A six-year, US$34m (€32m, £22.5m) renovation of the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) has been completed, with a grand reopening of the institute having taken place on 24 November.
The multi-year development – carried out by Hunzinger Construction with HGA as architects of record – includes a revisioning of MAM’s Collection Galleries, as well as new work on its 1957 Eero Saarinen-designed War Memorial Center and 1975 David Kahler-designed extension, in addition to a new east entry addition.
The renovated Collection Galleries and new east entrance now span 150,000sq ft (14,000sq m), double the previous amount of exhibition space, allowing the museum to display up to 2,500 pieces of its 30,000-strong collection at one time.
In addition to new gallery space and structural repairs, the entire visitor experience has been reimagined, allowing guests to enjoy the museum in a whole new light, with the addition of pieces kept in storage for decades in some cases, as well as improving visitor flow through the galleries.
As part of the opening, MAM has also unveiled the 10,000sq ft (929sq m) Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts, which marks the first time the museum has dedicated permanent gallery space to photography, video and light based media.
Increasing the focus on families, The new ‘Kohl’s Art Generation Gallery: Rubbish!’ offers interactive experiences and hands-on activities, allowing kids to explore how artists have turned trash into treasure, while the Kohl’s Art Generation Lab offers an education about the art and culture of Haiti.
Other features as part of the redevelopment include new public facilities, a new entrance along the Lake Michigan waterfront connecting the museum to a lakefront path; a coffee and wine bar; and glass walls offering panoramic views of both the lake and the museum’s Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion.
“The expansion has allowed us to put 1,000 new pieces on display that haven’t been seen previously,” said MAM director Dan Keegan. “There’s something to discover in every aspect of the museum. We have art in new locations and new art on view in what we’re calling a giant discovery zone.”
The project has been funded by a public-private partnership with Milwaukee County, which owns the gallery buildings and provided US$10m (€9.4m, £6.6m) of the development costs, with the remaining US$24m (€22.6m, £15.9m) raised through the museum’s Plan for the Future campaign. The redevelopment is the first major work carried out on the galleries since they were first developed, now bringing total museum space up to 341,000sq ft (31,700sq m)
The 125-year-old museum has art dating back to the 15th century, which is viewed by about 400,000 visitors a year. The museum champions itself as a premier educational resource, with educational programmes that are among the largest in the US, involving a calendar of classes, tours and events for all ages.
