The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has submitted plans for approval for a $40 million expansion of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum.
The expansion is funded by the $600 million Campaign for History and Citizenship capital campaign which has been running for two years and has almost reached its target.Plans include a new wing, adding 65, 000 square feet of gallery space; improvements to access with a new entrance; better climate control systems as well as a new lobby, orientation space and concourse.Ronald L. Hurst, the Foundation’s Carlisle Humelsine chief curator and vice president for collections, conservation and museums, said in a statement, “Annual visitation to the Art Museums has been on the rise for several years, but that growth will accelerate with the creation of a more visible and guest-friendly entrance, expanded exhibition galleries and improved guest services.
"The expansion means the creation of dedicated gallery spaces for fine art, costumes, archaeological artifacts, weapons, numismatics and a host of other materials that are now too rarely seen.”
The development follows news last week that restructuring would lead to 40 jobs being cut.
Image: Colonial Williamsburg
Rachel Read
Rachel is co-founder and strategic director at blooloop. She has a degree in engineering from Cambridge University, is a Chartered Accountant and has certificates in Sustainability Leadership and Corporate Responsibility from London Business School, and Sustainable Marketing, Media and Creative from Cambridge University's Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). Rachel oversees our news, events and sustainability.
