The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts has celebrated the opening of its new 40,000-square-foot wing, which includes new galleries and installations.
Designed by Ennead Architects of New York, the $125 million expansion boasts three new major galleries with 18,000 square feet, as well as a light-filled atrium.
The atrium serves as an interior street, connecting the expansion – which features a new facade – to the existing museum.
Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) has also opened a new entry for school and group tours, and links to the existing galleries with improved circulation.
New garden added as part of PEM’s expansion
The new wing and renovated galleries include new installations and newly commissioned work by contemporary artists.
A 5,000-square-foot garden was designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. The museum is also planning more installations and experiences with an investment of $16 million.
The expansion and renovation is part of the attraction’s $650 million Connect Campaign.
“At PEM we push the envelope and never rest on our laurels,” said Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Peabody Essex Museum James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes Deputy Director.
Major galleries and light-filled atrium at #newPEM
“Our expansion project gives us an exciting opportunity to reinvent our museum, creating team-based approaches to inquiry, concepting, interpretation and design.”
Over the weekend, the Peabody Essex Museum celebrated the opening of its new wing with live music, performances, and art-making activities.
In more museum news, the Motown Museum has broken ground on its $50m expansion, and the expanded Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum has officially opened.
Images: Peabody Essex Museum
