually became a member of the board of directors, and before his recent $45 million gift, he also contributed his vacant lot located on 30th St. and 10th Avenue to an preview exhibition called Prelude to the Shed, opening next month and right across the street from where the actual Shed will stand. Daniel L. Doctoroff, former New York City deputy mayor under Michael Bloomberg and the Shed’s chairman of the board who brought McCourt on board, took a moment to explain how and why he came to ask McCourt for his help in realizing this vision: McCourt’s $45 million donation went straight to the building’s capital campaign, which will cover construction costs and other expenses as well as support for the first three years of the Shed’s cultural programs. In exchange, the single biggest part of the Shed, a 17,000-square-foot multi-use space, will be named “the McCourt” in his honor. As for those cultural programs, the Shed’s first exhibition has already been lined up. It’s an exhibit called Soundtrack of America, an overview of African-American music going all the way back to the 17th century up to today, conceived and curated by filmmaker Steve McQueen.
